Two-time Arroyo Grande mayoral candidate Gaea Powell faces nine criminal charges from the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office alleging election fraud in the 2022 and 2024 election cycles.
Filed on June 24, eight of those charges are felonies and one a misdemeanor. In July 2022, while living in unincorporated Arroyo Grande outside the city’s jurisdiction, Powell allegedly registered as a voter under a false city address.
Throughout the rest of 2022, the now 62-year-old reportedly filed false nomination papers for her candidacy and fraudulently voted. She also allegedly committed the misdemeanor of failing to provide written notification within 48 hours to the Secretary of State, the local filing officer, and each of her fellow mayoral candidates of receiving or expending $2,000 or more in a calendar year.
The DA’s Office stated she committed the same felonies during the 2024 election too.
“Ms. Powell’s alleged actions over multiple election cycles represent a serious breach of the public trust, and these charges demonstrate our commitment to holding accountable anyone who attempts to manipulate our elections processes,” DA Dan Dow said in a press release. “We will always dutifully follow the evidence wherever it leads to ensure that the community can trust that there will be accountability without any political bias or motivation.”
Powell didn’t respond to New Times‘ requests for comment. On July 1, she filed paperwork requesting to surrender herself on the outstanding warrant. Powell is scheduled to be arraigned on the criminal complaint on July 15. It’s unclear if she will be booked into county jail.
“One would hope that she would be at least processed,” Assistant DA Eric Dobroth told New Times.
Powell criticized SLO County Public Health Director Penny Borenstein’s COVID-19 protocols during her 2022 bid for Arroyo Grande mayor, calling her a “dictator.”
In 2024, she attempted to reinforce her argument against the SLO County Board of Supervisors’ passing a resolution declaring June as Pride Month by playing a video of naked people at a public San Francisco Pride event. Her actions caused the supervisors to prohibit people from using county equipment during the public comment period.
During her last election run, she criticized the Arroyo Grande City Council for changing its public comment period around, accusing the body of violating First Amendment rights.
At a Paso Robles school board meeting in 2025, she denounced statistics showing increasing suicide rates among LGBTQ-plus people and said that those supporting transgender rights lacked intelligence.
According to previous New Times reporting, Powell was interested in running again for Arroyo Grande mayor in 2026.
This is the second time in less than a year that the DA’s Office has slapped a South SLO County resident with criminal charges related to election fraud. In September 2024, Michelle Morrow, a write-in candidate for the 3rd District Supervisor seat, faced charges similar to Powell’s. In April 2025, Morrow was sentenced to 90 days in county jail with two years of felony probation for election-related crimes.
“Election security and integrity are of the utmost importance,” SLO County Clerk-Recorder Elena Cano said in a statement. “My office will always support law enforcement efforts to ensure that any allegation of fraudulent activity is investigated and handled promptly and appropriately.” Δ
This article appears in Jul 3-13, 2025.