Competition emerged in the race to replace Pismo Beach Mayor Ed Waage, who’s retiring after five terms—a decade—in office.
Three months after Pismo Beach City Councilmember Scott Newton announced his intention to run for mayor, local attorney Cynthia Replogle declared her candidacy on May 29.
“I wanted to make sure that the voters have a choice and a better choice than him for mayor,” Replogle said. “I don’t think it’s ever good to have an uncontested race that somebody just kind of defaults into office without ever needing to fully explain their positions and, in this case, votes to the constituency.”
Newton’s been a City Council member since 2020 and serves on the San Luis Obispo County Integrated Waste Management Authority and SLO County Air Pollution Control District.
Replogle, a former Oceano Community Services District (OCSD) board member, resigned from the position and moved to Pismo Beach four years ago. She stepped down from the OCSD in 2022 after officials refused to file a restraining order on her behalf against a resident who allegedly harassed and stalked her.
With the candidate filing period in full swing, Replogle and Newton face another opponent who’s eyeing the mayoral seat.
On June 12, Air Force veteran and personal trainer Shelby Bowen submitted her papers to run in the Nov. 3 general election. She listed her party preference as Republican on her candidate intention statement.
Bowen couldn’t speak with New Times before press time. Newton and Replogle didn’t specify their party preferences since the race is for a non-partisan position.
Replogle told New Times her vision for Pismo Beach is to establish a city that works for everyone—striking a balance among residents, tourists, senior citizens, and young people—and addresses climate change impacts like wildfires and rising sea levels.
She wants to set up a resident advisory panel for the beach city locals to voice their opinions about tourism and residents’ quality of life.
“We just had the classic car show this weekend, and I know there are some resident-serving businesses that had to close for at least part of the time or they had to hire security to stand in their parking lot and make sure parking stayed accessible for residents,” she said. “That’s just one example of an area where a resident advisory panel could explore what options might look like.”
Replogle’s platform also focuses on “golden years support” or help for residents older than 65; proactively applying for grants to repair and improve roads, sidewalks, and ramps; completing the city’s safety element; and finding alternatives to the controversial Central Coast Blue project—the recycled water project with a $159 million price tag that left Pismo Beach as the sole participant after Arroyo Grande and Grover Beach city councils voted to pull out.
Newton said that he demanded strict fiscal scrutiny before supporting Central Coast Blue and that the legal threats to Lake Lopez’s water supply mean that Central Coast Blue is the city’s “mandatory insurance policy against running dry.”
“During the 2022 drought Lake Lopez was nearly drained and would have been empty numerous times if we had to continue the large releases of water that were initially required by the presiding judge,” he said. “Central Coast Blue will be wholly owned by the city of Pismo. Its merits have allowed us to qualify for over $38 million in grants and the balance of the project will be a low-interest loan of approximately 2 percent.”
Working alongside Mayor Waage for six years, Newton said that the main difference between them is generational perspective since he’s raising his family in Pismo Beach. He told New Times he thinks about the impact on current taxpayers and future generations when he votes on issues like water security and infrastructure loans.
Newton believes true local control looks like an open-door policy where residents can call his cellphone to share their thoughts. He also advocates for a streamlined permitting process.
“If a homeowner needs to repair a storm-damaged roof or a local business wants to update their storefront, they shouldn’t face months of red tape and thousands in city fees,” Newton said. “We recently shaved months off new home permits. Next, we must audit our code book and eliminate every single city permit that isn’t strictly required by safety or state law.” ∆
Clarification, June 18, 2026 9:23 am: This story was updated to reflect the exact time Cynthia Replogle moved to Pismo Beach from Oceano.
This article appears in Winning Images 2026.
