Another California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) complaint has entered the county’s 2026 election season.
A county resident sent an email to New Times saying she filed an FPPC complaint against county clerk-recorder candidate Vanessa Rozo for promoting her Oceano business through an official campaign Facebook account.
Filed on March 27, 2026, the FPPC complaint names both Rozo and Republican Party of SLO County, which endorsed her. Local Republican Party Chair Randall Jordan didn’t respond to New Times’ request for comment.
Credit: FILE PHOTO TAKEN FROM VANESSA ROZO FOR SLO COUNTY CLERK-RECORDER FACEBOOK
“These posts appear to function as advertisements for a private business rather than campaign-related communications,” the complaint read. “They go beyond identifying the candidate’s profession and instead promote specific services and customer engagement with a private business. … Additionally, the repeated nature of these posts suggests an ongoing pattern rather than incidental or biographical reference.”
The resident didn’t respond to New Times’ request for commentand didn’t provide her full name.
Over November and December 2025, the Facebook page “Vanessa Rozo For SLO County Clerk-Recorder” re-shared social media posts from N-Hance Wood Refinishing that contained customer testimonials, branded business content and marketing materials, and promotional language.
Rozo and her husband are franchise owners of the company’s Central Coast branch.
The FPPC declined to comment on open cases. But regulations do prohibit using campaign resources for personal reasons.
This is the second FPPC complaint leveled against a SLO County election candidate. In February, 4th District Supervisor Jimmy Paulding filed one against his opponent and Oceano business owner Adam Verdin for allegedly accepting money from supporters that exceed the legal limit.
The FPPC rejected the complaint on the basis that Verdin had earmarked the money separately for the primary and general elections.
Election results for Rozo could also be determined in June. SLO County voters would pick among three candidates—incumbent county Clerk-Recorder Elaina Cano, former Arroyo Grande mayoral candidate Gaea Powell who’s fighting a voter fraud case, and Rozo. If one candidate gets 50 percent plus one vote, they’ll be the next clerk-recorder. If not, the top two vote-getters head to the general election.
Rozo saidshe wasn’t aware of the FPPC complaint until New Times contacted her for comment. As of April 7, she said she hadn’t heard from the FPPC. The re-shared posts on her campaign Facebook page have since been removed.
“At the outset of my campaign, my social media manager shared select details about my business to help introduce me to the public as a business owner,” Rozo said via email. “This included posting direct links that were also referenced in various news articles, guiding readers to our business website for additional context. As the campaign progressed and our messaging evolved over the course of nearly a year, we removed those links, recognizing that they reflected an earlier stage of the campaign and were no longer necessary in our current communications.” ∆
This article appears in April 9-16, 2026.