A complaint submitted to the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office accuses Paso Robles school board candidate Hunter Breese of election fraud.
The recent Paso High School grad is running for the Paso Robles Joint Unified School District board in Trustee Area 3 to bring a “new perspective” as a younger candidate.
“You know, Paso High is not the same Paso High that it was 30 years ago,” 19-year-old Breese said at an Oct. 14 League of Women Voters candidate forum. “And I really understand that, and a lot of people in the community really understand that, so that’s really the experience I’m bringing.”
The Sept. 26 complaint obtained by New Times challenges whether Breese lives at the address he listed on his candidacy application—a felony crime punishable by a $1,000 fine and/or up to three years in jail or prison if found guilty of perjury.
The DA’s Office recently filed similar charges against former 3rd District supervisor write-in candidate Michelle Morrow.
According to county voter registration data obtained by New Times, Breese was registered to vote at an address in Trustee Area 5 in 2022. Breese changed his address to Red Cloud Road in Trustee Area 3 on July 23, 2024, before filing to be a candidate on Aug. 9.
In 2023, Breese announced his intent to run for the school board under Trustee Area 2, an area in which his voter registration never indicates him living.
Previous New Times reporting and YouTube videos showed Breese speaking against current board member Joel Peterson of Trustee Area 2 who Breese accused of being unlawfully appointed to the school board by the county clerk-recorder in January 2023, blaming Peterson for major financial failings in the school district.
“I am hoping we can get Joel Peterson to step down,” Breese said at a forum that was posted to YouTube on Jan. 26, 2023. “I’m going to file my paperwork as soon as he [steps down], and I’m going to run for his position because what’s going on at the district right now is absolutely ridiculous.”
Peterson still holds the Trustee Area 2 seat on the school board, which is not up for reelection until 2026.
According to county tax services records, the address on Red Cloud Road is owned by resident Sharon Johnson, who the complaint alleges is in a romantic relationship with Trustee Area 7 candidate and incumbent Kenney Enney.
County campaign finance records show that Johnson has donated $4,202 to Enney’s campaigns since January 2023, and Federal Election Commission filings show that she donated an additional $3,000 to the Republican Party of San Luis Obispo in June. The party has endorsed both Enney’s and Breese’s campaigns.
Enney has publicly supported both Breese and Trustee Area 5 incumbent Laurene McCoy on Facebook.
Neither Breese, Johnson, nor Enney replied to New Times’ requests for comment before publication.
SLO County District Attorney Dan Dow told New Times via email that it’s “the policy of the District Attorney’s Office to not confirm or deny whether there has been a complaint or whether there is any ongoing investigation into matters that may be referred to our Public Integrity Unit.”
He continued to say that “if and when our Public Integrity Unit issues a criminal complaint or takes official action after conducting inquiries or investigations, that is the time we will issue a public statement.” Δ
Correction: This story was updated to fix a typo about the date of Breese’s address change. His address was changed on July 23, 2024.
This article appears in Oct 17-27, 2024.