The race to be San Luis Obispo County’s next 4th District Supervisor heated up after campaign finance contributions were disclosed.
“My opponent, Adam Verdin, has raised about $165,000 so far. Over $30,000 of that comes directly from housing developers,” incumbent Jimmy Paulding wrote in a Feb. 3 email to constituents. “I never accept money from developers, because I believe supervisors should answer to residents—not special interests.”
Paulding, who’s nearing the end of his first term in office, is defending his seat against Verdin, an Oceano business owner. In June, registered voters in the South County district comprising Nipomo, Arroyo Grande, Oceano, Halcyon, Huasna, Edna Valley, California Valley, and parts of unincorporated SLO will decide between them.
Hours after Paulding’s email, Verdin’s campaign shot back with its own email press release.
“Paulding relied heavily on special interest groups to raise that sum, having received over $30K in contributions from political action committees in 2025,” Verdin’s email read. “In contrast, 96 percent of Verdin’s contributions came from individuals and business owners.”
Credit: PHOTO BY PIETER SAAYMAN
Financial records for the 2025 calendar year showed that Paulding raised a total $233,000 while Verdin, who announced his campaign in July, raised almost $165,000.
Shortly after assuming office in 2023, Paulding voted to lower the SLO County Board of Supervisors’ previous $25,000 cap on how much a single individual or entity could contribute to a campaign. He and other supervisors opted to reduce it to the state limit of $5,500 per contributor.
Since then, the California Fair Political Practices Commission adopted a $5,900 limit for 2025-26.
Verdin donors who hit that ceiling include developers NKT Commercial owner Kathy Tompkins (the wife of Dana Reserve lead developer Nick Tompkins), Steven Hollister, Covelop Inc., First Capital Bank Manager Thomas Anderson, general contractor Patrick Arnold of Covelop Inc., and DL Farm Management grower and CFO Daniel and Lorena Chavez.
Other donors include Jamie Jones of land use planning firm Kirk Consulting, Cuesta College board member Pete Sysak, Pismo Beach Mayor Ed Waage, California Insurance Commissioner candidate Stacy Korsgaden, and Paso Robles Mayor John Hamon.
Paulding questioned Verdin’s financial ties to NKT Commercial—the developer group behind Nipomo’s controversial Dana Reserve project. NKT Commercial CEO Paul Tompkins, Kathy’s son, also donated, providing $125 to the Verdin campaign.
“Since I first ran in 2017, I’ve always had a policy of not accepting money from developers,” Paulding told New Times. “I don’t have anything against them—I just think that it’s important to vote based on a project’s merits not developer influence. I have been approached in the past and declined their money.”
Paulding’s top donors who hit the contribution limit include the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers labor union, retired Nipomo resident Carla Haynie, and DeckTech Inc. general contractor Ron McKenna.
He also received funding from 2nd District Supervisor Bruce Gibson’s campaign chest and former Santa Barbara County Supervisor Das Williams’ campaign. Other donors include Arroyo Grande City Councilmembers Jim Guthrie and Kate Secrest, SLO City Councilmember Jan Marx, and Grover Beach City Councilmember Clint Weirick.
NKT Commercial didn’t respond to New Times’ request for comment. Verdin said he’s proud to receive support from developers during a housing crisis.
“It would be like if you’re in a health care crisis and you refuse to take a donation from a doctor,” he said. “I think it’s a mistake to vilify those who build homes. When you’re facing a crisis, you don’t exclude the people who know how to solve the problem.”
The Old Juan’s Cantina owner pointed to another statement Paulding made in one his campaign finance announcements. Paulding noted that NKT Commercial previously contributed $30,000 to his opponent’s campaign in 2022 (former 4th District Supervisor Lynn Compton) after he refused to support the Dana Reserve project without a fair review of its impact.
“I question if the bias goes the other way,” Verdin said. “So, essentially, ‘If you’re going to oppose me politically, then I’m going to oppose your project.’ I think that’s problematic.”
Verdin said that Paulding received donations from “special interest groups” like supervisors, city council members, political action committees, and unions.
“Regarding endorsements I’m proud of: Former Supervisor Lynn Compton, Deanna Teixeira (wife of former Supervisor Paul Teixeira), Araxie Achadjian (wife of former Supervisor Katcho Achadjian),” Verdin said via email. ∆
This article appears in Feb 5-12, 2026.
What I’m reading here is that one candidate doesn’t take money from developers and the other does. Considering that developers cut up the land to build houses for wealthy retirees from other places, I’m not convinced that being in bed with them is an asset when you’re seeking the votes of local teachers and grocery clerks and hairdressers and such who are struggling to live here today. I’ll give Paulding the win on that one.
While I don’t profess to be an expert at much of anything ( I do love a good smashburger if that counts), I would say that words matter, such as when Paulding votes twice with divergent reasons. The project was too big – then when it was scaled back, there wasn’t enough affordable housing. And then there was the lawsuit and a pretty big settlement me thinks…and I wonder how involved he was in that matter.
Economics are based on supply and demand. You talk to anyone in the real estate business, and they will talk about SLO County’s “inventory shortage.” Build enough homes, and the housing ladder effect will increase inventory of all housing types. And with enough supply, the cost curve will adjust downwards.
Verdin appears to be a common sense based guy who grew up working in the family business. I think the win goes to Verdin. And don’t get me starting on Jimmy’s battery plant.
Big money in politics is what got us to the current state of affairs in US politics – only those with access to large donations have a chance, and those large donations always come with strings attached. We have become a country governed by billionaires, and fighting this trend locally is our best chance of turning the tide for our Democracy. Living in a oligarchy is not what any American wants. However, fascists thrive in an oligarchy.