Templeton Area Advisory Group Chair David Leader formally resigned on Aug. 26, ending an eight-month tenure overshadowed by his felony conviction, restraining orders protecting eight neighbors, and growing pressure from fellow board members to step down.
His resignation came one week after he was sentenced to jail for felony vandalism and violating court orders—and as a ninth person, a tenant living on his Templeton property, seeks a restraining order against him.
Leader submitted his formal resignation to TAAG on Aug. 26.
In an email to the board, Leader said he stepped down because his attorney “strongly advised” him to avoid TAAG meetings “for the time being” and because leaving would be “in TAAG’s best short-term interest.”
“It has been my privilege, honor, and joy serving as chair for the last eight months,” Leader wrote. “I wish the board the very best going forward.”
The resignation followed several tumultuous days for the advisory group. At its Aug. 20 meeting, a San Luis Obispo County sheriff’s deputy asked Leader to leave because neighbors protected by restraining orders against him were in attendance to read victim impact statements. TAAG board members later asked Leader to resign and were preparing to call a special meeting to remove him.
The latest allegations against Leader come from a tenant on his property.
The tenant, who rents an apartment attached to a barn about 200 feet from Leader’s residence, filed for a restraining order Aug. 14, alleging that Leader repeatedly monitored whether she was home, approached her apartment, and left her afraid to live there.
“I no longer feel safe or private there,” the tenant wrote in a court filing. “I now deadbolt my doors at night because I am afraid [Leader] may approach my residence or enter the adjoining area while I am sleeping.”
“Over time … [Leader] began repeatedly monitoring whether I was home or away and increasingly acted as though my ability to be present in my own home was something that had to be coordinated with or approved by him,” she wrote.
According to the filing, the tenant’s security camera recorded Leader driving toward her apartment on an ATV on July 28 while she was away. She alleged that he looked into the camera before accelerating away, kicking dirt and dust toward the apartment.
“He knew that I was recording his conduct, he knew I was afraid of his continued presence, and he was demonstrating that this would not stop him,” she wrote.
On July 16, she asked a friend to be on “protective notice in case something happens” to her.
“I am not safe,” she wrote.
The request follows two criminal cases stemming from a nearly three-year conflict between Leader and families living along a private dirt road in Templeton.
Prosecutors accused Leader of revving engines, shining bright lights toward homes, entering private property, vandalizing signs, and repeatedly violating court orders. Leader denied many of the allegations before reaching a negotiated plea agreement on July 22, telling New Times earlier this year that his neighbors’ claims were “simply not true.”
Leader pleaded guilty to felony vandalism and seven misdemeanor counts of violating court orders. On Aug. 19, he was sentenced to two years of felony probation and 30 days in SLO County Jail beginning Oct. 31. He also received a suspended two-year jail or prison sentence that could be imposed if he violates probation.
Leader was still serving as TAAG’s chair on Aug. 20 when the neighbors protected by restraining orders read two victim impact statements at the meeting.
“I love Templeton,” one neighbor, who asked to remain anonymous, said. “But I’ve lived next to this man for 10 years, and his behavior toward us and his other neighbors and tenants is not that of someone who should represent our sweet community.”
Because the restraining orders require Leader to remain at least 100 feet from the neighbors, the sheriff’s deputy eventually asked him to leave. Leader waited in his vehicle until the meeting ended, then returned to the building.
On Aug. 24, according to emails obtained by New Times, TAAG board member Matt Thomsen asked Leader to resign.
Leader initially resisted, pointing to TAAG’s April decision to delete a bylaw provision specifically identifying a felony conviction as grounds for removing a board member.
“As we removed the felony conviction clause from our bylaws several months ago, why does this even matter?” Leader wrote back. “It seems a bit hypocritical doesn’t it? … Keep in mind President Trump has something like 32 felony convictions.”
He characterized the criminal cases as “small-neighborhood issues and not a community issue.”
TAAG board member Murray Powell told New Times that Leader remaining on the board presented “a major community TAAG credibility problem.”
San Luis Obispo County 1st District Supervisor John Peschong, whose district includes Templeton, also called for Leader to step down shortly before his formal resignation.
Peschong told New Times that county counsel advised him that advisory groups such as TAAG operate independently under their own bylaws, meaning the county does not decide who serves on them.
But given Leader’s guilty plea, sentence, and active restraining orders, Peschong said, “I believe he should resign from his role in the Templeton Area Advisory Group.” ∆
This article appears in Aug 27 – Sept 3, 2026.
