Key witnesses in the election fraud case against one-time Arroyo Grande mayoral candidate Gaea Powell started taking the stand on Sept. 8, kicking off a trial process expected to last two weeks.
That day, the jury heard from Powell’s former employer, a digital forensic expert who extracted data from her phones, and the San Luis Obispo County clerk-recorder.
Powell, who chose to forgo an attorney and opted to defend herself against nine criminal charges from the SLO County District Attorney’s Office, arrived wheeling a black briefcase and a clear box filled with files.
Judge Timothy Covello frequently reminded her not to testify or make declarations during her cross-examination of the witnesses.
Covello also temporarily dismissed the jury from the courtroom so he could warn Powell about what she could ask the forensic expert about, telling her that asking about the search warrant on her devices was inappropriate and irrelevant.
“He can talk about the data and how he got it,” Covello said. “The person who extracts data from your phone is not competent to talk about the search warrant and how it was [served].”
Most of Powell’s questions to witnesses went unanswered due to the prosecution’s objections, which were subsequently sustained by the judge.
“You were aware that I was going to be reluctantly running for mayor in 2022?” Powell asked her former employer David Marquis, before Deputy District Attorney Ben Blumenthal objected to it, citing speculation.
Powell faces eight felony charges and a misdemeanor charge for reportedly filing false nomination papers for her candidacy and voting fraudulently during her 2022 and 2024 campaigns for Arroyo Grande mayor.
The primary allegation against Powell is that she ran for mayor using an address within Arroyo Grande city limits while residing in an unincorporated part outside city jurisdiction.
Powell previously told New Times that she rented two residences during both campaigns—one on Heritage Lane outside city limits where she mainly lived and a rented room on James Way.
On Sept. 8, Marquis—who owns the James Way condominium—testified that he never rented to Powell.
“You’re using a word that’s inappropriate … ‘rental,’” he told Powell during her cross-examination. “You could use it when I wasn’t there.”
‘You’re using a word that’s inappropriate … “Rental.” You could use it when I wasn’t there.’
—David Marquis, owner of Pathways to Health
Marquis is a doctor who runs the Pismo Beach functional medical practice Pathways to Health. He owned and occasionally lived at the James Way condominium she claimed to have rented a room in.
Powell worked for him in a variety of roles, including helping him edit his book, Marquis Method. She has an active civil lawsuit against Marquis, centering on an intellectual property dispute that partly concerns her work on his book.
Marquis told the prosecution that he allowed Powell to work on Marquis Method from his condominium. He testified that she never moved in with furniture or clothes. He also said he saw no signs of food being cooked.
He added that Powell never paid him rent and there was no formal agreement about her using the room.
After examining copies of the combined voter roster and the confidential voter log, County Clerk-Recorder Elaina Cano testified that Powell changed her registered address from Heritage Lane to James Way in 2022. In 2025, Powell’s voter registration information was changed back to the Heritage Lane address.
The prosecution hopes to bring forward several investigators as witnesses as the trial progresses. Powell is yet to decide if she will testify.
If the jury finds her guilty, Powell can’t appeal through a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel because she chose to represent herself, according to Assistant DA Eric Dobroth.
A conviction could spell significant custody time.
“Although the perjury charge carries a potential prison sentence and the other charges substantial county jail time, I think it imprudent to provide a maximum sentence as this is not the type of case where a judge would reasonably impose the maximum sentence or that we would advocate for that,” Dobroth said. ∆
This article appears in Student Guide 2026.
As I read through this article, I couldn’t help but think this story deserves a good country-western theme song. Maybe something about riding high in the saddle, ignoring every warning sign on the trail, and then acting surprised when the horse finally bucks you off.
As reported elsewhere, Powell has been a strong MAGA supporter and seems to interpret the Constitution depending on which way the political tumbleweeds happen to be blowing that day. Now she’s in court without an attorney, by her own choice, boxed into a corner, and apparently suffering from anxiety.
Well, imagine that.
There’s an old cowboy lesson here: if you saddle the horse, spur it down the trail, and ride straight into the cactus, it’s a little late to complain about the thorns.
Powell created this predicament and apparently figured she could ride through it on her own. Now that the trail has gotten rocky, suddenly the ride isn’t nearly as much fun.
I can certainly appreciate that court proceedings are stressful. But being anxious about the consequences of your own decisions doesn’t magically erase the decisions that put you there.
So maybe the theme song doesn’t need to be complicated. Own your choices, face the consequences, dust yourself off, and ride on back to rural Arroyo Grande.
And next time, maybe read the trail signs.