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Morro Bay councilwoman announces run for Assembly amid redistricting

November 12, 2021

Dawn Addis

By JOSH FRIEDMAN

Touting her progressive politics and the potential opportunity created by redistricting, Morro Bay Councilwoman Dawn Addis announced she is again running for a state Assembly seat.

Addis, a progressive Democrat and Women’s March San Luis Obispo leader, was elected to the Morro Bay City Council in 2018. In 2020, she ran for Assembly and lost to incumbent Republican Assemblyman Jordan Cunningham.

Cunningham defeated Addis by a vote of 55.1 percent to 44.9 percent. Following the completion of his current term, Cunningham will be eligible to serve another six years in the state Legislature. He has not yet announced whether he plans to run again.

Cunningham’s consultant, Matt Rexroad, responded to Addis announcement by reminding the public that defeated his opponent by more than 10% during the “highest turnout election in history.”

“Dawn Addis announced on draft district maps,” Rexroad said. “That alone shows she is inexperienced and unable to effectively represent the Central Coast in the Assembly. We need thoughtful and intelligent leadership. And we don’t need higher taxes, which she has a record of supporting. The Central Coast is expensive enough already.”

Presently, Assembly District 35 encompasses all of San Luis Obispo County and part of northern Santa Barbara County, including the cities of Santa Maria and Lompoc.

A draft map drawn by the California Citizens Redistricting Commission would move Addis and most of San Luis Obispo County into a district encompassing much of Monterey and Santa Cruz counties as well. The district would stretch from Arroyo Grande in the south to Santa Cruz in the north. Nipomo, Oceano and Grover Beach would fall in a separate district with Santa Barbara County.

The majority of SLO County is located in the Monterey Coast district in blue, with a south, west portion of the county in the Santa Barbara district in tan.

Currently, Assembly District 29 consists of much of Monterey County, Santa Cruz County and part of San Jose in Santa Clara County. Assemblyman Mark Stone (D-Scotts Valley) has represented the district since 2012. Stone is eligible to run for one more term in the Assembly.

In a news release announcing her campaign, Addis said her experience as a mom, teacher, activist and council member has prepared her to represent the Central Coast in Sacramento.

“I believe our communities deserve leadership that reflects our values and commitment to solving the challenges we face,” Addis said in a statement. “Climate change is a real and present danger to the Central Coast. Drought, wildfires, habitat loss, and coastal erosion threaten our way of life. If elected, I will fight every day to protect and improve the quality of life in our neighborhoods, advance equity and justice in public policy, create jobs that pay a living wage, and protect the most vulnerable among us.”


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Surprise the SLO Democrats can’t find a more formidable candidate. She lost by double digits last time and has done nothing since the last election to justify voting for her this time. It’s bad enough we’re stuck with her in Morro Bay can’t imagine her as a state level representing our county. She did the same thing in Morro Bay that Heidi did in SLO giving Dayspring the permit for his pot shop moving him from number five on the list number two. Pay to play.


42

Dawn is not a leader, she is merely another loud voice blaming others for problems. I will be sending Mr. Cunningham some funds tonight!


42

Jordan Cunningham responded to a couple of issues I was having and embodies what a representative government should be. I don’t donate to candidates very often but I will certainly support Jordan’s re-election Campaign.


52

Cunningham has no choice but to run for assembly again. His stance on the COVID-19 pandemic totally ruined his chances with moderate Democrats if he had wished to run for a statewide office.


-37

It’s a very sad state of affairs, when politicians stands for the rights of ones personal freedoms and choices for their lives, and then are demonized and berated. One’s character, integrity, and honesty is always the choice to lead with. As proved by their actions and ideologies, the Progressive mindset has no concept of one’s personal freedoms or the morality that surrounds those freedoms. Nothing new there.


5

We have enough progressive nutjobs jamming things up already, we need to vote some of them out, not put more in.


53

As they continue to take away personal freedoms and the destruction of the economy along with quality of life for all, they will be voted out including their failing Socialist agendas. It will take a couple more election cycles.


6

Being in elective office must be addictive….or maybe its just a good way to survive dysfunctional administrations….


18

Another Bay area transplant,

Brown

Boxer

Feinstein

Pelosi

Newsome

Harris

Do I need to say more, just more of the same, liberal, progressive.


45

Everyone of these are Neo-Liberals in Progressive clothing. They all are for the interest of the corporations not the people. Democrats should be classified very different than progressive no matter what they like to call themselves. They like to show kente cloth and speak the words of allies while they sell out to big tech and big pharma, big oil donors. Don’t forget to add Carbajal to this list that Addis desperately aspires to be a part of.


4

Her comment at the end of the article prompted me to send an increased donation to J. Cunningham. Everyone who reads what she said, and believes, should do the same.


53

I could not agree with you more.


I have many friends who live in MB, most of them registered Democrats, and much more liberal than me. I know in talking with them they have been very disappointed in her lack of serious attention to specific MB issues. Rather, she is too busy trying to make a name for herself as a heavyweight progressive by bringing in statewide and national issues to the City (i.e. gun safety…).


Dawn, you are not the leader we need right now.


40

So she is done messing up Morro Bay and wants to move on to messing the rest of us up? The whole shenanigans with the water treatment plant should be enough to tell us she needs to stay in Morro Bay.


44
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