DAWN ADDIS is a City Councilmember, teacher, and mom, with a 20-year record of leadership in our Central Coast communities. Dawn is the Democratic Party endorsed candidate in this Assembly race.As a Morro Bay Councilmember, Dawn has worked to promote economic development, improve local infrastructure, and protect the things that make the Central Coast such a special place to live. Her long record of community involvement includes co-founding the Women’s March in San Luis Obispo (WMSLO), which drew a crowd of around 10,000 people in 2017 and has since grown into a successful nonprofit organization.
Shelter and security are human rights, and our housing policy must reflect that. I’ll fight for renters, fight to expand low income housing options, and fight to provide permanent housing for unhoused people. Housing costs are rising far faster than wages–and we have to attack that problem from both sides. I’ll work to increase the stock of affordable housing units while also increasing wages and economic development.
There is no excuse, in the greatest state in the greatest country in the world, for millions of people to go without adequate access to healthcare. In the Assembly, I’ll fight to make prescription drugs more affordable, to expand senior health services, and provide better health insurance options for families. Our public health infrastructure has never been under greater strain as our frontline medical workers and community health clinics combat COVID-19. In addition to increasing funding for community health clinics and public health infrastructure, we have to train more nurses, doctors, and at-home care workers to reduce the costs of care and improve access for all Californians.
Dawn is a champion for reproductive rights. She is a Planned Parenthood Central Coast Action Fund (PPCCAF) Board Member with a 100% Rating from PPCCAF and endorsements from pro-choice groups such as NARAL, National Women’s Political Committee, and the Democratic Women’s Caucus (see endorsements page). Dawn fought for and passed a city resolution supporting reproductive rights and will fight to defend and expand access to reproductive care for all people.
As a special education teacher in our Central Coast schools, I have seen the successes and the failures of our public education system. Our schools are underfunded and continuing to cut basic functions, including school nurses, libraries, and art and music programs. We know that early-childhood education, extra-curricular activities, and after-school programs play a critical role in improving outcomes for students, and I’ll fight to increase funding for these programs. California’s public higher education system through the CSU, UC and Community College systems are the best in the country, but they won’t stay that way if we don’t support them. I’ll work with our higher education leaders to lower costs for students.
We are emerging from the most significant economic challenge since the 2008 financial crisis. Households and small businesses are struggling to make ends meet. California has to take a bottom-up approach, providing economic relief to those who need it the most, beginning with low income families and essential workers. I’ll work to prevent small businesses from falling into bankruptcy and fight to support our Central Coast communities with additional state infrastructure investments.
California’s Central Coast is a national treasure, but climate change is putting it at risk. Wildfires, sea-level rise, habitat loss, and coastal erosion pose long-term threats to our coastline communities and economies. In the State Assembly, I’ll work to secure renewable energy investment and development to protect air quality and reduce carbon emissions. The wild open spaces of the Central Coast are worth fighting for, which is why I’ll push back against out-of-place developments and protect the Central Coast’s natural beauty.
The influence of money from special interests is undermining public faith in our institutions and corrupting the political process, while the voices of average citizens are drowned out in the sea of spending. I’ll fight for stronger campaign finance controls and transparency to hold elected officials accountable and restore trust in government.
Those who have served our country in uniform deserve more than our respect; they deserve our commitment. There are thousands of veterans struggling with unemployment and service-related health issues across our state. I will work with federal leaders to expand job opportunities and health services in California, and ensure strong outreach to veterans in our communities through responsive and effective constituent services.
Gun violence destroys families and devastates communities. There are real, concrete steps that we can take to keep families safe, beginning with truly universal background checks for all gun transfers. Requiring that gun owners store, maintain, and transfer weapons safely reduces accidental deaths and unauthorized access to firearms. I’ll work to enhance red flag laws, which keep guns out of the hands of those who pose a danger to others.
Central coast communities are fortunate to have some of the lowest rates of crime in California. In the Assembly, I’ll work to keep our communities safe by cooperating closely with our local law enforcement agencies to ensure that officers have the best training and resources available. Wildfires are more destructive and deadly than ever before; I’ll fight for additional funding to combat and prevent wildfires, leveraging new technology to keep Central Coast neighborhoods safe.