A Love of Morro Bay

Dawn Addis arrived in Morro Bay in 2001 along with her husband Marcus and son Marcel. Soon after, Maceo joined their family. Because of their love of the California coast, and the small town community feel, Dawn and her family made Morro Bay their home.  

When she climbs to the top of Black Hill, runs into friends at the grocery store, or gathers with the community on summer nights, Dawn marvels at how fortunate she is to call Morro Bay home. As your council member, Dawn will make decisions centered on both the unique place and the unique people of Morro Bay.

A Career of Local Leadership

As a leader in public education, Dawn works for the local school district. She applies the district-wide vision to fifteen school sites. This entails gathering input from those affected by decisions. She also creates and manages budgets and participates in master planning, develops programs, and facilitates public meetings. Prior to her current district leadership role, she served as department chair and classroom teacher. During that time, Dawn successfully engaged with the unique differences, struggles, strengths, and celebrations of Morro Bay’s residents. She keeps the wellbeing of children and families at the heart of all of her decision making.

A Commitment to Local Service

Dawn Addis serves as a member of the Morro Bay Citizen’s Finance Advisory Committee (CFAC). On the committee, she brings expertise and insight as a long time Morro Bay resident, a leader, a public educator, and a mother of school-aged children. She participates in making recommendations on the Measure Q budget, and City, budgets, and collects input from residents.  Dawn also collaborates with other members of the CFAC. As a member of the CFAC’s Public Friendly Budget Subcommittee, Dawn consistently initiates ideas about how to make the budget more accessible to the larger Morro Bay community.

A Vision for Local Impact

Dawn is a lead organizer for Women’s March San Luis Obispo (WMSLO), an organization that encourages Central Coast residents to work for a more positive and just future. Dawn has led WMSLO from idea to reality by raising thousands of dollars and hosting numerous Central Coast events across the past two years. As a lead, Dawn plans with safety services such as Police and Fire. She is also in charge of permitting. Dawn works hard to collaborate with city and community agencies to make sure WMSLO events have a low environmental impact. As the media liaison, she is comfortable talking about difficult issues. Dawn will bring all of these skills and experiences to her service on the Morro Bay City Council.

To me politics is about putting people at the center of policy and financial decisions for the good of the whole.

If elected to the Morro Bay City Council I pledge to: Preserve our unique coastal lifestyle, while addressing our challenges, strike a balance between community needs and finances, and promote win-wine solultions. To me this is what

I believe Morro Bay’s diversity is a large reason why it’s a special place. I recognize and affirm our differences across age, race, gender, income, and other differences. I welcome diversity of opinion and know that the people of Morro Bay have a collective desire to live in a welcoming community. It’s one of my top priorities to have every resident to feel heard and valued as an important component of our vibrant city.

I have been lucky to live in Morro Bay for 32 years. I have an MA in Counselor Education from The University of Iowa.

From 2002-2010 I served as a Morro Bay city council member. It was during that time that (1)the wastewater treatment project was initiated and (2)financial constraints were enacted due to the Great Recession. I have experience in successfully managing the:

• City finances, including the financial downturn of 2008;
• Planning process, including development and construction of the roundabout;
• And, cooperatively working with other state and local agencies, including the Cayucos Sanitary District.

Other aspects of my community involvement include being a member of the MB White Caps Band, German Band, MB Historical Society, MB Beautiful, MB Seniors, 4th of July Committee, Save the Park, Methodist Church, and volunteering as a math tutor at MB High School.

For the last 25 years I have been successfully self-employed as a tutor for reading, reading comprehension, and math serving elementary school, high school, and Cuesta college students, as well as adults.

I grew up in President Harry Truman's hometown of Independence, MO, when it had a population of 10,000, the same as present day Morro Bay. Civic involvement and responsibility was the norm and not the exception. I strongly believe civic engagement is necessary in order to promote and maintain the kind of local government that serves the needs of all its members.

The mayor is one of five elected representatives. All five are equal in leadership and responsibility; it is not handed to the mayor to be a chief with 4 assistants. The mayor moderates the meetings and is the city's figure head at official gatherings.

City staff's purpose is to fulfill the direction of the city council; it should not give direction to the city council. Staff has a duty to provide complete information to the city council and thus the public, upon which they can make an informed decision.

I earned my BA in Social Sciences/ Psychology and a General Education credential from San Jose State University.

I received a Special Education/Learning Disabled credential from Long Beach State University.

I moved to Morro Bay 11 years ago after retiring from teaching for the Los Angeles Unified School District. I started volunteering at various places in pursuit of my desire  to be a contributing citizen in my new hometown. It wasn’t long before I was hired to work part-time at the Morro Bay Visitor’s Center.  I am still working there today.  I am a member of the Morro Bay Chamber of Commerce, the Morro Bay Open Space Alliance and the Morro Bay Historical Society.  I volunteer at the Morro Bay Museum of Natural History and with Morro Bay in Bloom.

I believe that the purpose of government is to make decisions that benefit the citizens.  This process requires conversation and compromise.  I appreciate "civil discourse".  I understand that total  agreement on issues is not likely to happen, but fair, open discussions starting with common areas of agreement are important in order to reach a conclusion acceptable to the majority.