SLO County DA's Office charges former supervisor candidate with fraud and perjury 

Once the write-in contender for the San Luis Obispo County 3rd District supervisor seat, Grover Beach resident Michelle Morrow must now contend with criminal charges stemming from her decision to run for the post.

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• Photo Taken From Michelle Morrow's Facebook
• DOUBLE WHAMMY After losing the SLO County 3rd District Supervisor race to incumbent Dawn Ortiz-Legg, Grover Beach resident Michelle Morrow faces criminal charges from the DA's Office for allegedly not living in the district she was running in.

The District Attorney's Office filed four charges against Morrow, 55, on Sept. 11 for voter registration fraud, submitting false nomination papers, perjury by declaration, and fraudulent voting. Morrow allegedly committed these crimes when she competed in the March 5 primary against incumbent 3rd District Supervisor Dawn Ortiz-Legg.

"It is alleged that Michelle M. Morrow committed the crime of voter registration fraud when she registered to vote at an address where she did not reside. Additional offenses were committed on Feb. 16, 2024, when she submitted paperwork to run for the District 3 seat on the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors when in fact she lived in District 4," the DA's Office said in a press release.

SLO County Clerk-Recorder Elaina Cano didn't respond to New Times' request for comment by press time.

Morrow's course to the election was rocky too.

In February, the Clerk-Recorder's Office rejected her candidacy papers because the musician and founder of referral agency Morrow Support wasn't living in the 3rd District for long enough to be eligible. Candidates must reside in the district for which they are running in for at least 30 days. The Clerk-Recorder's Office eventually gave Morrow the go-ahead to be a write-in candidate, which meant she didn't have her name on the ballot nor a statement in the Voter Information Guide.

By the end of the primary election, 866 people wrote Morrow's name in their ballots as their preferred 3rd District Supervisor. It made up 6.6 percent of the total vote share, resulting in a landslide victory for Ortiz-Legg.

A group named the Committee to Elect Michelle Morrow for District 3 SLO County Supervisor served as the funding recipient in campaign finance filings. County residents like "Sandy Boo" or Sandra Bocchicchio and Marlea Harmon advocated for Morrow on Facebook. The DA's Office complaint notes the possible involvement of other people in Morrow's alleged crimes, which were carried out in a way that showed "planning, sophistication, and professionalism."

Further, the complaint also accuses Morrow of being hostile.

"The defendant threatened witnesses, unlawfully prevented and dissuaded witnessed from testifying, suborned perjury, and in any other way illegally interfered with the judicial process," the complaint read.

Morrow's case will be the prosecuted by the Public Integrity Unit of the DA's Office. Set up in 2015 by DA Dan Dow, the unit sniffs out public corruption at all levels of government and aims to hold elected officials, public employees, and candidates for office accountable.

Morrow didn't respond to New Times' request for comment. She posted a bond with the SLO Superior Court on Sept. 12 and will be arraigned on Oct. 10. If convicted, Morrow faces the options of probation, county jail confinement, or state prison time. Δ