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A California mayoral candidate is facing accusations of berating a transgender teenager on Halloween, allegedly telling the child she was a “sin to God” after she refused to accept a religious pamphlet while trick-or-treating.
Shelby Bowen, who ran for mayor of Pismo Beach in San Luis Obispo County, allegedly confronted 16-year-old River outside her Shell Beach home on Oct. 31, according to the San Luis Obispo Tribune.
River’s mother, Katt Winter, told the newspaper that she had taken her three children, including 12-year-old twins, trick-or-treating near Dinosaur Caves Park, a Halloween tradition the family has followed for about a decade.
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But the family’s first stop of the night took an unexpected turn when they encountered Bowen, who was handing out candy along with copies of a Christian pamphlet titled “A Pumpkin Tale.“
River, an autistic transgender girl, told The Tribune that she declined the religious material, prompting Bowen to allegedly become aggressive.
“She grabbed me… very firmly, and forced the pamphlet into my trick-or-treat bag that I was using to transport candy,” River said.
The teenager also claimed Bowen was using the occasion to promote her political campaign, telling young trick-or-treaters to support her candidacy.
“She was telling the little kids, like five-year-old girls, to vote for her, and she said to little kids that ‘You have met the mayor,’” River said.
According to River, the confrontation grew increasingly hostile when Bowen allegedly called her a “sin to God” and began shouting insults.
“She exclaimed the phrase, ‘You people are the problem,’ and started screaming, ‘Get your filthy hands off my candy, and your filthy body out of my city,’” River said.
River said she urged her mother to contact authorities, but Bowen allegedly responded that police were “on my side anyway.”
The teenager believes she was singled out because she is transgender, telling The Tribune that she had previously encountered hostility from Bowen.
“I think the reason why she acted that way or executed in such a demeanor is I feel like she had a little bit of disdain, or she detested me, because I was a transgender individual,” River said.
Winter said she was stunned that someone seeking public office would allegedly behave that way toward children.
Bowen, an eight-year U.S. Air Force veteran who previously worked as an aircraft maintenance officer, later became a leadership instructor for the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps at San Diego State University.
She also runs Equine Coastal Wellness, a business offering equestrian therapy and training services.
Her bid for mayor proved unsuccessful. As of Thursday’s election update, Bowen was in a very far-removed third place with just 5.1% of the vote, according to the San Luis Obispo County results.
Winter said she initially did not recognize the candidate and only identified her after noticing a campaign sign outside the home.
Following the encounter, Winter took to Nextdoor to describe what allegedly happened, prompting reactions from neighbors who encouraged her to contact law enforcement. The Post has not been able to independently verify the Nextdoor post.
The dispute also spilled onto Facebook, where Bowen allegedly responded to posts about the confrontation with disparaging comments directed at Winter.
“Says the girl addicted to crystals,” Bowen allegedly wrote in a since-deleted comment shared by Winter, apparently referencing her work as the owner of a local mineral shop.
“You are welcome for the candy. Might wanna take an English class.” The post has since been deleted and could not be verified by The Post.
Winter told The Tribune that she subsequently filed a police report and plans to pursue harassment charges against Bowen over her alleged treatment of the teenager.
It was not immediately clear whether authorities had opened an investigation or whether any charges would be filed.
Bowen’s attorney C.J. Huck told The Post: “I just want to state for the record that this story started with an anonymous post on a neighborhood app.
“The platform itself took the post down for violating its own guidelines. Nobody signed their name to it.
“Nobody filed a police report, to my knowledge. And there’s a witness who was present that disputes the entire story.”
The Post reached out to local police for comment.
