With Santa Barbara County facing dozens of potential staff layoffs, the three candidates in the wide-open race for Fifth District supervisor on Thursday outlined which public services they consider non-negotiable—widening the daylight between their campaigns days before the June 2 primary.
“We shouldn’t be laying off social workers. They are the eyes and ears of our community,” said attorney Maribel Aguilera, referring to the potential elimination of as many as 131 filled positions and 118 vacant roles.
“We are spending $4 million a year putting in EV (electric vehicle) charging stations,” said Aguilera, a member of the Santa Maria City Council. “So we are saying that charging your car, your electric car, that most of us don’t have, is more important than protecting our children and our families and our most vulnerable?”
Candidates Cory Bantilan and Ricardo Valencia joined Aguilera in Guadalupe for their second League of Women Voters forum this week. Her take drew a pointed response from Bantilan, who called public safety his top concern.
“To say we’re not going to do these EV chargers, or whatever the one-time project is, that doesn’t actually get you to a sustainable budget,” Bantilan said. “There are one-time funds, and there are ongoing funds. There’s only so many times you can pay your car payment with the pennies in the couch. You can only do that once or twice.”
The cuts on the horizon
Amid a massive reduction in state and federal funding, county officials are attempting to balance an estimated $1.64 billion spending plan for fiscal year 2026-27, likely reducing staff and eliminating two county-run pharmacies as part of an ongoing effort to cut more than $70 million.
“Unfortunately when the federal and state governments make cuts… they’re telling us that these programs are not priorities,” Bantilan said. “Public safety’s got to be number one, and then we work down from there. I don’t want to see the social safety net destroyed either, but when the state doesn’t make it a priority, it’s really difficult for us to pick up the pieces every single time.”
A top aide to outgoing Fifth District Supervisor Steve Lavagnino, Bantilan has cast himself as a pragmatic realist who’ll draw on his longtime county government experience. Lavagnino departs after more than 15 years in office.
Drawing distinctions
Aguilera has described herself as a data-focused public servant who’ll prioritize negotiation. At least a half-dozen large, billboard-style signs in support of her candidacy adorned fences and roadsides near Thursday’s forum at Guadalupe City Hall.
More than any other candidate, high school teacher Ricardo Valencia, also a member of the Santa Maria-Bonita School District Board, has presented himself as a people-powered coalition builder, a grassroots juggernaut with hundreds of thousands of recent social media views.
With his campaign backed by the county Democratic Party, the election of Valencia in particular to the historically more conservative Fifth District would represent a seismic shift in the makeup of the five-member Board of Supervisors.
“We cannot balance the budget on the backs of working families, seniors, children or vulnerable residents,” Valencia said.
Pointing to the Sheriff’s Office, where overtime costs rose from more than $8 million in fiscal year 2020-21 to $20.4 million in 2024-25, Valencia said he’d work to hold county departments more accountable.
“I’ve talked to social workers at the county level who are saying, ‘We are not allowed to work overtime, even though there is a need.’ So I see a double standard there,” Valencia said, adding the county should “delay or defer” capital projects including an expected $160 million expansion of the Northern Branch Jail.
“Instead of investing more taxpayer dollars in expanding our jails, which we know are filled with working class people, folks with mental disabilities, folks that are struggling with drug addiction—I don’t think we should be locking those folks up,” he said. “I think we should be investing in support services, wrap-around services, so those folks can live with dignity and land back on their feet.”
Santa Maria River repairs
Designed to avoid open debate, the forum on Tuesday provided the candidates a chance to answer questions in turns, but discouraged rebuttals. More than 100 people attended.
The Fifth District has nearly 50,000 voters who live in the northern half of the city of Santa Maria, the nearby unincorporated Tanglewood, and the city of Guadalupe.
Dusty and industrial, Guadalupe is surrounded by agriculture and has more than 8,000 residents.
As Thursday’s event unfolded, much of the conversation focused on public safety, homelessness, mental health services, affordable housing and farmworker wages—echoing themes the candidates tackled when they faced off earlier this week in Santa Maria.
“One thing we can agree on is that Guadalupe is an absolute gem,” Bantilan told the crowd.
Drawing on his insider perspective, Bantilan described county efforts in 2024 to shore up the Santa Maria River, after storm waters topped its south bank, flooded Guadalupe homes, inundated the town’s wastewater treatment plant and cut off beach access.
In response, the county made road repairs, and the Board of Supervisors unanimously agreed to spend $8 million on a temporary berm.
“I don’t believe there will ever be a levee extended west of Highway 1,” Bantilan said, adding federal funding is unlikely given the area’s relatively low population. “What we need to try to do is somehow harden the berm that we put in… I would work with all levels of government.”
Valencia said it’s important to embrace clean energy to tackle climate change, which he called the root cause of the destruction. He criticized the lack of federal help: “Working class families were left to figure it out on their own. As your supervisor, I would ensure that our most vulnerable communities are not left hanging.”
Aguilera said it’s important to invest in preventative infrastructure, and to cooperate with relevant local, state, and federal authorities: “I always say, ‘You must have a plan, and you must know where you’re going to pay for it.’ And I think that is what has been missing. It’s always after-the-fact, it’s after the disasters happen in Santa Barbara County.”
Local connections
Would the candidates support extending the Santa Maria Levee Trail to connect Guadalupe with Santa Maria?
Bantilan: Yes, although perhaps incrementally, assuming people’s pets are prevented from fouling adjacent agriculture.
Valencia: Absolutely, and especially to provide low-income residents with more green space to enjoy.
Aguilera: No, it would be irresponsible amid layoffs, and it would contaminate food supplies.
“What I would support is expanding the (Highway) 166,” Aguilera said, adding it would make sense to build a trail adjacent to the motorway.
To connect with the audience, Aguilera and Valencia repeatedly referenced family ties to Guadalupe.
“I picked strawberries with my parents when I was a child,” Aguilera said. “We have a lot of family in Guadalupe. A lot of aunts, uncles, cousins.”
“I spent a lot of my childhood at the Guadalupe Wrestling Club,” Valencia said. “We actually worked out in a room here right next door.”
The outgoing Lavagnino has endorsed Bantilan, who’s received significant support from Cannabis growers.
However, in fundraising Bantilan has trailed. Aguilera has drawn support from North County agricultural interests. In addition to the county Democrats, Valencia is supported by the California Working Families Party, Indivisible, Planned Parenthood, Sierra Club and numerous small donors.
