It’s a race to fill a seat in northern Santa Barbara County that hasn’t been completely open since 2010.
Santa Barbara County Supervisor Steve Lavagnino is retiring after 16 years of representing the county’s Fifth District.
He’s dealt with everything from funding and building a new north county jail to numerous onshore and offshore oil development controversies, and balancing the county’s budget amid reduced state and federal funding.
Lawyer and Santa Maria City Council member
Maribel Aguilera, and educator and Santa Maria-Bonita School Board member Ricardo Valencia are facing off for the seat.
The winner will represent a district that includes Santa Maria, Guadalupe, and some unincorporated areas of northern Santa Barbara County.
Aguilera's parents were immigrants who settled in the Santa Maria Valley. She became a lawyer. Aguilera served on the Santa Maria Planning Commission for eight years, before being elected to the Santa Maria City Council in 2022.
She talked about why she’s running for the Fifth District seat.
"The Fifth District is such an important piece of our local economy. Families are really struggling to make ends meet," said Aguilera. "Some people in this district have two or three jobs, so I want to bring housing that is affordable. I want to keep our families safe. I want to invest in our kids, and prepare the next generation. As a mother of a young child, that's really important for me to work here, in the district that raised me and made me who I am today."
Aguilera outlined her top priorities if elected.
"Priority number one is to start on a plan to bring affordable housing to the Fifth District. We are talking about housing that is for the workforce. I am not just talking about low-income housing. I am talking about housing that is attainable, that is affordable for the young families priced out of the market," said Aguilera. "The second priority is to keep our families safe. Support the first responders. And, the last thing is investing in programs for our kids. Some students don't want to go to college, or can't afford to go to college. So, I want to work with high schools to bring in programs in skilled trades."
Ricardo Valencia is also a son of immigrants. He grew up in the Santa Maria Valley. After leaving the area to get his BA and master's degrees, he returned home to teach in Santa Maria. He’s currently an educator at Santa Maria High School and is in his second term on the Santa Maria-Bonita School Board.
Valencia talked about why he’s running for the Fifth District seat.
"I am running because leaders in this community asked me to step up," said Valencia. "I'm the North County Leader of the Year, and when I ask people why that is, they said, 'Hey Ricardo, we see you standing up for working families, for youth, for immigrants, for seniors, for women, and for working people. Because of that, we want to have you have responsibility for the county's $1.6 billion budget so working people aren't left behind.'
Valencia outlined his top priorities if elected.
"The first priority is affordable housing," said Valencia. "Our families are struggling to pay for rent; they are struggling to buy a home here on the Central Coast. We're going to be focusing on providing more affordable child care by partnering with our child care providers. We're going to be advocating for better wages by ensuring projects that we create prioritize local labor, union labor, and living wages so people can afford to feed their families. And, we want to challenge the Trump Administration's ICE activities by passing ordinances similar to Los Angeles so ICE doesn't feel welcome here, and they aren't using county resources to support their draconian efforts."
Aguilera talked about what she thinks sets her apart from Valencia in the race.
"At the Planning Commission and City Council, I've produced to bring affordable housing to the City of Santa Maria," said Aguilera. "While I've been on the City Council, we've reduced crime in the City of Santa Maria by 32%, and increased fire (funding) by 20%."
Valencia discussed what he thinks sets him apart from Aguilera in the race.
"As a school board member for six years, my budgets have been balanced. They are not in the red," said Valencia. "I have never voted to give myself a raise, which is something that contrasts me to my opponent. My votes will always be with working-class people."
The Fifth District has 85,000 residents.
The winner will bring someone of Hispanic heritage to the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors for the first time in a decade.
