Noozhawk invited Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors candidates to answer questions about important local issues.
The June 2 primary election includes the Fifth District, representing northern Santa Maria, Guadalupe and Tanglewood; and the Second District, representing the Eastern Goleta Valley, Isla Vista, UC Santa Barbara, and portions of Goleta and Santa Barbara.
Three candidates are running for the Fifth District seat to be vacated by Steve Lavagnino, who is not seeking another term.
The candidates are Maribel Aguilera-Hernandez, Cory Bantilan and Ricardo Valencia and they each submitted responses to Noozhawk’s Q&A.
Read Ricardo Valencia’s responses below.
Read Maribel Aguilera-Hernandez’s responses here.
Read Cory Bantilan’s responses here.
Ricardo Valencia
Question: What do you think are the three most pressing issues the county faces over the next five years? How would you address these issues?
Valencia: District 5 faces three urgent challenges: housing affordability, public safety and trust, and sustaining essential public services amid budget constraints.
First, housing. Everyone deserves access to safe, affordable, and dignified homes. The board must use all tools available: zoning, planning, preservation of affordable housing, tenant protections, public land and funding to expand affordable and workforce housing near jobs, transit, and schools.
Second, public safety and trust. We need a county that protects all residents and operates with integrity. I will ensure resources are used lawfully and transparently, defend immigrant communities from abuse or unlawful targeting, and hold any agency that violates state law fully accountable. The government’s role is to ensure safe, stable communities where everyone is protected and can live without fear.
Third, I will ensure public services are preserved by helping staff secure funding and innovating how we deliver services to meet community needs. We will pursue partnerships, activate county resources and public spaces for community care and support when needed.
People should have safe, accessible housing where they can move freely, support neighbors, and fully participate in their community. When essential needs are within reach, our community is stronger, more resilient, and ready to face any challenge, human-made or natural.
Question: The current board is developing an oil and gas phaseout plan. Do you support this phaseout; why or why not?
Valencia: Yes, I support a responsible phaseout of oil and gas operations in Santa Barbara County.
Our community has lived with the consequences of oil extraction for generations. The 1969 oil spill is part of our county’s history. Communities near active operations, particularly low-income and Latino neighborhoods in District 5, continue to bear a disproportionate share of the pollution and health impacts.
That said, the phaseout must be done responsibly. That means real transition planning for workers in the oil and gas sector so they aren’t left behind, and investment in the clean energy economy that creates good-paying union jobs to replace what is lost. A just transition isn’t optional. It’s how we bring working people along rather than making them pay the cost of a decision that benefits everyone.
The question isn’t whether we phase out fossil fuels. The question is whether we do it in a way that takes care of the workers and communities most affected. I’m committed to making sure we do.
Question: What do you think is the county’s role facilitating and building new housing for local residents?
Valencia: The county has to be an active partner in solving the housing crisis. Leaving it entirely to the market has not worked for working families in District 5. That means the board should use every zoning and planning tool available to allow more housing near jobs, transit, and schools.
It means protecting the affordable housing we already have, including our manufactured home communities, which house thousands of families in Santa Maria and across the district. And it means creating real tenant protections so that families who rent aren’t one rent increase away from displacement.
The county also has a role in financing. Santa Barbara County should be actively pursuing state and federal funding for affordable and workforce housing, partnering with cities and our housing authority, and using county-owned land where appropriate for affordable development.
Question: What are the biggest infrastructure spending needs in your district over the next five years?
Valencia: Roads, flood protection, and internet access. On roads, we need to move key projects across the finish line like the Highway 101/Highway 135 interchange and the Caltrans replacement of the Santa Maria River Bridge on Highway 1. Also, the Highway 135 Broadway corridor between Orcutt and Santa Maria is overdue for safety and congestion improvements.
Our community has been experiencing intense storms that are causing damage and displacement, disproportionately in lower-income neighborhoods. In recent years, Guadalupe was hit by storms that brought 4 feet of water into homes and churches. As supervisor, I would push the county to pursue FEMA mitigation grants and state partnerships to get Guadalupe into a real, engineered flood protection solution.
On internet access, Guadalupe is identified as a Phase 1 community in the county’s last-mile fiber program, but construction remains unfunded. The state’s middle-mile network is expected to reach our area by the end of 2026. As supervisor I’ll fight to secure the last-mile funding so that Guadalupe and rural parts of the district actually get connected, not just planned for.
Question: How should the county respond to federal immigration enforcement operations affecting local communities?
Valencia: Santa Barbara County should make clear, in policy and in practice, that local resources will not be used to support federal immigration enforcement. Period.
An investigation found that ICE is arresting people at Santa Barbara County jails at roughly eight times the rate official records show, including people with no criminal conviction. That means someone is likely sharing release information with federal agents. As supervisor, I’ll push for an ordinance like the one Los Angeles County passed in 2020, which permanently bans transferring anyone from county jail to ICE without a judicial warrant and prohibits sharing release dates or immigration status with federal agents. County facilities should not be staging grounds for enforcement that bypasses state law. I’ll also ensure county employees are never acting as enforcement agents and fight to preserve access to all county services regardless of immigration status.
Our county workforce is built on the labor of immigrant families: the farmworkers who feed our communities, the home care workers who care for our seniors, the construction workers who build our housing. They deserve to live without fear. I grew up in Santa Maria and Guadalupe. These are my family, friends, and neighbors. I will stand up for them by advocating that any family who is impacted by lawless enforcement is supported with resources and on the path to recovery.
These answers have been lightly edited for style and formatting.
More Election Coverage
Read Maribel Aguilera-Hernandez’s responses here.
Read Cory Bantilan’s responses here.
Noozhawk’s Q&As with Second District Supervisor candidates will be published Wednesday, May 6.
Read more about local candidates and issues in Noozhawk’s Elections section.
