Candidates for the two Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors seats up for grabs this year will participate in forums ahead of the June 2 primary election. 

For the two candidates seeking the Second District seat, a forum will take place from 6-7 p.m. Thursday at the Goleta Union School District boardroom, 401 N. Fairview Ave., Goleta. The forum is organized by the League of Women Voters of Santa Barbara.

Incumbent Laura Capps and Elijah Mack, a religious educator, are vying to represent the Second District for the next four years.

Santa Barbara County’s Second District includes unincorporated areas of eastern Goleta Valley, Isla Vista and UC Santa Barbara. It also covers portions of Goleta and Santa Barbara cities. 

For the trio running to represent the Fifth District, two forums are planned later this month, both planned by the League of Women Voters of North Santa Barbara County. 

The first is planned from 6:15-8 p.m. May 18 at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 402 S. Lincoln St. in Santa Maria.

Another is set from 5:30-8 p.m. May 21 at Guadalupe City Hall, 918 Obispo St.

With incumbent Steve Lavagnino choosing not to seek another term, three candidates are running for the job.

They are Cory Bantilan, chief of staff for Lavagnino; Maribel Aguilera, Santa Maria City Council member and attorney; and Ricardo Valencia, a Santa Maria-Bonita School District board member and high school teacher.

The Fifth District includes northern neighborhoods of Santa Maria plus Guadalupe city and unincorporated community of Tanglewood.

A candidate who receives more than 50% of the vote in the June 2 primary election will win the job.

If a candidate doesn’t get more than 50% — a strong likelihood in the three-way race for the Fifth District seat — the two top vote getters will head to a runoff election in November.

Only registered voters in those two districts will vote for their next county supervisor.

Whether the winners get picked in June or November, they will begin their new four-year terms in January 2027.