The Fifth District seat on the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors is officially a three-way race to replace Steve Lavagnino, who has decided not to run for re-election after 16 years in the role. 

Four candidates declared plans to run, but three qualified for the June 2 ballot, according to the County Elections Office. 

They are Maribel Aguilera-Hernandez, a Santa Maria City Council member and lawyer; Ricardo Valencia, a Santa Maria-Bonita School District Board member and high school teacher; and Cory Bantilan, Lavagnino’s chief of staff for 15 years. 

Santa Maria, Guadalupe and the Tanglewood community are represented by the Fifth District supervisor.

“I’m excited to see multiple candidates,” Lavagnino told Noozhawk in January. “It indicates people have an interest in bettering our community. I hope their voices are heard, and may the most qualified individual succeed.”

The June 2 ballot includes two Santa Barbara County supervisor seats, several department heads, Superior Court judges, and state and federal offices. 

March 6 was the filing deadline for most local offices, with an extended timeline for seats with an incumbent who decided not to run this year. 

The Fifth District Supervisor spot was one of the seats that had an extended deadline, and the Treasurer-Tax Collector-Public Administrator is another. 

Harry Hagen has been in the role since 2010 and decided to retire rather than run for another 4-year term. 

Kimberly A. Tesoro, the assistant treasurer and tax collector, is running unopposed to take over the position. 

The official candidate list from the County Elections Office shows Second District Supervisor Laura Capps running for re-election to continue representing the Goleta Valley, Isla Vista and parts of Santa Barbara. 

Elijah Mack also filed to run for the seat, after unsuccessfully running for a state senator seat in 2024 against Monique Limón. 

More County Elected Offices

County Superintendent of Schools Susan Salcido is running for re-election and is the only candidate who qualified for the ballot, according to the Elections Office. 

For the job of Auditor-Controller, candidates include Betsy M. Schaffer and Kyle Slattery. Schaffer has served in the role since 2019.

Incumbent Joseph E. Holland and Melinda Greene are running for Clerk, Recorder, Assessor and Registrar of Voters.

Holland began in the Assessor’s Office in 1984 and was elected to his position in March 2002. Greene is a certified public accountant and finance officer, according to Elections Office documents.

The June ballot also includes a rare contest for a judicial seat, as long-time Santa Barbara Superior Court Judge Thomas R. Adams Jr. will be challenged by local attorney Luis Esparza. Esparza has previously run unsuccessfully for a spot on the Santa Barbara City Council. 

Three other judges, Stephen Dunkle, Jed Beebe and Von T. Deroian, won’t be opposed in their re-election bids, according to County Elections Office documents. 

The positions of Sheriff-Coroner and District Attorney will not be up for election this year due to changes in state law that moved the races to presidential primary election years.

Sheriff Bill Brown and District Attorney John Savrnoch were both elected in 2022 and will serve 6-year terms until the positions are up for election in 2028.  

State and Federal Elections

As Noozhawk reported last week, the June primary election will also determine candidates to advance to the November election for some state and federal races.

The deadline to file for state and federal offices has passed, and the official candidate lists are expected to be released later this month. 

Three people filed nomination papers locally to run for the 24th Congressional District seat, which spans Santa Barbara, Ventura, and San Luis Obispo counties.

Incumbent Salud Carbajal, a Santa Barbara Democrat and former county supervisor, is running for re-election. Bob Smith, a retired U.S. Navy commander who is new to politics, announced his intent to challenge Carbajal in September.

Another candidate who filed nomination documents locally is Sarah Bacon, who works as the vice president of external affairs for UC Santa Barbara’s Graduate Student Association. 

The District 37 State Assembly seat is also on the ballot this year. Incumbent Gregg Hart, a former Santa Barbara councilman, and Sari Domingues are running for the seat.

Hart was first elected to the post in 2022 and was re-elected in 2024. Domingues ran an unsuccessful campaign against Hart in 2024.

Noozhawk staff writer Daniel Green contributed reporting to this story.