The two candidates vying to represent the most northern areas of Santa Barbara County on the Board of Supervisors continued to spell out their clear differences during a forum Thursday night in Santa Maria that included some pointed verbal jabs.

Maribel Aguilera, an attorney and Santa Maria City Council member, and Ricardo Valencia, a high school teacher and Santa Maria-Bonita School District board member, answered questions for more than an hour at Allan Hancock College’s Patty Boyd Hall.

They were the top two vote-getters in the June primary race, requiring the Nov. 3 runoff. 

The Fifth District seat now is filled by Steve Lavagnino, who will retire in December after 16 years.

Aguilera suggested streamlining the county’s permitting process for new housing projects and trimming development fees.

“What the county needs is they just need to get out of the way,” she said.

She called for working with business leaders to determine their needs and appoint a small-business ombudsman to help guide applicants through the permitting and other processes. 

“We really need to cut the red tape using technology and treating job creators as partners and not make it harder for them,” Aguilera said.

Valencia called for collaboration among government agencies and organizations to create affordable housing developments.

“If it was an easy solution, it would have been solved yesterday. To me, success would be that at least half the people in our community have access to affordable housing within the first four years of my leadership,” he said, adding that the next half would be served in another four years.

Valencia also said he supported further investments in public transit, including green-energy vehicles.

He suggested following an action by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Although Valencia avoided referring to Mamdani by name Thursday, he mentioned him in a prior forum.

“They created a chief savings officer that actually helps find inefficiencies within their system without laying off workers,” he said. “I would never balance a budget on the backs of workers.”

When it comes to infrastructure, Aguilera noted the huge backlog of road repairs in the county, adding that the projects should take priority.

She also pushed to fix potholes, contending that the price tag sits at $20.

“I bet each of us would donate $20 to fix all the potholes,” she said. 

The Fifth District includes northern neighborhoods of Santa Maria along with the city of Guadalupe and the unincorporated Tanglewood subdivision.

Questions at the event included topics answered in the spring forums, one in Santa Maria and the second in Guadalupe, ahead of the primary election that also included third candidate Cory Bantilan, an aide to Lavagnino.

Valencia highlighted his role on the elementary school board, noting that his six-year stint starting during the COVID-19 pandemic prepared him for the job of county supervisor through hands-on experience with governance, budgeting and public accountability. 

“That experience — navigating a crisis, making tough decisions, balancing community needs and managing large public resources — is exactly the kind of leadership and stewardship I will bring to the Board of  Supervisors,” Valencia added. 

Aguilera ticked off various accomplishments, including housing developments and public safety increases, during her 12 years on the Santa Maria Planning Commission and City Council. 

“I’m not telling you I’m going to do something new. I’m telling you what I’ve done and how I want to bring that to the county,” she said.

While mostly congenial as they took turns answering questions, the pair had a couple of exchanges that included verbal jabs at their opponent.

Valencia said his campaign has been funded by individual donations from working families, not special interests such as real estate developers, agricultural firms or oil companies, a reference to his opponent.

His campaign hasn’t accepted funds from the Republican Party nor supporters of President Donald Trump, he said, accusing them of supporting artificial intelligence and deep-fake attack ads against his campaign. 

“They are using lies and deceit to try to win this election. Our campaign is not engaging in negativity. We are going to win with integrity, honesty and unity,” he added. 

Aguilera spoke out against suggestions that her campaign accepted funds from the oil industry, calling them false. 

“I’ve never accepted and kept the oil money because it’s important to have an independent person,” she said, noting that she doesn’t belong to a political party. “I believe that the seat of this county supervisor belongs to the people of the Fifth District, not a political party and not somebody who’s going to vote with the politics as usual.”  

The top vote-getter will begin the job of supervisor in January. 

The League of Women Voters of North Santa Barbara County organized the forum with Jenelle Osborne serving as moderator. In addition to the League of Women Voters, several other organizations served as sponsors. 

Following the Fifth District forum, the candidates for the Santa Maria City Council participated in a separate session airing their views on a variety of topics.

Video recordings of the forums are expected to eventually be available on the League’s YouTube channel, available here.