For the first time in 16 years, voters in the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors‘ most northern district will face a field of candidates when they go to the polls on June 2. 

Three candidates reportedly intend to run for the Fifth District seat to be vacated by Steve Lavagnino, who recently reconfirmed he would not seek another term. 

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

So far, the three people who have expressed an interest in the job by filing campaign committee paperwork are Maribel Aguilera-Hernandez, Santa Maria City Council member and lawyer; Cory Bantilan, Lavagnino’s chief of staff for 15 years; and Ricardo Valencia, a Santa Maria-Bonita School District Board member and a high school teacher.

On Dec. 13, Valencia, a Santa Maria High School teacher, launched his campaign in front of more than 125 supporters in Santa Maria. Valencia has the backing of the Democrats. 

“I can’t wait to run this exciting race with you. Campaigns are not about individuals, they’re about people, they’re about us,” he said during the kickoff.

Third District Supervisor Joan Hartmann is among several North County elected officials supporting Valencia’s bid for the job.

The last time voters saw more than one candidate for the Fifth District occurred in 2010, when Lavagnino made his first run for the role along with Santa Maria Mayor Alice Patino. Lavagnino won the job during the June primary election, getting 62% of the vote.

“I think most people realized that when he decided to retire it would be a pretty sizable field,” Bantilan said. 

He has served as Lavagnino’s chief of staff for the past 15 years. Before becoming Lavagnino’s chief of staff 15 years ago, Bantilan, 42, served as a campaign manager for two Republicans in other races. 

“I’ve loved helping the people of the Fifth District for the last 15 years. I think it’s something I’m good at, and I want to continue that, just at another level being the supervisor instead of the staff,” Bantilan said. 

Aguilera-Hernandez, 44, expects to launch her campaign mid-January. She grew up in Santa Maria, attending local schools and graduating from Santa Maria High School in 1999. 

She said she decided to run for the county job because her time on the City Council has shown work is needed.

“We really need a representative who knows what the district is like, grew up in the district, still has family in the district, and is raising a family in the district, that really cares about the future of the district to truly represent and fight for what the district needs,” she said. 

Campaigning has barely started, but political jabs are well underway — one side pointing out Valencia’s progressive agenda while the other questions candidates’ residency in the district. 

Aguilera-Hernandez said she recently moved into the district after her previous residence was drawn out during prior redistricting effort. 

Bantilan said he moved into the district in the fall, but has lived in the North County for seven years.

The Board of Supervisors is a nonpartisan job, but political machines from both Republican and Democrat parties typically play a role in campaigns.

The Santa Maria Valley seat generally has been filled with more conservative members.

But a former Santa Maria council member — Tom Urbanske, who had spent 31 years teaching at Santa Maria High School — represented the Fifth District from 1995 to 2002. 

The county’s Fifth District included the northern areas of Santa Maria and stretched to Guadalupe. After the 2020 Census, the Fifth District lost a large swath of southern Santa Maria.

Campaign financial reports covering the first six months of 2025 show Bantilan in the lead in raising money, with no reports for the other two. 

Lavagnino’s campaign committee has donated $5,900 to Bantilan’s campaign, while Lavagnino’s dad, former Santa Maria mayor Larry Lavagnino, gave $500.

Kavaughn Baghbeh, a project manager at Happy Brands, made a $4,000 contribution to the Bantilan campaign, according to the campaign finance report.

Baghbeh also has ties to real estate and Santa Barbara Westcoast Farms, a cannabis grower with a 50-acre operation near Buellton.

Santa Maria Councilman Carlos Escobedo’s campaign committee and Vince Lopez Jr. & Sons each gave $2,500.

Before being elected to his fourth term in 2022, Lavagnino announced he would not seek another four years on the board he joined in 2011.

“If I haven’t gotten done what I want to get done and left my mark at that point, there’s no reason to keep going,” he told Noozhawk in early 2023. 

Lavagnino replaced Joe Centeno, a former Santa Maria police chief and mayor who faced challengers in his races.

The Fifth District seat is one of two on the ballot in 2026. 

Earlier this month Second District Supervisor Laura Capps launched her campaign for a second term. 

Lavagnino’s and Capps’ current terms run through Dec. 31, 2026, with the new four-year stint starting in January 2027.

The primary election is June 2. If one candidate doesn’t get more than 50% of the votes, the top two will head to the runoff election and will appear on the Nov. 3 ballot.  

Key candidate filing periods are signatures-in-lieu of filing fee period, which runs from Dec. 19 through Feb. 4; and the Declaration of Candidacy and Nomination Paper Period, which runs from Feb. 9 through March 6. 

However, if an incumbent doesn’t file to run for re-election, the filing period is extended to 5 p.m. March 11.