As the race to fill Steve Lavagnino’s soon-to-be vacant 5th District supervisorial seat heats up, a particularly troubling fact has emerged regarding one of the candidates. In a previous piece I characterized Santa Maria High School teacher Ricardo Valencia as a “puppet” of local activist organizations. I have also, on occasion, referred to his ever-present smile, at least in his photos, as Mamdani-like, a reference to New York City’s openly socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Now, in a recent endorsement from a frequent writer (“Ricardo Valencia is best for supervisor,” April 30), it has been revealed that Valencia’s resemblance to the radical Mamdani is more than coincidental—he has been endorsed by the Working Families Party, the very same Working Families Party that supported New York City’s socialist mayor.
So are we to expect that Valencia, like Mayor Mamdani, will support a radical socialist agenda? Confiscatory taxes? County-run grocery stores? Crippling labor policies destructive to our local economy? The prospect of Ricardo Valencia sitting on the Board of Supervisors becomes even more troubling with the revelation that the Working Families Party will likely be one of his string-pullers. I find it incomprehensible that anyone could find that an endorsement by such an extreme group would prove an asset to a political campaign.
As for me, I will stick with my support of Maribel Aguilera for 5th District supervisor, someone who has spent her career supporting property rights, business, job creation, and prosperity for residents of the 5th District. I recommend that the voters of the 5th District join me in supporting Maribel Aguilera for supervisor.
Roy Reed
Santa Maria
This article appears in May 7 – May 14, 2026.
Hey Roy, your far-right bias is showing. I’ll choose Ricardo over MAGA-Maribel any day of the week. He’s a better person than you think.