The race to fill the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors’ 5th District seat in 2027 is on, as 2026 marks the end of longtime Supervisor Steve Lavagnino’s time on the dais.
Lavagnino’s Chief of Staff Cory Bantilan is among the three candidates who have formally commenced their campaigns so far, along with Santa Maria-Bonita School District board member Ricardo Valencia and Santa Maria City Councilmember Maribel Aguilera.
Before beginning her first Santa Maria City Council term in 2022, Aguilera served on the city’s Planning Commission for eight years. She hosted her first public engagement event to announce her run for 5th District Supervisor at Santa Maria’s Veterans’ Memorial Center on Jan. 18.
During the event, Aguilera spoke about a handful of her campaign platforms, including her intent to fight for improving residents’ access to county-provided social services.
In October 2025, the Board of Supervisors considered eliminating more than 125 positions across the county’s Public Health and Social Services departments. While the board ultimately voted to delay the decision and layoffs were paused, Aguilera told the Sun that those positions shouldn’t have been on the chopping block in the first place.
“The first place they want to cut is the service providers—the people who provide the services to the most needy—instead of cutting the services … to beautify a street in Santa Barbara,” she said. “You’re going to do landscape work in a backroad of Montecito, but your first response was, ‘Well, let’s lay off the social workers.’”
Aguilera also told the Sun that she’s lived in Santa Maria’s 5th District for most of her life and that she’s not affiliated with a political party. She was endorsed by Santa Maria Mayor Alice Patino and fellow Councilmember Gloria Flores, among others.
“I’m not about parties. I’m about my community. Getting people who need the services, those services,” Aguilera said.
According to fellow 5th District candidate Valencia’s website, Valencia became a Santa Maria-Bonita School Board member in 2020 and was reelected in 2024.
His platforms include taking action on “the issues that matter most, including delivering a living wage, expanding affordable housing, and protecting residents, neighborhoods, local businesses, and the environment.”
The Santa Barbara County Democratic Party endorsed Valencia and 2nd District Supervisor Laura Capps, who’s being challenged by Elijah Mack. The 21-year-old Republican ran unsuccessfully for state Senate in 2024.
The Sun reached out to Valencia via email but did not receive a response before press time. For more info on his campaign, visit valenciaforsupervisor.com.
For more details on Aguilera and Bantilan’s campaigns and platforms, visit maribelforsupervisor.org or coryforsupervisor.com, respectively.
This article appears in January 22 – January 29, 2026.