The 2nd District supervisor race between Michael Erin Woody and Jim Dantona has been a congenial exchange of ideas and visions. In these polarized times, it has been refreshing to consider local issues in a nonpartisan way and with respect between the candidates. Until now.
This race is not between the far left and the far right, but between a chamber of commerce Democrat and a Harvard-educated local Native American Independent who has voted for Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and one time, in 2016, for Donald Trump. Listening to both of them, it is clear that Mr. Woody is the more conservationist of the two, as he looks to how our actions will affect generations 100 years from now, retaining the uniqueness of this area rather than giving in to pressures to develop into another LA. He wants to protect our coast from further resource exploitation. He is accessible and approachable, a good listener, and does his homework.
Both candidates in this nonpartisan race are against offshore oil drilling and battery storage facilities on the coast, and both support diversity, the LGBTQ-plus community, and Planned Parenthood. Mr. Dantona supports offshore wind energy, and Mr. Woody does not, but it seemed they agreed on more than they disagreed on.
And then on May 5, some in District 2 received a flyer in the mail from the Dantona campaign that changed everything. Using Trumpian tactics of misinformation and personal attacks, it portrayed Mr. Woody as a far-right-wing lunatic who is for offshore oil, guns in classrooms, and other crazy accusations, all cherry-picked and misconstrued from some 2018 internet searches. This flyer said much more about Mr. Dantona than it did about Mr. Woody.
We need a new voice for our district, someone we can respect, who will actually listen, and who speaks the truth.
Patrick McGibney
Baywood
This article appears in Best of SLO County 2026.
