Three seats on the San Miguel Community Services District board are up for grabs this November after nearly two years of disagreements over district leadership, local control, and the future of the growing North County community.
Five candidates—John M. Butler II, John McClure, incumbent Rod Smiley, Andrew Havard, and incumbent Owen Davis—are competing for two four-year seats. Former board members Raynette Martines and Berkley Baker are running separately to serve out the remaining two years of a vacant seat.
The election could reshape a majority of the five-member board as the district moves forward with water and wastewater improvements, accommodates new housing, and considers infrastructure needs downtown.
It also comes after repeated disagreements among current board members.
The board has operated with four members since John Green passed away in late 2025. Board members interviewed four applicants to replace him but failed to agree on an appointment. The county declined to intervene, leaving the seat vacant for voters to fill in November.
The vacancy has repeatedly left the board split 2-2.
In 2025, board members twice discussed whether to explore dissolving the CSD and transferring its services to San Luis Obispo County. The district took no action toward dissolution.
Those issues carried into a recent candidate forum hosted by the League of Women Voters of San Luis Obispo County.
McClure and Smiley were the only candidates for the two full-term seats who participated in the question-and-answer portion. Butler and Davis didn’t attend, while Havard was absent due to illness.
Martines attended, but the league’s empty-chair policy prevented her from answering audience questions because Baker wasn’t present. She was limited to opening and closing statements.
Butler responded to New Times’ questions via email. New Times made numerous attempts to contact Havard, Davis, and Baker but didn’t receive responses before publication.
Housing and the infrastructure needed to support new residents are emerging as priorities among the candidates who spoke with New Times or participated in the forum.
Butler, who has lived in San Miguel since 2003, owns J.B. Drafting & Design, a Paso Robles-based design and drafting business. He pointed to his experience working with clients and planning and building departments as relevant.
“I believe housing growth is critical, and infrastructure must always be planned accordingly,” Butler told New Times. “Water and wastewater capacity are essential to expansion, and planning for the future is a key requirement.”
Butler said the district should weigh up-front construction costs against potential long-term savings as it undertakes wastewater improvements, including efforts to connect properties to the sewer system.
Smiley and McClure also supported additional housing during the candidate forum.
Smiley said more development would add ratepayers to help support district infrastructure, while McClure said growth should occur gradually.
“I don’t want to see the town overgrown overnight,” McClure said.
Downtown San Miguel is another concern.
Smiley said the CSD needs to support infrastructure improvements that could facilitate development along Mission Street.
“Has anybody noticed the dust bowl on the other side of the road downtown?” he asked. “That needs to be changed.”
McClure, a San Miguel resident of 30 years who has served on the San Miguel Advisory Council for 14 years, also wants to see vacant portions of Mission Street developed.
Martines told New Times that improving downtown infrastructure would help the community capitalize on its location near Highway 101, Paso Robles, and the mission.
“San Miguel has such an opportunity,” she said. “I would just love to see some little bit more infrastructure and things like that come together for the downtown core so that we could build that up.”
Other emerging discussions in the race include how board members work together and whether San Miguel should continue managing its own services.
The CSD provides water, wastewater, fire protection, street lighting, landscaping, and solid waste services to the community.
In 2025, the CSD considered dissolving the district and transferring its services to the county. Board members discussed the proposal twice but took no action.
Smiley opposed dissolution.
“I don’t believe the public wants to do away with our district,” he said during a July 2025 meeting.
At the candidate forum, he again emphasized keeping San Miguel’s services under local control and pointed to his votes supporting grants and improvements.
McClure also supports maintaining the CSD but said conflict among board members previously made him hesitant to seek a board seat.
“One of the things that shied me away was the chaos that went on in these meetings,” he said during the forum.
In an email interview with New Times, Butler identified the relationship among board members—and between the district and its residents—as a key issue.
“The most pressing issue I see is division, both within the current board and between the board and the community,” Butler said.
He attributed that divide partly to what he described as a “lack of professionalism” and difficulty communicating technical district matters to residents.
Smiley has been involved in some of the board’s recent conflict.
In 2025, then board member Green and board President Ashley Sangster filed complaints accusing Smiley of disrespectful and disruptive behavior. Smiley denied the allegations and threatened legal action if the district proceeded with a censure.
Green and Sangster withdrew their complaints, citing concerns about potential litigation costs and plans to revise the board’s conduct policy.
The separate race for the vacant two-year seat gives Martines another opportunity to return to CSD leadership after board members declined to appoint her earlier this year.
Martines—who previously served under the last name Gregory—joined the CSD board in 2019 serving a partial term, then was elected in 2020 and served through 2024.
She was among four candidates interviewed in January and again in February to replace Green and received nine letters of community support and one letter of opposition at the time. Board members failed to agree on Martines or another applicant.
Martines said she decided to run because of unfinished district projects.
“I have quite a bit of experience, knowledge, and just feel like I’m an obvious choice to help out with all the needs that are there at the CSD,” she said.
Her priorities include completing wastewater improvements, addressing low water pressure in the San Luis Terrace area, and supporting Fire Department grants.
Martines’ attempt to fill the vacant seat earlier this year also drew scrutiny from Sangster and Davis over her involvement in a groundwater lawsuit.
Martines was one of more than 600 North County property owners involved in litigation against public works agencies, including the San Miguel CSD, over groundwater rights in the Paso Robles Groundwater Basin. The litigation was resolved as of Sept. 24.
Martines told New Times that her involvement poses no conflict of interest. She said she recused herself from discussions involving the litigation while previously serving on the board.
“The [lawsuit] is just about myself as a property owner maintaining my water rights that are on my property,” she said. “It has nothing to do with the CSD water whatsoever.” ∆
Reach Staff Writer Chloë Hodge at chodge@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Oct 8-15, 2026.
