The San Miguel Community Services District is preparing to appoint a new board member following the death of Vice President John Green in late November, creating a vacancy on the five-member board.
Green served on the board from December 2024 until his passing. Under the district’s annual reorganization process, the board selected its officers for 2026 last month, reelecting board member Ashley Sangster as president and appointing board member Brendin Beatty as vice president, according to District Manager Kelly Dodds.
“The board will be interviewing interested persons on [Jan. 22], hopefully appointing someone at that meeting to fill the vacancy through the end of 2026,” Dodds told New Times in an email.
Green’s passing leaves one open seat on the board.
“The open seat will be added to the other seats that expire at the end of 2026 in the general election later this year to be filled for the remaining two years of that term,” Dodds explained.
He said multiple residents have submitted letters of interest, though the district has not yet made those materials public.
“We are still working on verifying that those who provided a letter of interest are eligible to be appointed to the board,” Dodds said. “The letters from the eligible persons will be included in the board packet for the board and public to review.”
The forthcoming appointment follows a year marked by internal disputes and public disagreement among board members. In 2025, Sangster and Green filed formal complaints alleging that board member Rod Smiley engaged in disrespectful and disruptive conduct during board meetings.
That item was later withdrawn after Smiley threatened legal action against the district and individual board members. District staff warned that defending a lawsuit could cost the district more than $100,000.
During a September 2025 meeting, Sangster and Green formally withdrew their complaints, citing concerns over potential litigation costs and an intention to revisit the board’s conduct policy. The meeting included extended public comment and procedural interruptions, reflecting ongoing tensions between board members.
Disagreement over the future of the CSD has also continued. On multiple occasions in 2025, the board discussed whether to explore dissolving the district and transferring its services to San Luis Obispo County. Green and board member Owen Davis supported reopening the discussion, while Smiley opposed the idea, arguing that residents didn’t want the district dissolved.
The proposal stemmed from letters submitted by resident Gregory Campbell, a founder of the CSD in 2000, who argued that changes in the district’s finances warranted reconsideration. The board ultimately took no action.
New Times contacted Sangster, Davis, and Smiley for comment but didn’t receive responses before publication. ∆
This article appears in Jan 15-22, 2026.