Watch: Who should replace Bruce Gibson? Join our D-2 supervisors forum before you decide
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The Tribune Editorial Board will host a second virtual candidate forum for the June 2, 2026, primary election at 5 p.m. on March 4.
A forum for South County supervisor candidates was held last month. Now it’s time to hear from the candidates running to represent the North Coast.
For the first time in the campaign, the two candidates for the District 2 seat — Jim Dantona and Michael Erin Woody — will appear together to take questions from voters.
The forum will be livestreamed on The Tribune website, Facebook and YouTube and will be available to view online after the event.
This is an important election for the North Coast. The retirement of Supervisor Bruce Gibson means District 2 residents will have a new supervisor for the first time in 20 years. And since only two candidates are running, the race will be decided in June.
Neither Dantona nor Woody has held a local elected office, but both have been involved in politics for years and are well known in the county.
Dantona is currently chief of staff for Gibson, after serving several years as chief executive officer of the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce.
Woody is a licensed civil engineer and is familiar to local talk radio listeners as a frequent guest and host on KVEC and KPRL.
Dantona is a Democrat, while Woody is a former Republican who left the party during Donald Trump’s first term and is running as an independent.
Both candidates have extensive experience in big-city politics.
Woody graduated from Fresno State with a degree in civil engineering and earned a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard.
He was elected to the Fresno City Council at age 26 and later ran for Congress but failed to make the run-off.
A member of the Salinan Tribe of San Luis Obispo and Monterey Counties, Woody has represented his tribal community as a liaison to several federal, state and local agencies. He traces his roots to the Toro Creek Indian settlement in SLO County.
Dantona was born and raised in Southern California, where he gained extensive experience in politics, including nearly a decade of service on the Simi Valley Planning Commission. He also was chief of staff for four members of the Los Angeles City Council.
He has a degree in government systems from Sacramento State.
The forum will follow the same format as the District 4 event that brought together incumbent Jimmy Paulding and challenger Adam Verdin. (Watch it here.)
Once again, we are inviting voters to ask questions in advance by submitting the form found below. Questions also can be submitted during the event.
Preregistration is strongly advised. Click here to reserve a spot and sign up for reminders.
This story was originally published February 22, 2026 at 5:00 AM.