10 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY APRIL 23-29, 2026 www.montereycountynow.com NEWS The race for the 19th District congressional seat, held since 2017 by Rep. Jimmy Panetta, is a packed one. Six candidates—two Democrats, two Republicans, a Libertarian and two with no party affiliation—are competing against the incumbent. Most agree that the number-one issue in the district and beyond is the affordability crisis, including Libertarian candidate Lars Mapstead of Aptos, who says he is running to be a U.S. representative because “people in this district need more choices and better representation.” Mapstead was born in Carmel and raised in Big Sur, where he says he grew up in a goat barn with no electricity. “I’ve waited tables, built businesses, created jobs and solved real problems,” Mapstead says. “I was also a Libertarian presidential candidate in 2024. I’m not a career politician, and I’m taking zero donations because I don’t want to be bought by lobbyists or special interests.” Santa Cruz County resident and Republican candidate Peter Verbica says he is running because “our district deserves practical, results-oriented leadership focused on affordability, economic opportunity and restoring trust in our institutions.” Verbica is a certified financial manager and author of Hard Won Cowboy Wisdom. “My approach is to reduce unnecessary cost drivers by reevaluating these policies, eliminating mandates that do not produce meaningful results, and focusing on practical solutions that balance environmental stewardship with economic reality,” Verbica says. “Lowering energy costs, encouraging investment, and removing barriers to growth will help restore affordability withRace for the 19th Seven candidates vie for Congress, including incumbent Jimmy Panetta. By Aric Sleeper With a short window to tackle a high-stakes problem—water—things are getting serious, fast. Members of the Salinas Valley Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency’s (SVBGSA) advisory committee met on Thursday, April 16 to talk about potential solutions, and the consequences if deadlines are missed. The goal, under California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, is to develop projects and management actions to bring basins to sustainability by 2040 or 2042. If local groundwater sustainability agencies cannot come up with effective solutions, control could shift to the State Water Resources Control Board, which has the authority to impose pumping restrictions. That could result in fallowing farmland, impacting the county’s top economic driver. “We are asking you to develop a recommendation to the board,” SVBGSA Executive Director Piret Harmon told committee members. She said potential projects would need to be finalized by early fall. “We need a suite, a portfolio of projects. Not any single one, because it doesn’t get us there. It really comes together to be the most optimal.” The timeline came as a surprise. “That was a yikes,” Committee Chair Curtis Weeks said. The 180/400-foot aquifer, underlying areas from Castroville to Gonzales, was deemed critically overdrafted by the state in 2014 due to decades of overpumping, and is at risk of being contaminated by seawater intrusion. In 2022, the state Department of Water Resources determined that the plans submitted by SVBGSA for this critically overdrafted basin were incomplete, requiring stronger evidence to show how sustainability would be achieved. In December, the state asked for more refinement to the plan for this basin; local agencies have until April 30 to respond, showing how their groundwater plans relating to seawater intrusion in the 180/400 subbasin will actually work. For the whole region, several projects are on the table, and will continue to be discussed at the next advisory committee meeting on Wednesday, April 29. The largest is a brackish groundwater restoration project, which would extract salty groundwater before it spreads inland, then treat it before delivering that treated water back to farms or back into the aquifer. That project—the highest-cost option—is estimated to cost around $1 billion. One feasibility study discussed at the April 16 meeting was for aquifer storage and recovery, which would involve capturing excess surface water from the Salinas River and diverting that water to be stored in the aquifer for later use. The estimated capital cost would be $278 million-$383 million. Another concept includes upgrading the existing Castroville Seawater Intrusion Project to reduce groundwater pumping. That project would cost an estimated $60 million. Weeks stressed the need to come together to find a solution and maintain local control. “There’s no way today to know who is going to face these cuts,” he said. “ And there’s no way to say that [the state] won’t go into certain areas. We don’t want to have the fight, so let’s figure it out.” Projections of seawater intrusion into the 180-foot aquifer by 2040 under a “no project” scenario show a worsening problem extending further from the coast. Water Flow The clock is ticking on water projects to bring local groundwater basins into compliance. By Katie Rodriguez U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Carmel Valley, is facing six challengers in the June 2 primary as he seeks a fifth term. In the current term, he has hosted 26 town hall meetings (mostly by phone). “We don’t want to have the fight, so let’s figure it out.” SALINAS VALLEY BASIN GROUNDWATER SUSTAINABILITY AGENCY DANIEL DREIFUSS RACE continued on pg. 12
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