Though Election Day is still about four months away, local campaigns are expected to gear up in the coming weeks as the nominating period for more than 100 seats on school boards, special district boards and city councils opens next month.

Including the offices that had primary elections in June, Santa Barbara County elections officials are dealing with at least 146 seats on the Nov. 4 ballot in addition to one county tax measure - Measure A. Additionally, 11 statewide propositions have already qualified.

Although there is a high number of total seats, depending on where voters are registered will dictate how many contests they will weigh in on.

“This is normal for a regular November general election,” said Santa Barbara County Clerk-Recorder-Assessor, of the high number of races. “What you are seeing is all the cities in the county, with the exception of Santa Barbara, have council races. Then, all of the school district and special districts also have contests in the November general election.”

He noted that cities and districts used to hold elections in odd numbered years, which lightened the load, but as districts moved to even years, it became more expensive for cities to hold elections by themselves.

In the North County cities:

n Santa Maria has two council seats held by Bob Orach and Leo Trujillo and the mayor's seat held by Larry Lavagnino on the ballot. All three incumbents said they will seek re-election.

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n Lompoc has two council seats held by Dewayne Holmdahl and Will Schuyler and the mayor's seat held by Dick DeWees on the ballot. All three incumbents said they plan to seek re-election.

n Guadalupe has two council seats held by Virginia Ponce and Ariston Julian and the mayor's seat held by Lupe Alvarez on the ballot. Alvarez said he will seek re-election, and Ponce and Julian could not be reached for comment.

n Solvang has two council seats held by Ken Palmer and Eugene Boyle on the ballot and for the first time voters will be selecting the city's mayor. Boyle said he does not plan to run for re-election and Palmer could not be reached for comment.

n Buellton has two council seats held by Dale Molesworth and Diane Whitehair on the ballot. Whitehair could not be reached for comment and Molesworth in undecided on whether he will run again.

Anyone interested in running for a City Council seat should contact the city clerk's office in the appropriate city.

The nominating period for the local seats, including councils, is open July 14 to Aug. 8. However, if an incumbent decides not to run the nominating period in that race will be extended to Aug. 13.

In the case of special districts if the number of seats available equals the number of candidates, then the county board of supervisors can appoint candidates to the position eliminating the need for an election for those seats.

To run for office, candidates must be registered voters within the appropriate jurisdiction and collect signatures of registered voters within the jurisdiction.

Various seats on school boards and special districts are also on the ballot; for example, there are three seats on the Santa Maria Public Airport District, three seats on the Santa Maria-Bonita School District and three seats on the Lompoc Unified School District.

Also on the ballot are the runoff elections for Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge between John MacKinnon and Jed Beebe and 3rd District Supervisor between Steve Pappas and Doreen Farr. Congressional seats and state Legislature seats also are on the ballot.

The last day to register to vote is Oct. 20.

For more information about the Nov. 4 election and a candidates' guide contact an elections division office: in Santa Maria at 511 E. Lakeside Parkway, Suite 134, or call 346-8374; in Lompoc at 401 E. Cypress Ave., Room 102, or 737-7704; in Santa Barbara, 130 E. Victoria St., second floor, or 568-2202.

Malia Spencer can be reached at 739-2219 or mspencer@santamariatimes.com. Staff writers Julian Ramos, Glenn Wallace and Amanda Brooks contributed to this report.

July 1, 2008