Does SLO County candidate Jim Dantona stand with or against big oil?

May 18, 2026

By KAREN VELIE

While many coastal residents are opposed to having hundreds of acres of windmills off the coast of Morro Bay, San Luis Obispo County supervisor candidate Jim Dantona argues wind energy is a non-issue while “big oil” is the bigger threat.

“I’ll fight to protect our coastline from their efforts to dismantle marine sanctuaries, reverse course in fighting climate change, and their efforts to restart offshore oil drilling,” according to Dantona’s campaign website. “I firmly believe that the use of fossil fuels has created a climate crisis. The world is electrifying in response, especially here in California.”

At the same time, Dantona is invested in an oil company and involved with a group that opposes tightening regulations on offshore oil drilling.

In his statement of economic interest, Dantona lists four companies he is currently invested in, including Mach Natural Resources – an “oil and gas company focused on the acquisition, development and production of oil and natural gas.”

“Contrary to prevalent Green initiatives, we believe the use of energy in the form of hydrocarbons is vital to supporting contemporary life and accelerating global development,” according to Mach Natural Resource’s website. “Extensive data often proves that Green methods require greater demand on limited resources yet make a marginal impact.”

For more than four years, Dantona has held senior leadership positions in a regional advocacy organization that actively opposed major environmental and climate legislation in Sacramento. Dantona served as vice chair of the Tri-County Chamber Alliance (TCCA) from 2020 through 2022, as chair in 2023, and as chief financial officer in 2025, according to state records.

In its 2005 legislative platform, TCAA opposed multiple bills aimed at addressing climate change and environmental accountability, including AB 1448 – which would regulate oil and gas development, AB 1243 and SB 684 – both of which would create a climate superfund, SB 222 – which would allow civil legal actions related to climate disaster damages, and AB 303 – which would establish regulations for battery energy storage facilities.

Dantona did not return requests to comment on his affiliations with the oil industry.

As CEO for the SLO Chamber of Commerce, Dantona was a strong supporter of offshore wind energy, battery storage and industrialization. His opponent, Michael Erin Woody, is against wind energy farms off the coast of Morro Bay and industrialization of SLO County ports.

While Dantona contends plans for offshore wind energy are all but over, he has argued that the county needs to focus on stopping offshore oil drilling.

However, in 1986, the voters of SLO County passed Measure A, which prohibits the development of onshore infrastructure to support offshore oil wells. Because of Measure A, there are no oil platforms off the coast of SLO County.

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