Food Share Executive Director and CEO Bonnie Weigel has announced her candidacy for Ventura County’s 1st District Supervisor race.

Weigel, who is well-connected in agricultural circles, will challenge incumbent Steve Bennett, who won re-election in 2012 after weighing a bid for the Congressional seat now held by Thousand Oaks Democrat Julia Brownley. The 1st District includes Ventura, Ojai and parts of north Oxnard.

Weigel announced her campaign early in the morning of Feb. 25 via email and was expected to make a formal announcement during a press conference at the Ventura County Government Center.

Bennett is a former Ventura City Council member who won his first District 1 race in 2000. He was the author of the county’s SOAR initiative, which sharply restricted development of agricultural land in the county. Weigel has built Oxnard-based Food Share into a powerful philanthropic organization.