Boulder Creek • Age: 44 • Occupation: IT administrator, owns Dream Home Images, drone pilot
What are the top issues for the 5th district?
The district faces a comprehensive list of challenges.
In connecting with people across the district most folks are concerned about infrastructure, fire and disaster preparedness, fire recovery, transparency of the government, housing affordability and cost of living.
What thoughts do you have on boosting affordable housing, finding real solutions for homelessness and the daily traffic jams on Highway 1?
We need to be extremely aggressive in our approach to housing, as 20 years of no-build culture in the County have left us with far less housing than we need to support our population.
Traffic jams and housing are intrinsically interlinked, when people can’t afford to live where they work, they have to commute from more affordable places. We experienced this every day on Highway 1. Because our towns are so expensive to live in, including Santa Cruz, Scotts Valley, etc, people have to drive in from far away where they can afford to live to work.
If we start to solve the housing problem, we start to solve a lot of our traffic issues.
Can you talk about your housing situation? Homeowner or renter? How does that help you relate to 5th District constituents?
I am a homeowner and CZU Fire survivor. We finally finished our rebuild and moved back home right before Thanksgiving.
My family of seven was homeless for two-and-a-half months, found a rental but then it was put on the market and we couldn’t find anything else because the rental market was so horrible we were forced to either leave the area or live in yurts while we rebuilt.
We ended up living in tents for 2.5 years. I have lived every single living situation you can imagine and have a personal understanding of what it means to be a homeowner, to be unhoused, have housing insecurity and living in abnormal living conditions.
Our area is filled with both homeowners and renters, and we need to have a supervisor who respects and understands the challenges of everyone.
Can you describe your family situation? Married/single? Children/pets?
I am very happily married to my wife Antonia with six children and three dogs. We are a blended family. Our oldest son Kalo is 20 and away at the Navy.
We have three 16-year-olds at home (yes three) our son Diego, our daughter Sophia and our niece Graciela. They are at San LorenzoValley High School. Our twins Coco and Kieran are 10 years old and attend Boulder Creek Elementary.
Our three dogs are Felix, Jack and Chula.
Your favorite spot in the 5th district?
Well, that would definitely be my home in Boulder Creek. Our property is beautiful, and in the morning times it can look like a movie set.
We have purple pink skies, roiling clouds, and fog banks peering through our tall redwoods.
You spend your free time doing what?
I am a first-degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, so training is a priority in my free time beyond spending time with my family, cooking and studying.
How long have you lived in Santa Cruz County? What brought you here?
I have been here for eight years. It was meeting my wife and us blending our homes that brought me.
What prompted you to run?
After losing my home to the fire, I watched as the government worked against those who lost everything.
My family had to fight so hard to rebuild our home, and we are one of the lucky few. Our district needs a supervisor that is engaged and deeply connected to this community if we are going to get the representation that we deserve.
I didn’t see that anyone was stepping up and I decided to throw my hat into the ring.
Will you push back against the state demands for more housing, as the state auditor says those numbers were based on unsupported assumptions? See https://www.auditor.ca.gov/pdfs/reports/2021-125.pdf
I will not, because I’m not sure even they are doing enough.
Well, I wouldn’t push back on the number of houses that need to be built, I will push back on the ideas that there’s a one-size-fits-all solution to housing in our county.
We have to find the right kind of housing for the neighborhoods involved, and make sure communities are allowed to craft a character of their environment while also supporting the needs their neighbors have for safe and affordable housing.
People in this district feel we are running out of room for new residents. Not enough water, not enough electricity — PG&E brownouts — and potholes instead of well-maintained roads. What do you say?
We aren’t running out of room for people, we’re suffering from the effects of poor infrastructure and lack of investment.
Our tax base being further thinned by the inability of many victims of natural disasters to rebuild, specifically the people trying to recover from the CZU fires and the disastrous response from the County after.
I say we need investment in infrastructure, including water catchment and other natural resources related initiatives, and we need to rebuild homes that were lost and further create opportunities to build ADUs and other housing in our neighborhoods.
We can expand our tax base, create affordable housing for ourselves and our neighbors, and make our district a better home for everyone involved to live in and thrive in.
In the first 10 months of 2023, Santa Cruz County Coroner Stephany Fiore tallied 115 accidental fatal drug overdoses. County health officials want to be more proactive. What more could be done?
The best thing we can do here is education. We have to make sure people are making informed decisions, and understand the risks they are taking in the current environment when it comes to substances.
With the proliferation of fentanyl, it’s cheapness, and the ease with which people selling illicit substances can use it to increase their profits, we got to make sure folks including young people in our schools know the risks they are taking and how to keep themselves safe.
