Felton • Age: 41 • Occupation: Nonprofit CEO
What are the top issues for the 5th district?
In the 5th District, disaster recovery is arguably the most important issue. The Santa Cruz Mountains have been hit hard over the last three years between the pandemic, CZU Lightning Complex Fire, and the 2022-2023 winter storms. 911 homes were lost in the fire, and less than 10% have been rebuilt, which is unacceptable.
Streamlining the rebuilding process is a priority of mine, and I will take actions to address this, including implementing third-party plan checks and ensuring there is no waitlist for submitting permits. I will champion creating a coordinated approach to disaster response and partnering with public and private agencies to ensure residents have the resources they need when disaster strikes.
Infrastructure is another very important issue, as much of it is aging. We need to invest in projects that will have a lasting impact to ensure residents have reliable roads, water, and connectivity.
I want to ensure that no part of the county is left behind, including the 5th District. Expanding reliable broadband and cellular access for residents and small businesses is a priority in our rural community, as well as ensuring it is available during emergencies. We need to coordinate with public and private partners to expand safe routes to schools, pedestrian access, and sustainable, affordable transit options.
It’s a priority of mine to ensure our residents have access to clean, reliable water, and it’s unacceptable some are struggling with this, like customers of the Big Basin Water Co. As County Supervisor, I will help facilitate a solution, such as helping Big Basin Water become a public entity so it can leverage federal and state relief dollars, and I will be an active participant in that process.
The county needs to provide SLVWD with special assistance in developing collaborative arrangements with Santa Cruz and Scotts Valley water districts and assisting in developing additional revenue streams.
Affordable housing is incredibly important so our community is representative of all people, not just those who can afford to live here. In the 5th District, our housing stock has been impacted by recent disasters, so we need to focus on preserving our existing housing stock by ensuring damaged homes can be repaired or rebuilt as quickly as possible.
We also need to invest in a sustainable housing ecosystem that prioritizes housing affordability and workforce and transit-oriented housing. It’s critical to balance the rights and responsibilities of both landlords and tenants, ensuring rental housing markets are fair, stable, and supportive of the well-being of all parties involved, while also ensuring we can increase the rate of building new infill, multi-family housing.
Social Justice: I have experienced firsthand what it feels like to be discriminated against, and to not have a voice; because of this, I have dedicated my career to speaking up for and acting on behalf of others who do not have a voice, and I will continue to do so as a member of the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors. Representation is incredibly important to me — it’s a pillar of my campaign — and I know diverse representation in leadership and government positions can lead to more equitable policies and decisions. I will champion diversity and inclusion initiatives to ensure county government is an accurate representation of the population.
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 prioritize the development of housing near job centers, create walkable neighborhoods, and establish affordable transit options accessible to people of all income levels. This includes constructing low-income housing, workforce housing, farmworker housing and market-rate housing.
However, this must be done in the right way; much of the 5th District is rural and mountainous, and not appropriate for building dense, multi-family housing, but there are certain places in the district that are more urban, and those areas could be considered for increasing infill density. It’s imperative to support rebuilding after disasters like the CZU fire, winter flooding, and other climate-related events. In the 5th District, our housing stock has been significantly affected, emphasizing the need to preserve existing homes by facilitating quick repairs or reconstruction.
I am open to exploring various avenues to subsidize affordable housing, such as direct budget allocations, forming public-private partnerships, pursuing state and federal grants, implementing tax increases on the wealthiest members of our community, issuing bonds, and making suitable government-owned land available for affordable housing projects. It’s essential to consider all options to ensure everyone in our community has access to safe and affordable housing.
I strongly support compassionate solutions to homelessness, including addressing the root causes of homelessness and providing support, services, and housing to help individuals and families find stable, long-term housing. These solutions require a multi-faceted, holistic approach that takes into account the individual circumstances of homeless individuals and families. I strongly believe in the Housing First approach to homelessness, which provides stable, permanent housing to homeless individuals without preconditions like sobriety or participation in treatment programs.
Housing First recognizes that having a safe and stable place to live is a fundamental human need and a crucial first step in addressing other issues that contribute to homelessness. Other solutions include increasing the availability of affordable housing, as well as supportive housing, which combines affordable housing with services such as mental and physical health care, substance abuse treatment, and job training.
Prevention is also important, including providing emergency financial assistance, help finding housing, legal aid, and other services that help people avoid being homeless. Finally, public education and awareness can help reduce the stigma associated with homelessness and build community support for compassionate solutions.
Regarding traffic, I support alternative transportation methods to reduce our dependence on cars. Public transit plays a critical role in reducing traffic congestion, cutting emissions, and providing accessible transportation options for our community. Sustainable transportation and responsible land use planning are essential elements of addressing congestion and environmental concerns. I will prioritize solutions that align with our goal of promoting sustainable transportation options. This includes ensuring new developments are well-connected to public transit and encouraging alternatives to single-occupancy vehicle use.
I am committed to actively working with our state and federal partners to explore additional funding sources for public transit options, such as Santa Cruz Metro, including ParaCruz, and the Rail and Trail. This may include pursuing grants, advocating for increased funding allocations, and seeking innovative funding mechanisms to support and improve our public transit system. Investing in our public transit system and making it more accessible to all is a win-win proposition. It’s an essential step toward building a more sustainable and inclusive transportation infrastructure.
Can you talk about your housing situation? Homeowner or renter? How does that help you relate to 5th District constituents?
When I first moved to Santa Cruz County in 2010, I was a renter, and then I became a first-time homebuyer in 2014. As a former renter, I deeply empathize with the concerns of renters and I support many common-sense tenant protections, including anti-discrimination laws, just cause eviction, protection from retaliation, protection for tenants who are victims of domestic violence. I recognize the difficulty of purchasing a home in Santa Cruz County, and I want to do everything I can to both support renters and make it easier to purchase a home.
As a homeowner, I also understand the challenges that home ownership brings, including dealing with the county planning department and the fear of losing homeowners’ insurance. I strongly support a reform of the county planning department to remove red tape, accelerate the permitting process, and ease the burden on homeowners.
While the homeowners’ insurance crisis will not be solved at the local government level, I am committed to advocating to our state and federal government representatives to demand action from them.
Can you describe your family situation? Married/single? Children/pets?
I am the parent of two children who attend SLV Elementary School. We have a goldendoodle named Hank and a cat named Mr. Bojangles.
Your favorite spot in the 5th district?
I love Henry Cowell State Park and I take pride in my ability to navigate from the San Lorenzo Valley to Scotts Valley and Santa Cruz via hiking trail.
You spend your free time doing what?
I’m a mom of two active and busy children, so most of my “free” time revolves around kids sports and school activities. However, I also love spending time outdoors, playing recreational softball and seeing live music.
How long have you lived in Santa Cruz County? What brought you here?
I have lived in Santa Cruz County since 2010.
I moved to Santa Cruz County when I accepted the job of executive director of the Homeless Services Center (now Housing Matters).
What prompted you to run?
I’m running for 5th District supervisor because I’ve lived through the challenges of the last few years: the pandemic, CZU fire, winter storms.
The 5th District is where I’m raising my children, and I want them to grow up in a thriving, resilient community. It’s where I’ve witnessed county government fall short in helping to rebuild lost homes, and the failing of basic infrastructure like roads, power, broadband, and water. I want to change that.
I’ve spent my career in public service, and have firsthand experience using public funding to improve lives. For the last decade, I’ve served as CEO of Encompass Community Services, the largest health and human services nonprofit in Santa Cruz County, providing essential behavioral health, childhood development, and housing services.
I understand the county government’s strengths and weaknesses in meeting community needs.
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
While it is concerning to me that the Department of Housing and Community Development has made errors and inaccurate assessments, I still believe we need to build more housing in some parts of Santa Cruz County.
It is critical to prioritize transit-oriented development, workforce housing, and farmworker housing, not just to increase our housing stock, which will make housing more affordable, but also to decrease dependency on cars, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and support economic development.
I will also advocate to our state elected officials to encourage the Department of Housing and Community Development to correct their assessment process, as it’s critical that they are providing counties with accurate information.
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?
While I do not support uncontrolled growth, I believe we can carefully add housing in certain parts of the district, including rebuilding homes lost in the CZU Fire and winter storms. To do this successfully, the County needs to invest in projects that will have a lasting impact on our aging infrastructure, and ensure the 5th District receives its fair allocation of County resources, which is not currently happening.
Our roads and electricity are fixed more slowly than other parts of the county; we need a stronger voice to fight for the 5th District and demand we are not left behind.
We also need to lobby our state representatives to hold PG&E accountable for their high prices and unreliability, and at the County level, we need to ensure they are improving their fire safety around poles and wires. The County also needs to invest in the expansion of reliable broadband and cellular access for rural residents and small businesses.
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?
This is a tragic crisis in our community, and one on which the County must take further action. Encompass Community Services is the largest provider of substance use treatment services in Santa Cruz County.
In my role as CEO, as well as a board member of the Santa Cruz County Health Improvement Partnership, I have participated in SafeRx efforts, which is a coalition of government, social service, and healthcare organizations that works towards a healthy, thriving, safe, equitable Santa Cruz County through prevention, increased treatment access, and evidence-based, harm reduction practices, to improve community well-being and save lives.
I support initiatives such as increasing the availability of Naloxone, or Narcan, which reverses the effects of an opioid overdose, and I have participated in Narcan distributions in the past. I also strongly support increased access to substance abuse treatment programs, including integrated services that address mental health issues as well.
I also support the County partnering with community organizations, schools, and healthcare providers to enhance education and outreach efforts around the risks of drug overdose and the availability of prevention and treatment options.
The County and its partners also need to ensure prevention programs are tailored to addressing the needs of specific high-risk populations, such as those with a history of substance use disorders or history of incarceration, as well as homeless individuals.