What are the top issues for the 2nd district?
The top issues I see in the 2nd District, and throughout the County, are housing, transportation, and climate change.
These are interrelated issues that we need to address comprehensively.
Being the most expensive housing market in the Country is driving more people away from our area, causing more people to commute further to get to where they need to work and play, and leading to increased greenhouse gas emissions. These issues are impacting the quality of life in our otherwise ideal community
What thoughts do you have on boosting affordable housing, finding real solutions for homelessness and the daily traffic jams on highway 1?
I am interested in focusing on increased affordable housing production, preservation of current affordable housing stock, safeguarding rental assistance, and other housing protections, investing in our transportation and transit systems, and mitigating the impacts of climate change that impact all areas of our region, from the coast to the mountains.
I have already been engaged in this work for several years in my roles as Vice Chair of both the Regional Transportation Commission and Metro Transit District, former President of the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments during our Regional Housing Needs Allocation process, and active member of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Foundation Advisory Committee.
Can you talk about your housing situation? Homeowner or renter? How does that help you relate to 2nd District constituents?
I am a renter in Capitola Village. In the last 7 years that I have been on Capitola City Council, I have had to move twice. Both times, I felt the concern that comes with wondering if you will be able to find housing within your price range, especially since I had to find a place within the small footprint of Capitola city limits in order to stay on City Council.
I have seen my parents, my sister and her family, and several friends, relatives, and neighbors move hours away in order to find a more affordable housing market. I want to work towards advancing solutions that allow our locals to remain local.
Can you describe your family situation? Married/single? Children/pets?
I have been married to my husband, Nick Brown, for a year and a half. We have a deaf Jack Russell terrier named Fender and a grey tabby cat named Wally.
Your favorite spot in the 2nd district?
It’s a tie between Nisene Marks and the Capitola Wharf. Both provide opportunities for reflection, recreation, and reminders of how fortunate we are to live in this County.
My husband and I like to take our dog to Nisene Marks to explore the trails and take in the therapeutic nature of the forest.
Before Capitola Wharf shut down for repairs following the January 2023 storms, we used to walk down to the Wharf early on weekend mornings, order a breakfast burrito from the Wharf House Restaurant, and spend a few hours fishing off the wharf.
I never catch anything bigger than an anchovy — but I love witnessing the marine life and looking out over the coastline as it curves from Capitola village all the way around the bay to Monterey.
I find so much joy and peace in both of these places.
How long have you lived in Santa Cruz County?
My family has been in Santa Cruz County for 4 generations, though my parents moved us to Tracy for 8 years during my childhood before moving back to Capitola when I was 16.
I’ve personally been back living in the county for the past 21 years now. During the 8 years we lived in Tracy, we returned to Capitola every weekend because my mom and grandma played music in venues around the county.
My mom would pick my sister and I up from school on Friday, drive us down to Capitola, play a gig with my grandma on Friday and/or Saturday night, and then drive us back home on Sunday.
What brought you here?
My parents eventually moved the family back to Capitola after 8 years in Tracy because they missed their hometown.
What prompted you to run?
I care deeply about this community and have a passion for finding public policy solutions to some of our toughest challenges in order to improve our overall quality of life.
I have extensive experience in this work, and I love doing it.
Will you push back against the state demands for more housing, as the state auditor says those numbers were based on unsupported assumptions? See www.auditor.ca.gov/pdfs/reports/2021-125.pdf
In 2022, I was president of the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments (AMBAG), the agency tasked with managing our regional housing needs allocation.
At that time, the AMBAG board was responsible for developing the methodology for allocation of housing needs to the region’s jurisdictions.
There were robust conversations both in the AMBAG meetings, and among myself and planning staff at AMBAG, about concerns over the requirements that were being handed down by HCD.
However, to refuse to update the housing element, or ‘push back’ in any way that does not comply with State law only puts us at risk of losing even more local control.
When a jurisdiction is found to not have a compliant Housing Element, they risk being subject to what’s known as the “Builders Remedy,” which essentially allows for developers to propose projects that do not comply with any zoning codes or general plans.
Telling the state that we will not comply with our requirement to update our Housing Elements and plan for the number of units they assigned us because the auditor’s report showed flaws in their assumptions will not protect us from the Builder’s Remedy.
For this reason, I would rather spend the coming years working with our State elected officials to ensure that HCD is using sound assumptions and verifiable data in the next Regional Housing Needs Assessment cycle rather than defying the State and putting us at risk of losing the local control we currently have.
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?
These are reasonable concerns about the resources required to support a growing population. Some issues — like those around clean water and electricity capacity — are already starting to be addressed.
Soquel Creek Water District’s Pure Water Soquel project provides advanced treatment to wastewater that is then used to replenish the groundwater basin and prevent saltwater contamination into our drinking water, allowing for a drought-proof water supply.
As we move into the future, we will likely need to consider additional innovative methods of water conversation and supply sustainability.
In terms of electricity, Santa Cruz County, along with all of the cities within the County, are part of Central Coast Community Energy (3CE), a community-owned energy nonprofit that is on a path to sourcing 100% clean renewable energy by 2030.
However, 2CE energy is still transmitted through PG&E infrastructure, which continues to face challenges with reliability. Recent state legislation is looking to address this issue, though continued partnership with our state elected officials will be necessary to advocate for the ongoing energy needs in our community.
Road repair is also an ongoing issue in the county, since there is only approximately $200 million in unrestricted funds out of a $1.1 billion budget to use for things like repair of the more than 600 miles of roadway in the unincorporated county.
Moving into the future, it will be important to identify additional funding mechanisms in order to expedite road repairs and prevent the bad roads from becoming even worse.
In this district, legal cannabis entrepreneurs have been restricted, and the industry has found other counties more welcoming, bring them more sales tax revenue.
What’s your position on legal cannabis businesses, growing and selling?
I support legal cannabis cultivation and distribution businesses. Within the state of California, 56% of counties and cities do not allow any type of cannabis business.
Santa Cruz County, however, has legislation in place that takes care to consider both the needs of the cannabis industry as well as the needs of the county residents.
It is important that any changes or updates to cannabis business regulations strongly consider impacts to residents, neighborhoods, and existing businesses.