Summit • Age: 62 • Occupation: High tech; school district trustee since 2010
What are the top issues for the 5th district?
Highest level that we energize everyone to vote in 2024. Identify what our ‘Common Goods’ are for the county then set priorities.
Listen and act on policy to support this stage of disaster recovery and put long-term plans in place for climate resilience (This is ‘not business as usual’).
Equitable access to basic life necessities: Water, electricity, communications, transportation. Community quality of life ‘common goods:’ Childcare, living wage, inclusive housing, healthcare equity and reproductive freedom.
What thoughts do you have on boosting affordable housing, finding real solutions for homelessness and the daily traffic jams on Highway 1?
Highway 17 is a lifeline to our county, a priority No. 1. Working with my fellow supervisors, I hope that we can agree for all future decisions we create a simple chart of priorities to remind us that 1’s are for all and fund as ‘Critical to all’ followed by 2’s etc. you get the idea.
Transparency to our community on disbursement of funds can be improved. And annually I hope the board will review what was disbursed and if it followed set priority so to have a clear view and make course corrections if needed on our future decisions.
The Board is a team, we must work together and it helps greatly to have right in front of you at every meeting the ‘Critical for All’ chart.
Measure D: Santa Cruz County voters passed Measure D back in 2016, a one-half cent sales tax that funds transportation projects for a 30-year period. Measure D funding is allocated by formula to various Countywide transportation needs including State highways, rail trail, transit, active transportation, and 30% for local road repair distributed by formula among the County and local Cities. Resurfacing of smaller neighborhood and local access roads is the current priority for use of the County’s share of Measure D funds. The current Board approved Measure D 5-Year Plan and information on current road resurfacing projects. Well, all of this is just fine when things are normal but things are not normal, this is NOT business as usual.
We are reacting to multiple severe disasters in which many residents are unsafe living and driving on our roads. This is why I am in favor of tax measures that are specific to our immediate needs.
How have other like-traffic issues been improved, are we engaging with other cities with similar jams that tried and failed then landed on a solution?
Inclusive” housing includes everyone, ‘affordable’ housing is a targeted population. To build our community for the next generations it requires we look at all populations. In addition, ‘affordable’ housing is a tax accessor category and carries requirements that may not fit our unique district. Congressman
Panetta is working on a tax credit for middle-income populations which would support our essential workers: https://panetta.house.gov/media/press-releases/panetta-carey-wyden-sullivan-introduce-legislation-improve-housing
My daily work as the chair of the Santa Clara County School Boards Association Legislative Action committee https://legacy.sccoe.org/sccsba/ with our legislators is to support passage of important laws at all levels of government.
I am NOT ‘read in’ (Closed session) to real solutions for housing which our current board is considering and if I said I was an expert on housing in our county that would be untrue. I can say that I have a multi-county perspective and visit homeless shelters to see how students live. One school is the Mountain View Whisman school district estimates 20% of their students are homeless and we all know those estimates are way off, low.
Homeless families are scared that their children will be taken away by CPS and do not report therefore miss out on county wrap-around services. I am visiting an awesome program in Morgan Hill next week called, ‘CARE’ with 12 specialists supporting 800 students to provide immediate assistance to students experiencing homelessness; it includes county resource navigation to housing, food, healthcare, clothing, transportation with statewide partners.
My multi-county experience allows me to bring new programs into our county.
Can you talk about your housing situation? Homeowner or renter? How does that help you relate to 5th District constituents?
Sure. Nineteen years living on the Summit in a single-family home located on a private single lane dead-end road. I own more of the property than the bank does, yes, I have a mortgage. And like so many others after never having a claim with my homeowner’s insurer have and am navigating the nightmare of homeowners’ insurance.
My costs have more than tripled, I now have 2 policies instead of one, and like my neighbors are hopeful Commissioner Lara will be successful making positive change. I have been completely unsuccessful in getting my Wildfire Risk Score.
Our family invested also in income property and own a condo in Rio Del Mar, Aptos. I have been inviting reporters there for interviews to highlight climate change. You cannot miss it when it looks you in the face. It has been uninhabitable for over 6 months awaiting repairs from last year’s atmospheric storms.
Having home ownership in 2 districts both in disaster recovery, I live property maintenance. Yes I can help constituents understand details on many issues for instance weep holes/screens: Check your sliding doors, windows, and where your exterior walls meet the pavement to make sure they are free of debris and water can escape.
Can you describe your family situation? Married/single? Children/pets?
Married, mother of 2 amazing itinerant young adults, 3 country dogs, our 3rd generation since buying in 2004.
Your favorite spot in the 5th district? You spend your free time doing what?
Stand-up paddle over the kelp bed in Capitola.
The little time that I have off I spend with my family, dogs and friends. As a mountain mom, free time means cooking (we are a gluten-free/nut-free home due to celiac disease and allergies) or hiking together.
How long have you lived in Santa Cruz County? What brought you here?
Since 2004 I live in unincorporated county with school boundaries in Santa Clara County. And what brought me here was schools.
What prompted you to run?
I can be more effective to help my community during this stage of disaster recovery as a County supervisor. It is the next level up of government official after serving in lower office since 2010.
Daily as a trustee on the board of education, I work with government policy, process, and procedures serving our communities. High school finance is California government, our current budget of $73 million with close to 400 staff supports 3,000 students who live in Santa Cruz and Santa Clara counties.
I come to the board of supervisors with training in our government. A new supervisor’s learning curve is steep some might say by their 3rd year they are productive if they had no prior government experience. I also bring vast experience from private industry having started out in high tech.
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
If my own research finds fact to push back, then Yes. As an official currently serving I know games of publishing misinformation, text of bills that often drastically change overtime and to check and recheck and even call to talk to critically involved parties before I offer an opinion.
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?
Yes I’m worried. I want to see strategic long-term plans, with metrics, and monitors of metrics, and bi-annual updates so that we are informed to make decisions.
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?
Campaign for education on addiction of these new drugs. I can share many stories with you.
Bottom line: Drug dealers are in this for its addictive properties. It is not expensive; it is a revenue stream they now depend on. The stigma of Fentanyl and other new drugs is blocking the true picture of how especially the very young middle schoolers are being preyed upon.
I work with substance abuse leadership and in 2021 do you want to know what was the obstacle to educating communities? Education policy, the law. It was not allowed by law that schools administer Narcan or even teach staff or students. I am very proud of my work to bring a new policy to my school board for adoption a full year before our state laws changed.
To do that, I worked with District Attorney Rosen’s office, he put out a community ALERT when we saw the number of overdoses skyrocket and he prosecutes now with no mercy.
I was invited and attended the press conference — https://sd15.senate.ca.gov/news/senator-cortese-joins-family-melanie-ramos-celebrating-melanies-law-stop-youth-fentanyl
Today, one of our students even has made an education video that premiered last fall and is going national. https://www.fentanylhigh.com
I attended the Narcan distribution at San Lorenzo Valley School District it was drive-thru and they gave 4 boxes. In my school district we have community education events and pass out Narcan. Today students get training and Narcan. My son had Narcan in his suit pocket at his prom.
My sons also have Narcan in their first aid kits, all parents need to add this to their first aid kits. I have it in my home and car.
One pill addicts, and can kill.