STRENGTHENING county services

Yolo County has the highest poverty level of any county in California. County government must take the lead in addressing this crisis, just as we did at the height of the pandemic. Providing social services is the central responsibility of County government. County-administered services like MediCal, CalFresh, WiC, and CalWorks are essential for giving all of our people the ability to live a life of dignity, economic security, and personal agency. But whether its the long wait for families seeking help for the first time, long-time recipients of county services struggling to keep apace of complicated bureaucracies, or hard working people who just need a little breathing room, Yolo County needs to do better for getting help to the people who need it in a dignified and efficient way.

I have over a decade of experience helping all working class families navigate County bureaucracies to access health care, food stamps, and housing. If elected, my day one priority will be to reduce wait times for essential county services. We must treat the outrageous levels of hunger and poverty in Yolo County as the public health crisis it is. I support strong tenant protections, expanded rental assistance to reduce evictions, and strengthening and expanding the very promising Yolo County Basic Income Program. Additionally, I strongly support the creation of a public option for affordable and dignified senior living to support the growing number of seniors living below the poverty line. As a longer term goal, I will push for direct public investment into creating affordable childcare options, with the ultimate goal of guaranteeing universal Pre-K education for every child in Yolo County.

Fixing tRAFFIC and improving transit 

All of us deserve to get to where we’re going safely and in a reasonable amount of time. Yet it takes just one drive down Mace Blvd during rush hour to see how far we have to go. For over 3 years, the people of South Davis and El Macero have been experiencing unacceptable traffic flows in their neighborhoods. This is more than an inconvenience: When residents are unable to get to the hospital in an emergency or when emergency vehicles can’t get to your home, it undermines the most basic responsibility of government: to ensure the safety of all our citizens.

It has taken years for political leadership to get serious about addressing traffic on Mace Blvd, with long overdue construction barely beginning in the fall of 2023.  Even now, Yolo County government has taken a backseat on addressing this issue, content with passing on responsibility to the City of Davis. But when issues this severe are impacting your constituents, it’s the job of local elected officials to step up. At any point during the past 3 years, Yolo County could have offered time-bound matching funds to the city to incentivize a quicker fix. Yolo County could have worked to install a traffic light further south on Mace in the unincorporated county to disincentivize commuters from I-80 looking for a shortcut. Much of this remains to be done. As County Supervisor I will stop offering excuses and stay focused on solutions. The traffic buck stops with me.

I also believe we must begin to address much of the root cause of the traffic in communities along I-80, beginning with improving public transit options for commuters that come in and out of our area. When the bike, bus, and train can combine for a better way to get where we’re going, then we can many cars off of I-80 and our neighborhood streets all together. I am focused on securing YoloBus’ long-term fiscal future, I support intergovernmental and regional cooperation to improve Capitol Corridor service, and I support improving biking infastructure across District 4, particularly to connect the City of Davis’ greenbelts with improved bike lanes across the Yolo Bypass. I am committed to a vision of Yolo County providing sustainable, affordable, frequent, and high quality public transit that earns its way to becoming the preferred and most convenient form of getting places for people of all backgrounds.

Building Dignified and affordable housing

The lack of sufficient and affordable housing for young families and working class people in Davis is an existential threat to the future of our community. It is leading to declining enrollment in our schools, increased traffic from out-of-town commuters, and a declining tax base that is threatening social services for our seniors. As things stand neither I not many of my childhood friends can afford to buy homes in our hometown. And no one working a job or going to school in Davis should be sleeping in their car. I believe that we need more dignified and affordable housing in Davis for young families, for workers, for seniors, and for all who are struggling to keep a roof over their heads - and I believe we can achieve that without abandoning our town’s high standards or allowing unmitigated sprawl.

As County Supervisor, I will work closely with the City to make sure development projects meet our community’s needs and the highest standards for affordability, climate adaptation, fair labor, and traffic mitigation. No single proposed development project will be entirely up to a County Supervisor - but you have my commitment to listen to what every impacted community has to say, to be honest and transparent about my views and the state of each development, and to hold developers accountable for the promises they make.  Above all, I will keep the Davis that I grew up in - one which a Mexican immigrant family could afford to move to in order to give their son the best opportunities and quality of life that they could - as my North Star for what I want Davis to be for my own kids. 

We also have not done enough to reduce the epidemic of homelessness in our community. Between 2019 and 2022, homelessness in Yolo County grew by 14% - a tragic reality that reduces the quality of life for our housed and unhoused neighbors alike. As County Supervisor, I will work alongside the Yolo County Homeless and Poverty Action Coalition and our County’s Homelessness Commission to get people off of the streets and into permanent housing. I will also prioritize resources and my own efforts on ensuring that quality mental health services are available to every one of our community members, including those who are experiencing homelessness. Additionally, I will work to identify additional funding and resources from State and Federal government to build towards a Yolo County in which nobody is sleeping in their car or on the streets. 

Public Safety for all 

Everyone deserves to feel safe in our community. Yet recent events have shaken the feeling of safety and belonging that many of us have long taken for granted in Davis. From the tragic and senseless killings of beloved community members in the spring of 2023; to a perceptible uptick in break-ins, carjackings and robberies in many District 4 neighborhoods; to unprecedented extremist bomb threats against our schools and libraries; Yolo County government must take action to ensure the safety of all our people. As County Supervisor, that is exactly what I will do. If elected, I will work with the Yolo County Sheriff’s Office, the Davis Police Department, and other law enforcement agencies to improve regional law enforcement cooperation and to implement evidence-based programs to solve crimes, catch perpetrators, and return stolen vehicles and property to their rightful owners. 

As County Supervisor, transparency, accountability, and efficiency will be my guiding principles for determining law enforcement budgets. I will also lead in identifying and addressing  racial disparities in our criminal justice system, as both a moral imperative essential to ensuring true public safety and as a necessary measure to improve the effectiveness of local law enforcement. I strongly believe that we can achieve a more just and effective criminal justice system, while remaining committed to ensuring law enforcement has the tools and political support they need to keep us safe. Given that crime disproportionately preys on the most vulnerable in society, I understand that deterring, preventing, and solving crime is a social and economic justice issue. 

building a Climate resilient yolo

Our community has a proud history of leading on climate issues — yet every year brings more record heat, dangerous wildfires, and extreme variations in floods and drought that reveal the scope and scale of the climate challenge. Yolo County was the first agricultural county in the nation to declare a climate emergency. I am firmly committed to Yolo County’s 2030 Net Zero goal. To achieve this crucial target, County government must seize the full potential of recent federal legislation like the Inflation Reduction Act. I strongly support working together with other local government entities in our region to build a local, publicly-owned micro-grid that will both lower costs for consumers and increase our community’s resiliency during wildfires and extreme heat. As Supervisor, I am also committed to ensuring our local climate response fully includes the most vulnerable and historically marginalized members of our community, including by championing accessible cooling centers for seniors, unhoused people, and other vulnerable populations, supplementing inadequate enforcement of California law requiring access to shade, water, and rest breaks for outdoor workers, and proposing a hazard pay ordinance for agricultural workers in Yolo County who are required to work during unhealthy smoke conditions during wildfires. 

The County is responsible for the upkeep of much of our area’s roads, levees, and transportation infrastructure—and we must ensure all of it is ready for the more extreme weather events to come. If elected, I will invest in properly fixing and maintaining county roads and address safety issues in a timely, accessible, and transparent manner. I am also particularly concerned with ensuring Yolo County is ready for the plausible contingency of severe flooding that other Central Valley communities experienced in the winter and spring of 2023. This includes improving levee infrastructure, restoring groundwater and natural wetlands, and investing in urban flood resilience infrastructure in the most vulnerable and low-lying areas of Yolo County.  

justice for workers and immigrants

Immigrant workers may not run Yolo County, but they make Yolo County run. During the pandemic, we called them essential. Too often they are treated as disposable. I believe in a County government that fights for immigrants and workers, and recognizes that in our community these two categories are fundamentally inseparable.

The best anti-poverty program in the world is a good job with a fair wage. As a product of the labor movement, I strongly support unions, including in both the public and private sector. If elected, I pledge to supporting strong contracts for Yolo County’s public-sector union workforces. I will also use every avenue at my disposal to support unionization in the private sector as well. I will also work to raise wages and support workers through pushing for County wage boards, fair workweek ordinances, and other measures that have already been taken by local and municipal governments elsewhere in California. I also plan to use the Board of Supervisor’s ability to influence law enforcement priorities to push for stronger enforcement of existing labor laws, particularly by stamping out wage theft.

As the son of Mexican immigrants, the fight for immigrant rights is personal to me. Yolo County is the perfect place to take a stand for the American values of welcome and diversity. If elected, I will work to strengthen Yolo County’s sanctuary resolution, protect longtime Yolo County residents from the threat of deportation, and explore ways in which the county government can support refugee resettlement efforts already being led by many private individuals, faith communities, and nonprofits in our community.

CONSERVATION FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

I grew up swimming in Putah Creek, throwing rocks from the levee, and chasing after rabbits, bats, and coyotes. Access to the natural world is a crucial part of Yolo County’s identity and heritage. Yolo County’s remarkable natural beauty, ecological diversity, and wildlife habitats provide a sense of place, meaning, and scale, as well as continuing to be an engine of economic opportunity, avenue for scientific research, and foundation of our climate resilience.

I am proud of Davis and Yolo County’s tradition of conservation and connection with nature. If elected, I intend to build on this legacy and continue supporting the strong public-private partnerships that are preserving the Yolo Basin and Putah Creek for future generations. I strongly support the ongoing efforts in District 4 to balance the needs of agriculture, flood control, wildlife habitat and public access. Recent accomplishments like the creation of Grasslands Park show what is possible when diverse stakeholders work together. I am also excited for the opportunity to continue expanding access to the outdoors and nature education for underserved communities and support efforts to improve sustainable recreation access to Yolo County’s outdoors.

I am also committed to continue protecting Yolo County’s agricultural lands and heritage. I support maintaining and enforcing the county’s strong agricultural buffer standards for any development, fostering continued local ownership of our farms and agricultural land, and investing in resilient and climate-mitigating agricultural practices. Agriculture and the workers and communities that make it possible are central to my vision of Yolo County - now and in the future.