ROYAL OAKS—North Monterey County farmer and businessman Glenn Church, whose family’s roots in the area date back to the Civil War, announced on Thursday that he is running for District 2 Supervisor. The election will take place on June 7, 2022.
In a press release sent out to the media, Church, 61, says he is running because of patterns of “long-term neglect of the North Monterey County area.”
This includes issues such as affordable housing, fire safety, traffic and road conditions, lack of social services, noise pollution, dumping, animal control, public safety and water.
He also says he plans to fight for increased accountability and transparency “and a government that truly works for the people.”
“People are frustrated that the county government is not taking care of their problems,” Church wrote. “New leadership is required to bring the change that is needed.”
District 2 encompasses North Monterey County and parts of North Salinas, including the communities of Aromas, Castroville, Pajaro, Moss Landing, Prunedale, Royal Oaks, Las Lomas and Bolsa Knolls.
John Phillips currently serves as District 2 Supervisor, but has reportedly said he will retire at the end of his term in 2022.
Steve Snodgrass, the CFO of Graniterock and a former member of various boards, including the Pajaro/Sunny Mesa Community Services District, has also said he will run for the seat. So, too, has Grant Leonard, a housing analyst for the city of Monterey, who serves as chair of the Castroville Land Use Advisory Committee and the North Monterey County Recreation and Park District Board of the Directors.
Church is a lifelong resident of North Monterey County, and has familial ties to the area beginning when his great-grandfather settled along the Elkhorn Slough more than 150 years ago to start a dairy farm.
His grandfather and father also farmed in the area.
He says he remembers accompanying his late father Warren, a Monterey County supervisor in the 1960s and ’70s, on the campaign trail as well as attending county meetings from a young age.
As a lifelong member of his community, he says he has seen neglect in North Monterey County, saying that District 2 has half the county’s unincorporated population, but does not get its fair share of county services and resources.
Church says he is critical of county policies that hinder adequate fire prevention, such as requiring a permit to cut a dead oak tree that has fallen to the ground.
He says that current housing policies promote the building of larger, more expensive homes and add to the affordable housing shortage.
Church is president of the Fire Safe Council for Monterey County. He is also a board member of the Dan and Lillian King Foundation, the Monterey-based nonprofit with a mission of educating school children about the Constitution, and has sent thousands of eighth-graders to see the musical “Hamilton.”
Church owns and manages Church Christmas Tree Farms. He is the founder of Pacific Coast Soils.
He is married to journalist Kathryn McKenzie and between them, they have four adult sons.
For information, visit glennchurchforsupervisor.com.
