WATSONVILLE — Surrounded by his supporters at Watsonville Plaza, Felipe Hernandez announced his run for county supervisor Friday.
Hernandez has served on the Watsonville City Council since 2012, including a stint as mayor in 2016. He also was a member of the city’s library board and planning commission.
He will be vying for the District 4 seat on the Board of Supervisors in the June election, facing off against fellow council members Nancy Bilicich and Jimmy Dutra, as well as incumbent Greg Caput.
“This campaign is going to be about the community,” Hernandez said. “It’s going to be about accountability. I don’t want to be a supervisor that’s in an ivory tower. I want to be accessible, I want to be here in the community.”
Born and raised in Watsonville, Hernandez attended local schools, graduating from Watsonville High School before enlisting in the U.S. Army as a combat medic. He served in the Persian Gulf War.
“Our motto was, ‘first in, last out,’” he said.
Returning home after service, Hernandez attended Cabrillo College before continuing to UC Santa Cruz.
He gave credit to his mother Paula, who worked in the canneries and took part in the Watsonville Canning Strike in the 1980s. Like others growing up as children of the cannery strikers, Hernandez said he looked up to his mother’s leadership.
“I want to continue that leadership and serve as the next county supervisor,” he said.
As a council member, Hernandez worked to secure a skate park at Ramsay Park, as well as helped regulate and tax medical cannabis businesses.
While Hernandez was mayor, the city council approved three new hotels and four new businesses. He also negotiated a 90-day extension and fee assistance for relocation on behalf of the eight businesses displaced when Kaiser Permanente moved into the Crossroads Shopping Center, and organized a “cash mob” event to assist the displaced businesses.
Should he be elected as supervisor, Hernandez said his priorities are working toward road and transportation improvements, securing more affordable housing, adding more parks for young people and addressing homelessness.
He added that he supports the rail and trail option on the Santa Cruz Branch Line, which is one of many scenarios being studied by the Regional Transportation Commission, as a way to alleviate congestion on Highway 1.
“Rail is not the only solution, but it’s one of many that can help out the situation,” he said. “I’d hate to be sitting in that traffic 10 years from now saying, ‘I wish we would have had the option of commuter rail.”
Hernandez said he would also work to secure more funding from the state to fix the city’s roads, especially in rural areas, where they are in “shambles.”
“Let’s not only fix them, but make them bike- and pedestrian-friendly too,” he said.
Parks, Hernandez said, benefit the community’s well-being.
“Parks provide a space for young people to not only lead a healthy lifestyle, but lead them away from a gang lifestyle,” he said.
Albert Guarino, who taught Hernandez when he was in kindergarten, called him a “good man,” and said Hernandez always looked to help his fellow students while in school.
“He showed leadership even in those years,” he said.
Hernandez’s campaign kick-off party is scheduled for Feb. 25 from 2-4 p.m. at the Appleton Grill, 410 Rodriguez St. in Watsonville.
