When Monica Martinez is sworn in to the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors in January, she will be one of two women to take seats on the dais in more than a decade.
She will also be the first openly LGBTQ person to serve on the board in county history, as well as the first woman to serve the Fifth District, which has also never elected someone with a Latinx background.
With just under 77% of the votes counted since the Nov. 5 election, Martinez has garnered 56.5% of the vote.
She declared victory Nov. 12 in a Facebook post.
“We’re excited to get to work,” Martinez said.
Martinez said that her goals once she takes her seat are to help the county—and her district, which includes the Santa Cruz Mountains—recover from and prepare for the increasing numbers of natural disasters.
“I’ve been a public servant for my whole life, my whole career,” Martinez said. “I have a lot of experience to bring to ensure that our public resources get in the hands of the people who need them most, and I think that message also really resonated with our district.”
People living in her district, particularly in the mountains, frequently expressed those concerns to her while on the campaign trail, she said.
The district also includes the San Lorenzo Valley, most of Scotts Valley, and a small part of Santa Cruz.
“It’s important that our county starts looking at our long-term plan and our proactive efforts to prepare for disaster.” she said. “I can’t think of a better leader for those efforts than the Fifth-District supervisor, because our part of the county is so vulnerable to disasters.”
The last time a woman served on the board was 12 years ago, when Ellen Pirie stepped down. Now, with either Kim De Serpa or Kristen Brown poised to fill the seat left by outgoing Supervisor Zach Friend, next year’s board will have a new look.
“We haven’t had a woman’s voice on the Board of Supervisors for far too many years,” she said. “I am really thrilled that there is not just one but two of us that will be sworn in January.”
