WATSONVILLE—Four people have applied to fill the seat on the Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees left vacant when Maria Orozco was elected to the Watsonville City Council.
On Saturday morning, the Board will convene in a public meeting at the District headquarters to interview the candidates and appoint one of them.
The candidates are former Watsonville City Councilmen Lowell Hurst and Antonio Rivas, along with Adam Bolaños Scow and Lizett Zuniga Zamudio.
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Zamudio works as an administrative assistant at Cabrillo College. She has children who attend Calabasas Elementary School—where she served as President of the school site council—and Rolling Hills Middle School. She has also served on the District English Learner Advisory Committee.
In addition, Zamudio has been a volunteer basketball coach at the YMCA for four years, as well as for the city league 831 Hoops and Tsunami, a travel team.
A veteran of local politics, Hurst served on the Watsonville City Council for a total of 20 years, in addition to being a part of the Local Agency Formation Commission and the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission.
Rivas served eight years on the City Council, along with being a part of the PVUSD Measure L Citizen’s Oversight Committee and several parent site councils in PVUSD schools.
Scow has worked as a strategist for Public Water Now, which works to win public ownership of the local water system. He has also worked as the California director of Food and Water Watch, where he oversaw campaigns to promote clean energy and protect California’s water. He also helped pass legislation regarding water rights and overtime pay for farmworkers.
He unsuccessfully challenged Congressman Jimmy Panetta in the 2020 election, and later that year lost to Orozco for the TA6 seat.
Orozco’s former Trustee Area 6 covers the Freedom area from Watsonville Municipal Airport north to White Road.
The Board voted in January to appoint a trustee to fill the remainder of the seat’s term, which ends in 2024, opting for that over holding a special election, which would have cost $80,000 and taken place in November.
What: The PVUSD Trustees will appoint a member to fill the Trustee Area 6 seat
When: 10am on Saturday, Feb. 11
Where: District Office, 292 Green Valley Road
For information, visit bit.ly/3lk27Ci
