There are four open seats on the Pajaro Valley Unified School District board up for election on the Nov. 3 ballot. (Amaya Edwards — Santa Cruz Local/CatchLight Local)

WATSONVILLE >> All three candidates vying for the Pajaro Valley Unified School District’s Trustee Area 5 seat will remain on the November ballot, despite one candidate being arrested for allegedly lying about living in the district and the other withdrawing.

Candidate Curt Wilcox was arrested Sept. 18, Lookout Santa Cruz first reported Tuesday. He now faces multiple felony charges related to his candidacy filing paperwork, according to court records. 

Candidate Jennifer Schacher withdrew from the race last month and endorsed Alicia Jimenez, citing family obligations in an emailed statement. Schacher served on the board from 2018 to 2022, but lost her reelection bid to Olivia Flores, who is not seeking reelection. 

Wilcox, Schacher and Jimenez will all still appear on voters’ Nov. 3 ballots because the deadline to change anything was Aug. 12.

Court records show that Wilcox is currently facing felony charges including false affidavit as perjury, voter registration violation and false declaration of candidacy. On Sept. 21, Wilcox was ordered to undergo an evaluation by a psychiatrist or psychologist as the court declared doubt about his mental competency. He’s been assigned a public defender. 

Tricia Webber, Santa Cruz County Clerk, said that Wilcox can only be removed from the ballot by a court order. She said the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office and the District Attorney’s Office were aware of her scheduled ballot printing deadline of Aug. 26, but did not receive a court order to remove him. 

“We will tabulate any votes that are cast for any of the three candidates,” Webber said. “The person with the most votes is declared the winner of the contest.” 

In Santa Cruz County, every candidate running for office signs a declaration of candidacy and takes an oath to officially become a candidate, which promises that if they are nominated and elected, they serve their role in office. 

Jimenez, who actively remains in the race, said, “I’m not going to take for granted that Jennifer withdrew or that there are controversies around Curtis’s candidacy.”

Jimenez, who worked for the district for 25 years, hopes that the community will get out and vote. 

“It’s the only privilege we have as citizens and the one opportunity we have to make a change,” she said.

Jimenez also shared that Schacher endorsed her in August. “In that essence, I felt very comfortable afterwards,” she said. “ But until then, I knew that she was a very strong opponent.” 

The Area 5 race is one of four Pajaro Valley school board races that will be on the November 3 ballot. Santa Cruz Local’s Election Guide will be published Oct. 5, and will highlight candidates and elections throughout the county.

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