Gabriela Trigueiro, candidate for District 1
Santa Cruz voters will choose a city councilmember to represent District 1 in the March 5, 2024 election. The district includes neighborhoods from Water Street to Highway 1 and from Highway 1 to DeLaveaga Park.
Gabriela Trigueiro is one of two candidates running for the District 1 seat. The other candidate is David Tannaci.
Gabriela Trigueiro (Dennis Hearne — Contributed)
Meet Gabriela Trigueiro
Age: 39.
Residence: Near Branciforte Middle School.
Occupation: Executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Santa Cruz County.
Experience: Trigueiro is a commissioner for Santa Cruz’s Commission for the Prevention of Violence Against Women. She holds a master’s degree in public policy from Mills College. “I feel like that really informs a lot of my work,” she said. “I’m a data person as well as a community-oriented person.” Mills is “a really unique women- and queer-led institution,” she said. “And that’s something else I’m really proud to bring into my work.”
Read about Gabriela Trigueiro’s positions:
Read about why Gabriela Trigueiro is running for city council
What local issues in your district affect you that make you want to run for office?
“I’m a renter and I’m a single mom, so I know firsthand what it’s like to live in this community and to work towards that struggle and balance of housing and professional life and home life,” Trigueiro said. “Affordable housing is a huge thing.”
“Because I work on the Commission for the Prevention of Violence Against Women, I also think that safety is a huge piece for me — street safety and access to public areas. I definitely want to be encouraging safe spaces in Santa Cruz,” she said.
“Something that is really, really important to me and to a lot of folks in Santa Cruz is that next generation that we’re bringing up,” she said. She supports initiatives that support youth development and increasing access to child care, she said.
What is your dream for your district?
“To be a thriving and inclusive community,” Trigueiro said. “Embracing in a new way a bilingual community and multicultural competencies that go around multilingual communities is something that I’m excited about. Because I see a lot of that happening already, and I think that’s really, really important to other issues that are at hand.”
Fun fact about Trigueiro
Trigueiro used to be a flamenco dancer. “For a long time I was a performing artist and I was really blessed to work with the National Institute of Flamenco with Ballet Hispanico,” she said.
Campaign finances
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Endorsements
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