Monica Martinez, candidate for District 5
In the March 5 primary election, voters will choose a Santa Cruz County supervisor candidate to represent District 5. The district includes the San Lorenzo Valley, Scotts Valley and areas of the Santa Cruz Mountains. If one candidate gets more than 50% of the vote, the candidate will become supervisor. If not, the top two candidates will square off in the November election.
Monica Martinez is one of four candidates running for District 5 supervisor. Read about the other candidates: Theresa Ann Bond, Christopher Bradford and Tom Decker.

Monica Martinez (Joop Rubens — Contributed)
Meet Monica Martinez
Age: 41.
Residence: Felton.
Occupation: CEO of Encompass Community Services.
Experience: Martinez provided housing for homeless women as the senior director of programs and community education at the Downtown Women’s Center in Los Angeles until 2010. That year, Martinez became the Executive Director of the Homeless Services Center in Santa Cruz. The center became Housing Matters and it continues to provide services for unhoused people.
In 2024, Martinez was hired as CEO of the Encompass. It provides behavioral health services, early childhood development and housing support services in Santa Cruz County. “We provide services to thousands of people every year and we use both federal, state and local county funding to do that. So I’m extremely familiar with how public funding is intended to serve communities, and the strengths and weaknesses of local governments. I’ve been navigating that through my entire career and I’m eager to use that experience to help address some of the major challenges that the Fifth District and our county is facing.”
Read about Monica Martinez’s positions:
Read why Monica Martinez is running for county supervisor
What local issues in your district affect you that make you want to run for office?
“In 2020 like many others, I had to evacuate my home due to the CZU Fire,” Martinez said. “The way that climate-related disasters impact this community is more extreme and severe, and it’s so important that we have a voice in positions of leadership to advocate for our unique needs,” she said.
“Being a parent during these difficult years with a pandemic, it really inspired me to step up and try to lead from a different perspective and to bring my lived experience to the role to try to improve our community.” Martinez said. “I’m ready to represent the needs of the San Lorenzo Valley, as well as the broader Fifth District in general, with a fresh voice.”
Martinez said that as a woman, LGBTQ+ community member and a mom, these voices aren’t represented on the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors and she wants to bring that representation. Ellen Pirie was the last woman to serve on the board of supervisors in 2012.
“We’ve never had an openly LGBTQ+ supervisor in the history of our county. And so I’m really eager to help bring a more diverse voice to the seat and to county leadership.”
What is your dream for the Santa Cruz County community?
“I want my children, my neighbors, my community to live in a healthy and thriving environment. I want to have a community where we can all afford to live here,” Martinez said. “I’m hoping to, No. 1, ensure that our community gets access to the basic needs we deserve to have, but also to try to bring more opportunities for economic development and positive activities for families and youth.”
Fun fact about Martinez
Martinez ran marathons and competed in Ironman competitions in her 20s and early 30s. “Committing to hard challenges is not something that is new to me, I often take on really hard goals because I love a challenge and I love to work hard,” Martinez said.
Campaign finances
See campaign contributions to Monica Martinez and all local candidates.
Endorsements
See Monica Martinez’s endorsements.