Election Guide

Kim De Serpa, candidate for District 2 Santa Cruz County supervisor

Kim De Serpa is running for the Santa Cruz County Supervisor District 2 seat in the Nov. 5 election. Voters will choose between De Serpa and Kristen Brown, the top two vote getters of five candidates that ran in the March 5 primary.

Not sure if you’re a District 2 voter? Look up which districts you vote in by your address.

Read about Kim De Serpa’s positions on key issues:

Kim De Serpa responds to the People’s Agenda
How Kim De Serpa and Kristen Brown differ
Kim De Serpa on issues brought by young voters
Kim De Serpa on her record
Read about other local races and measures

Kim De Serpa. (Contributed)

Kim De Serpa

Age: 57.

Residence: Trout Gulch in the Aptos Hills.

Occupation: Social services manager for Salinas Valley Health Medical Center. De Serpa is “a licensed clinical social worker, chair of the For Kids Foundation Monterey Bay, and member of the Pajaro Valley Prevention & Student Assistance Board.

Experience: Kim De Serpa has been a trustee of the Pajaro Valley Unified School Board for 14 years. “I have first-hand knowledge of how county systems work, or are difficult to access, for patients and families,” De Serpa said. “The [county] supervisor seat represents people who may need assistance with issues or problems in their local county government. My career in social work lends itself to solving complex problems and improving people’s lives.”

Kim De Serpa responds to the District 2 People’s Agenda

These questions are based on Santa Cruz Local’s interviews with residents throughout District 2.

De Serpa on active transportation

Besides the rail trail, how would you improve and expand bike and walk infrastructure in District 2?

De Serpa said she wants to:

Reallocate the county’s budget to prioritize infrastructure like roads, sidewalks and bike lanes. She said she won’t know where the money should come from until she becomes supervisor.
Go after grants to fund more sidewalks and bike lanes. As a Pajaro Valley Unified School District trustee, De Serpa advocated for the district to hire a grant writer who went on to bring in millions of dollars in grants, she said. “To the extent that I have that experience of being able to turn over rocks wherever we can to get money for the county, that’s the same thing I would advocate for,” she said.
Redesign intersections that are dangerous for pedestrians, such as at Trout Gulch Road and Valencia Street in Aptos Village.

De Serpa on homelessness

What are you going to do about the 60% rise in homelessness in Watsonville in the past 12 months?

De Serpa said she would:

Work with District 3 Supervisor Felipe Hernandez to advocate for the board of supervisors to reallocate more homelessness funding for services in District 2.
Advocate to reopen the Salvation Army homeless shelter in Watsonville. The shelter closed in March after it lost much of its county funding.
Advance more affordable housing projects, including permanent supportive housing, in District 2. “There’s just not enough, and especially there’s not enough for people with disabilities. We need to build more housing for vulnerable people. We need to provide case management, supportive case management, to help them stay housed.”

De Serpa on affordable housing

What specific county policies do you plan to propose in your first two years to address the county’s lack of housing affordability?

De Serpa said she wants to:

Build below-market-rate housing on county land, including county complexes on Emeline Avenue in Santa Cruz and Freedom Boulevard in Watsonville.
Inject more money into potential below-market-rate housing developments by using “forward funding,” where an investor agrees before construction to purchase property from a developer.
“Change the culture” in the planning department to make building easier. “I’m right now in the middle of a remodel at my house,” she said. “We’re putting solar on and we thought we were going to do an [accessory dwelling unit]. And I just can’t even tell you how difficult it is to get the permits.”
Ease setbacks and other requirements for new single-family homes. State law requires the county to waive setback requirements and other rules for affordable housing developments. The same rules should apply to other developments, De Serpa said.

De Serpa on road repair

Several residents said the poor condition of roads in Watsonville and South County areas is a top concern. Potholes are damaging their cars. How will you advocate to fix South County roads on the regional transportation commission and county board of supervisors? What policies would you pursue?

De Serpa said she wants to raise a countywide assessment that is earmarked for road repairs.

Because District 2 has more miles of roads than some other districts, it should receive more money for road repairs. Currently, roads are prioritized based on how many people use them and on supervisor and community input.

De Serpa added that she wants the county and the regional transportation commission to prioritize road repair over other transportation needs, like Santa Cruz Metro bus service.

De Serpa on the rail trail

Would you vote to support electric passenger rail through District 2?

De Serpa has several reservations about passenger rail. She’s concerned about the cost of building and operating it and is skeptical it will ease traffic on Highway 1. She would support a train “if it’s feasible and if we can afford it,” she said.

She said she will make a final decision after reading a concept report from the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission expected in January.

De Serpa said the commission should focus on constructing the Coastal Rail Trail. Parts of the trail have been built in the City of Santa Cruz, with more on the way on the North Coast and in mid-county. But in some areas, including the Capitola Trestle and other bridges, there isn’t enough room for a trail and a track. To include both, the bridges would need to be rebuilt.

De Serpa said she isn’t sure if she would support railbanking, which would be necessary to build a trail on the existing Capitola Trestle and some other bridges. Railbanking essentially would remove the corridor from the national freight rail network. It would enable local leaders to build a trail on the rail line, or build a passenger rail line that doesn’t meet freight standards.

Kim De Serpa and Kristen Brown at a glance

Issue	Kristen Brown	Kim De Serpa
Experience:	Capitola mayor and city council member. Former congressional staffer. Member of Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission and the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments.	15 years as a Pajaro Valley Unified School District trustee. Social worker and social services manager of Salinas Valley Health Medical Center, connecting patients with housing and other resources.
Views on passenger rail service on the Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line:	Supports passenger rail on the Santa Cruz Branch Line.	Willing to support rail “if feasible” but has concerns about its cost and usefulness.
Road repair priorities:	Would prioritize roads in moderate condition, with less money for failed roads. She said South County roads should get equitable funding.	Wants to increase spending to repair and maintain all roads. She declined to state which roads she would prioritize.
Would you support a county law that allows rent control?	Yes.	No.
View on a potential empty-home tax in unincorporated county areas:	Instead of an empty-home tax, wants to incentivize long-term rentals for empty homes. Would consider an empty-home tax with broad support.	Would consider supporting an empty-home tax, depending on the amount of the tax.
Do you support the Nov. 5 ballot measure for a parcel tax for land and water management, cleanup and conservation?	Yes.	Yes.

De Serpa on issues brought by young voters in District 2

De Serpa on high rent

Many people in their 20s said they have been displaced because of high rent. What policies will you propose in your first two years to address the rising cost of rent?

De Serpa said she wants to build more housing, including more below-market-rate housing.

“To the extent that I will support that, I’m going to, and it’ll be at different price points, much of it affordable, much of it for moderate earners.”

De Serpa said she also wants to support pathways for young people to get training for high-paying jobs so they can afford rent.

De Serpa on prioritizing Watsonville and the Pajaro Valley

We’ve heard from young people in your district that they’re frustrated with a lack of attention to Watsonville and the Pajaro Valley. What will you do to advocate for Watsonville and the Pajaro Valley?

“I’m going to show up to work every day and fight for mid and South County, everything that is due to them,” she said. She said she plans to collaborate with Supervisor Hernandez, the Watsonville City Council, and with Monterey County supervisors who govern part of the Pajaro Valley. As a PVUSD trustee, she said she already has relationships with some Monterey County supervisors.

De Serpa said she would push the other Santa Cruz County supervisors to allocate more money for homeless services, roads and other needs to South County.

De Serpa on LGBTQ+ health care and mental health treatment

We’ve heard from young people in your district that they’re concerned about a lack of resources for LGBTQ+ people, especially access to health care. What will you do to increase services like gender-affirming care and mental health treatment in Santa Cruz County?

“There’s not enough doctors in Santa Cruz County, period. And there’s not enough doctors being trained who can afford to come back to live in our areas,” she said. “It’s the same with other, you know, workforce issues that we’re having, whether it be teachers or law enforcement or first responders.”

De Serpa said she supports expanding access to gender-affirming care to clinics and hospitals across the county. She said she also wants to expand access to addiction services. “I’m super concerned about fentanyl poisoning of our young people,” she said. Medication-assisted treatment for opiate addiction and Narcan — a drug that reverses opiate overdoses — need to be more accessible, she said.

De Serpa said her career uniquely positions her to evaluate county and nonprofit health care programs. “I’ve been doing social work for the last 27 years, and much of it in the hospital, health care clinics, hospice,” she said. “So I know kind of what works and what doesn’t.”

De Serpa on high-paying jobs for young adults

What will you do to create more opportunities for high-paying jobs for young people in District 2?

De Serpa said she wants to focus on preparing young people for existing high-wage jobs in fields like health care and the trades.

PVUSD middle and high schools include programs for students to prepare them for college or technical education and start them on the path to high-earning jobs. De Serpa said she would like to support similar programs across the county.

“They can either go on to college or go to Cabrillo [College] to continue, or to go to apprenticeship programs,” she said. “We’ve got these unbelievable programs down in Castroville for electrical and plumbing. We have a carpenter’s apprenticeship over the hill. These are six-year apprenticeships that lead to union jobs.”

De Serpa on her record

De Serpa on her accomplishments on the PVUSD board of trustees

What accomplishments have you made as a PVUSD trustee that show your qualifications as a Board of Supervisors candidate?

De Serpa said her seat on the PVUSD board has given her experience with:

Managing the district budget. “I’ve sat on the board during difficult times where we had to make a lot of cuts and difficult decisions,” De Serpa said. “And I’ve been privileged to watch the build-back of art and music and sports and counselors and all those things that had been cut away.”
Negotiating with unions. “There’s been times when it was really hard, the negotiations were very difficult,” she said. “I do understand how to successfully solve those issues, even in difficult budget times.”
Setting priorities and goals for the district.
Personnel issues and hiring.

De Serpa on her vote against renewing an ethnic studies contract

You voted to end a three-year contract with a Community Responsive Education to work with district staff to develop ethnic studies curriculum. Why did you make that vote?

“I was very happy to put in the ethnic studies program. And I remain very proud of the work that’s been done,” De Serpa said. “The contract that came in front of us was for [Community Responsive Education leader Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales] to do one more year working with our administration. She had already done her work with the teachers and faculty.”

Although the Community Responsive Education’s contract with PVUSD has ended, “We haven’t asked teachers to change the curriculum,” De Serpa said. “We haven’t stopped ethnic studies,” she said.

De Serpa said she became critical of the contract after learning Tintiangco-Cubales had helped craft a proposed state curriculum for ethnic studies that in 2019 came under fire by the Jewish Caucus of the California Legislature for alleged anti-Jewish bias. “I’m not going to allow that — I’m Jewish,” she said. In a letter, the Jewish caucus said the curriculum did not include substantive discussion of antisemitism and was biased against Israel. Tintiangco-Cubales has called the allegations of antisemitism defamatory.