Election Guide

Kristen Brown, candidate for District 2 Santa Cruz County supervisor

Kristen Brown is running for the Santa Cruz County Supervisor District 2 seat in the Nov. 5 election. Voters will choose between Brown and Kim De Serpa, 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 Kristen Brown’s positions on key issues:

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

Kristen Brown. (Contributed)

Kristen Brown

Age: 37.

Residence: Capitola Village.

Occupation: Capitola mayor, vice president of government relations at Silicon Valley Leadership Group.

Experience: Kristen Brown has served on the Capitola City Council since 2016. She has been president of the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments and vice chair of Santa Cruz Metro and the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission.

Kristen Brown responds to the District 2 People’s Agenda

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

Brown on active transportation

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

Brown said she wants to:

Request grants that combine road maintenance with a “complete streets” project to make roads safer for cyclists and pedestrians.
Advocate for more funding to the state and federal legislature for walking and biking paths.
Consider calling an election to extend Measure D, a 30-year sales tax approved by county voters in 2016 that helps fund transportation projects.

Brown on homelessness

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

“I’m really looking to listen and learn from South County representatives and residents about what they feel would be most helpful in addressing the homelessness crisis there,” Brown said.

Parts of her strategy include:

Hasten the development of new housing by streamlining the permitting process and reducing fees.
Build more supportive housing, transitional housing and tiny homes.
Institute tenant protections and other programs to help renters stay housed.
Make sure the county supervisors include South County in state and federal grant applications.

Brown 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?

Brown said she’s learning more about affordable housing financing, and hopes to apply that knowledge to incentivise developers to build more below-market-rate homes.

She said she also wants to:

Allow more housing in the county’s zoning code.
Reduce fees and wait times for building permits.
Fully staff the planning department, and add hiring bonuses and other incentives to recruit and retain planners.
Use tax credits or other means to incentivize owners of vacation homes to use their properties for long-term affordable rentals.

Brown 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?

Brown said she wants to work with county staff to request funding for South County roads from the transportation commission and ensure “that South County is getting equitable funding.”

She said she would consider calling for an election to renew Measure D, a sales tax approved by county voters in 2016. The measure helps fund transportation projects and is set to expire in 2047.

Brown said she agreed with the county’s policy of prioritizing roads in moderate condition for repair over completely failed roads.

“I’m not advocating to abandon the roads at all, and I’m certainly not saying let’s ignore them,” she added. “I am saying that there might be some roads that 10 miles of them are in extreme disrepair, and we might have to say, ‘this year we can fix 2 miles of that, because we’ve got another 10 miles that might become that if we don’t address it.’”

Kristen Brown and Kim De Serpa 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.

Brown on issues brought by young voters in District 2

Brown 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?

Brown said she’s supportive of California Proposition 33, a Nov. 5 ballot initiative that would let local governments create stricter rent control laws.

“Should Prop. 33 pass, I would be interested in talking with my fellow supervisors, if I’m elected, to see what the opportunities might be for us there,” Brown said. “I myself am a renter, and I’m probably always going to be a renter if something doesn’t change. So this is an issue that I very much am connected with.”

Brown 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 don’t want to come into an area ever and say, ‘This is what I’m going to do for you,’” Brown said. “I want to come into an area and say, ‘What can I do for you?’ And then work to advocate for the needs of the community based on what they’re telling me.”

Brown said she would hold regular office hours in South County and work with District 4 Supervisor Felipe Hernandez to vote on policies that support Watsonville residents.

Brown 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?

Brown said she wants to ensure that nonprofit-administered programs to advance LGBTQ+ health care are encouraged to seek funding through the county’s CORE program. She also said she wants to boost funding for staff salaries in the county’s Health Services Agency and Human Services Department.

“I think being able to do that would also go a long way in ensuring that the LGBTQ+ youth and community are able to get the resources that they need,” she said.

Brown 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?

“I think it’s important to incentivize businesses and companies to come into the area for economic development purposes and to provide good, high-paying jobs,” Brown said. “That’s something that I’m going to need to spend more time looking into, because government doesn’t necessarily control that.”

The county can help ensure high-paying jobs for county employees by providing hiring bonuses and longevity bonuses, and hiring higher-level employees from within, she said.

Brown on her record

Brown on her accomplishments on the Capitola City Council

What accomplishments have you made as Capitola mayor and city council member that show your qualifications as a supervisor?

Passing a city law to stabilize rents for Capitola mobile homes in 2023 “was a really big one for me that I’m really proud of,” Brown said. “I think it shows not only that I am committed and able to address issues of affordability in our city, but also that I’m responsive to the needs of our constituents and our residents.”

Brown said she also led efforts to put youth student seats on Capitola’s boards and commissions and advocated to earmark part of the city’s hotel tax into a dedicated Children’s Fund that pays for community grants for programs that help children.

Brown on how her experience and policy stances differ from Kim De Serpa

“Everything that supervisors touch, I have been involved in in some way. And I think that’s important that we have someone who has that experience and can build on it, rather than coming in and needing to start from square one,” she said. Brown said that experience includes her work on numerous county and regional boards, such as the:

Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission.
Santa Cruz County Metro Board.
Criminal Justice Council of Santa Cruz County.
Community Action Board of Santa Cruz County Board of Directors.

As a former congressional aide, Brown gained experience addressing the needs of constituents, she said.

In contrast to De Serpa’s numerous concerns about passenger rail service in the rail-trail corridor, Brown is a firm rail supporter, Brown said.

Brown on the Capitola Trestle

Do you think the Capitola Trestle should be rebuilt for passenger rail service?

“Yeah, if we’re going to move forward with passenger rail, and I hope we do,” she said. “I also share the sentiment of like, this is this gorgeous piece of history, and it’s sentimental,” she said. “But for the sake of transit options and opportunity and moving forward, yes, we will have to replace it. And we can replace it with something that looks very similar.”

Current plans call for a path through Capitola Village until the trestle can be rebuilt to accommodate a trail and a train. Some Capitola residents have supported the construction of a path across the existing trestle. That would require railbanking the track, which isn’t feasible, Brown said. There is no funding for a trail across the trestle, and the railbanking process would take years, she said.

The trail “would still have to go through Capitola Village for at least as long as it will take for them to go through Capitola Village now, with the plans that are already in place,” Brown said.

Brown on Measure L in 2018 and a Capitola Trestle trail

How did you vote on Measure L in 2018?

Capitola voters approved Measure L in 2018. It directs the city to “take all steps necessary” to preserve a trail on the Capitola Trestle and prohibits the city from spending funds or resources on “a detour of the trail onto Capitola streets and sidewalks.”

Brown said she “probably did vote against” the measure, but isn’t sure. “It’s not a cop out— I just honestly, I don’t remember,” she said.

“I remember thinking that it was an incredibly deceptive measure,” she said. “The truth is, people were going around saying, ‘This is about saving the Capitola trestle,’ and Capitola doesn’t own the trestle. And so I felt that it was really kind of deceptive to suggest to people that if you vote for this, that the trestle will never be removed or replaced.”

Brown on her past views on passenger rail

In Santa Cruz Local’s 2020 election questionnaire for Capitola City Council, you wrote that Capitola residents you’ve spoken with about the rail trail have been adamantly opposed to the train — but supported a trail — and that you would only support public transit on the corridor if it was supported by residents. Do you still agree with that statement, and how has your view of passenger rail evolved over the past four years?

“I still agree with what I said,” Brown said.

In 2022, Measure D failed, which would have changed the Santa Cruz County General Plan to remove planning for passenger rail. It garnered about 27% of the vote countywide, and also “failed miserably” in Capitola, Brown said. “And that’s why I think that I have not really flipped my thoughts on, ‘I will only do this if the residents support it.’”