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District 5 Santa Cruz County supervisor

The District 5 Santa Cruz County supervisor seat is up for election. District 5 straddles Highway 9 and includes Boulder Creek, Brookdale, Ben Lomond, Felton, Scotts Valley, part of Santa Cruz and some areas near Summit Road.

Christopher Bradford is running for District 5 Santa Cruz County supervisor in the March 5 election.

Christopher Bradford 

Age: 45.
Residence: Boulder Creek.
Occupation: Software engineer, co-owner of a Scotts Valley gym and owner of a photography business.

Monica Martinez is running for District 5 Santa Cruz County supervisor in the March 5 election.

Monica Martinez 

Age: 42.
Residence: Felton.
Occupation: CEO of Encompass Community Services.

Quick comparison (full responses below)

Christopher Bradford Monica Martinez
Experience
  • Board member of the Fire Safe Council of Santa Cruz County. 
  • Small business owner.
  • CZU Lightning Complex Fire survivor.
  • CEO of Encompass Community Services.
  • Former executive director of the Homeless Services Center (now Housing Matters).
How will you fix roads and ensure safe evacuation routes?
  • Prioritize roads in the worst condition for repair.
  • Approve budget cuts and possibly layoffs to redirect money to roads.
  • Help neighborhoods create nonprofits for road repair.
  • Shift more road money to emergency repairs.
  • Prioritize sales tax money for roads.
  • Pursue FEMA reimbursement and state and federal grants.
How would you improve access to health care in San Lorenzo Valley?
  • Give Kaiser and Dominican Hospital incentives to open clinics in the valley.
  • Expand shuttle service to existing clinics.
  • Partner with Santa Cruz Community Health and other clinics to expand in the valley.
  • Support pop-up health clinics for Medicare and Medi-Cal users.
How will you address home hardening and the rising cost of insurance and utilities?
  • Connect constituents and landowners with resources for disaster prep. 
  • Consider creating a public home insurance fund.
  • Create a task force to coordinate countywide wildfire prep.
  • Create alternative evacuation routes.
  • Renegotiate county contract with PG&E.
What are key differences between you and your opponent? “My opponent has a ton of experience interacting with local government as a cog in that particular machine,” Bradford said. His campaign represents “a change from the current system.” “It’s one thing to sort of talk about these ideas in a sort of philosophical way, it’s another thing to have actually gotten results,” Martinez said. “My track record of results speaks for itself.”
Should there be more multi-family housing in the Santa Cruz Mountains? Yes. Yes, but not in places that rely on septic tanks or that have poor roads.
Do you support Measure Q, a parcel tax for land and water management, cleanup and conservation? No. Yes.

Christopher Bradford and Monica Martinez on the issues

These questions are based on Santa Cruz Local’s interviews with residents throughout District 5. Responses have been edited for clarity and length.

District 5 voters noted a lack of leadership and communication between local government and residents. How would you improve communication?

“I plan on having monthly town halls in different towns up and down the corridor,” Bradford said. “Perhaps I’ll start in Boulder Creek, and then the next month will be in Brookdale, next month will be in Felton, all the way through Pasatiempo to Santa Cruz.”

Bradford said he also plans to hold evening office hours on weekdays and weekends “where folks can come in for a period and connect directly with me, and I’ll likely have a live broadcast on my YouTube channel at the same time, so folks can log in if they can’t physically come down and ask me questions.”

Martinez said she would:

  • Hold pop-up meetings or standing office hours throughout the district, with evening and weekend availability.
  • Maintain a website, post on social media, and send newsletters with information about local issues and opportunities for involvement.
  • Form “informal advisory committees” for specific neighborhoods or topics in District 5 “that meet regularly, that can inform me on issues that matter.”

She said she wants to ensure communication is “not just one-way, but that it’s two-way feedback loops, so I can connect with people, hear what’s important to them, and then bring their voices to those board meetings.”

How would you improve access to health care, including for seniors on Medicare, in the San Lorenzo Valley?

“I plan on being aggressive and trying to encourage Kaiser [Permanente], encourage Dominican to reopen the clinics that we’ve lost” near Boulder Creek and Ben Lomond, Bradford said. The county could offer tax breaks or other financial incentives for new clinics, he said.

As a short-term solution, Bradford said he wants to expand shuttle programs to transport rural residents to clinics elsewhere in the county.

Martinez said she would:

  • Partner with Santa Cruz Community Health and other clinics to expand in the valley.
  • Increase awareness of the Santa Cruz Mountain Health Center in Ben Lomond, and other resources.
  • Support “pop-up satellite clinics” for Medi-Cal and Medicare users.
  • Seek more state and federal funding for health care access.

“As the CEO of Encompass, I’ve secured millions of dollars in funding and established key partnerships to provide comprehensive services across the county,” she said. “I’ll bring that experience to the table to make sure that no one’s left behind.”

What policies will you propose in your first two years to address home hardening and the rising cost of insurance and utilities in the Santa Cruz Mountains?

Resources to help residents and organizations make their land more fire safe already exist, Bradford said. The Fire Safe Council of Santa Cruz County, of which Bradford is a board member, distributes funding for landowners to cut firebreaks, sends brushbuster teams to help older residents clear their yards, and helps coordinate free wood chipping. “There are resources that are available, but in order to get people to put these resources to work, we have to be in the communities and connecting to change the culture,” he said.

Bradford said he wants to put pressure on California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara to bring home insurers back to rural areas where policies have been discontinued. He said the county should also look into creating a publicly funded local insurance. “I think this might be an opportunity for us to invest in ourselves, instead of sending all of our insurance money outside of the county,” he said.

Martinez said she wants to:

  • Establish grant programs for home hardening.
  • Push state insurance regulators and legislators to require that insurance agencies consider home hardening efforts when renewing policies.
  • Renegotiate the county’s contract with Pacific Gas and Electric Co. that allows the utility to install power lines on county roads, and push for more investment in fire-safe energy infrastructure.
  • Create a Santa Cruz Mountains wildfire resilience task force that includes fire districts, community leaders, Firewise groups, and insurance experts to coordinate countywide fire risk reduction and preparation. “The Fire Safe Council [of Santa Cruz County] and Firewise communities is probably the starting point,” she said.

“The county needs to start recognizing that these natural disasters are going to continue to happen year over year, and develop a much more solid and permanent infrastructure for our countywide response and resiliency,” she said.

How will you fix District 5 roads and ensure safe evacuation routes in San Lorenzo Valley, Lompico and Zayante? What will you do differently than the current supervisor?

Bradford said he wants to trim the county budget to add money for road projects. “Things that aren’t related to people’s direct ability to stay alive or do business” could be on the chopping block, but he would need more information about county programs to determine which ones could be cut or reduced, he said. “There’s no hard choice that I’m not prepared to make,” he said. “Layoffs are always the last thing that I want to do, but we have to be willing to even do that if we must.”

County staff currently spend most road money on roads in “moderate” condition to prevent them from needing more expensive repairs down the line. Bradford said he wants to tackle repairs on failed roads, like Mountain Charlie Road, head-on. For some neighborhoods, having accessible roads is a “life-or-death issue,” he said. “The stuff that’s going to get people killed has to be addressed, so let’s start there, and then we’ll worry about potholes.”

Neighborhoods with roads that need repair could also form nonprofits to fund road repair, he said. Those nonprofits could receive donations or grants.

  • “Strike a better balance” between routine maintenance and emergency repairs, and dedicate more money to severely damaged roads.
  • Work with U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Santa Cruz, to ensure that the Federal Emergency Management Agency is reimbursing the county for disaster repairs.
  • Pursue more state and federal money for roads.
  • Maintain or create alternative evacuation routes in areas like Zayante and Lompico. 

“I have developed a strong relationship with the residents on Mountain Charlie Road and helped advocate for the attention that they received from our local and state representatives,” she said. “The time it took for them to get a temporary fix wasn’t acceptable. I think that there could have been temporary options sooner.”

Martinez said money from Measure K, a sales tax hike approved in March, should be prioritized for road repair. But she said she doesn’t support deep cuts or layoffs in other departments to increase money for roads. “I think it’s shortsighted to look at potholes or roads in disrepair as the only issue facing this community,” she said. “Because we know that public safety and public health is far beyond roads.”

What differentiates you from your opponent?

Bradford said that while Martinez has extensive experience with nonprofit management, he has balanced budgets for both for-profit and nonprofit organizations. “I’ve got a technical background, a business background and a nonprofit background,” he said. “I have the kind of background we need for tomorrow.”

With fewer institutional ties, Bradford said his loyalties lie solely with the constituents of District 5. “None of the organizations that make up the establishment for Santa Cruz have supported me,” he said. “I don’t owe them a dime. The only people who supported me are the genuine people of the Fifth District.” 

His campaign represents “a change from the current system,” he said. “My opponent has a ton of experience interacting with local government as a cog in that particular machine.”

“I bring a lifetime of public service to this campaign, and I have experience managing complex systems, complex budgets and navigating crises.” Martinez said. “I’ve secured millions of dollars to expand essential services. I’ve led critical programs for folks who have been left behind, much like our Fifth District residents feel.”

“What sets me apart from my opponent is that it’s one thing to sort of talk about these ideas in a sort of philosophical way, and it’s another thing to have actually gotten results, and to have rolled up your sleeves and done the work. And I think that my track record of results speaks for itself.”

“The broad list and the diverse list of endorsements that I have really speaks to the trust that I’ve built.”

What we heard from District 5 voters 

Santa Cruz Local spoke with residents in District 5 and collected responses through an online survey to better understand their top priorities for supervisor candidates in the Nov. 5 election. This was not intended to be scientific, but rather a straw poll of issues important to voters.

District 5 residents’ most common concerns included:

  • Road conditions.
  • Power outages.
  • Natural disasters.
  • Fire readiness.
  • Rebuilding after the CZU Fire.
  • Affordable housing.
  • Communication with local electeds.

Background on the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors

The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors includes five members. The board create laws for unincorporated county areas, sets the county budget and oversees many state functions. Supervisors serve four-year terms with an annual salary of $143,328 excluding benefits.

The supervisors oversee:

  • County roads.
  • County fire protection.
  • Public health.
  • County law enforcement: Sheriff’s Office, jails, probation.
  • District Attorney’s Office, public defender.
  • Handles most federal, state money to county.
  • Building and environmental services.
  • County parks.
  • Assistance with food, shelter.

The board typically makes policies for the unincorporated areas of the county. However, they can coordinate with cities for countywide policies such as for homelessness. Roles include:

  • Planning for new construction and land use in unincorporated county areas.
  • Advocate and plan for parks and recreation facilities.
  • Response to emergencies.
  • Homeless services.
  • Housing policies including vacation rentals, affordable housing.
  • Parking permits.

Map of Santa Cruz County Supervisor District 5

The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors is composed of five supervisors representing five districts. You can find high-resolution maps of each district on the county’s website. You can also look up which district you live in by your address.

A map of Santa Cruz County Supervisor District 5.

View a high resolution map of District 5 here.

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