By Julie Horner

Santa Cruz County is divided into five Districts, each with an elected representative, a Supervisor, who serves on a Board that sets priorities and policies to best meet the needs of the community for which they are elected, and as benefits the whole of the County. The Supervisor term limit is four years in Santa Cruz County, and a Supervisor can be re-elected up to three times. The Santa Cruz Mountains fall into the 5th District, which includes the San Lorenzo Valley from roughly the Highway 236 and Highway 35 junction, including Castle Rock State Park; Pasatiempo; most of Scotts Valley; and a corner of Santa Cruz.

Election Day is Tuesday March 5, 2024. Voters should have already received their voter guides in late January. Ballots for the March 5th Presidential Primary will be mailed out the first week of February, 2024. You can vote in person on Election Day or deliver your completed, signed, and sealed ballot in one of the following ways:
– Hand deliver your ballot to the Santa Cruz County Clerk/Elections office or the Capitola, Santa Cruz, Scotts Valley, or Watsonville City Clerk. 
– Drop off your ballot on Election Day at any polling place in the State of California. 
– Mail your ballot, so that it is postmarked by Election Day, March 3.

A candidate must receive over 50% of the vote to win in March, or the top two vote-getters will proceed to a runoff election in November. 

5th District residents will vote to replace Bruce McPherson, who has completed his third and final term as Supervisor. Four individuals are campaigning to become Santa Cruz County’s 5th District Supervisor. Here’s a candid look at the candidates. 

Theresa Bond

“I love being part of a welcoming supportive community,” Theresa Bond said. “Moving to the mountains in 2005 from downtown Santa Clara, immediately our family entered many new communities: school, scouts, soccer, Jr. Lifeguards, our road community…and present day now our FireWise community.” Living at the Santa Cruz Mountains summit straddling two counties, her family found themselves snow-bound in last winter’s storm. When a tree falls, neighbors get out to clear it. When the power’s out, the wood stove becomes the heart of her home. 

The proud mother of two independent young adults, one a graduate of UCSC in Environmental Science, the other currently at university in Washington State, Theresa has heard the stories of students and grads with no place to live, the couch surfing, who have to use the free food pantry on campus. She said, “Most do not earn a living wage which would allow them to live in our county.” 

Theresa is Board of Education Trustee for the Los Gatos-Saratoga Union (Multicounty) High School District and Chair of the Legislative Action Committee for the Santa Clara School Boards Association. She said an estimated 20% of students enrolled at Los Gatos High are Santa Cruz County residents who face unique challenges getting to school on county roads and who lack reliable internet to turn in their assignments. A retired software engineer with a B.S. in Engineering from Purdue University, Theresa has spent the last 13 years advocating for students and their families at the local, state, and federal levels.

“Over the holidays,” Theresa said, “the kids and I hiked Fall Creek.” Other favorite outdoor spots include the bike path to Wilder Ranch and Land of the Medicine Buddha for a dog walk with the family’s three pooches. Fueling up before the hike, they’ll hit Red Pearl, Rocky’s Cafe, or Sushi San.

theresabond2024.com

Christopher Bradford

“There are so many nooks and crannies in the forest; hidden creeks and mountain treasures. The forest is waking up!” Christopher Bradford and his wife Antonia and their children have just moved into their rebuilt home in Boulder Creek three long years after the CZU Lightning Complex Fire in August 2020. 

From a long line of outdoor enthusiasts, Christopher feels deeply integrated with the land. Before the fire, he was cultivating native plants and making his own beer from shrubs growing on the property, “a bit of the terroir,” as he put it. He’s explored a variety of educational paths: he’s studied metaphysics, excelled at enterprise software engineering, owns a drone photography business, and after reading “Kitchen Confidential,” completed courses to become a professional chef. Remember that old movie Blade Runner? Christopher sees himself as part of that culture of post-apocalyptic tinkerers. “I deeply enjoy the technical fields,” he said. “I love fixing things and solving problems.”

A proponent for honing skills in a variety of environments, including holding a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, he said you need to be prepared to do the hard things. “You have to show you’re made of sterner stuff. It doesn’t sound pleasant, it isn’t always. Like going on a hike or going to the gym. It might hurt at first but once you’ve done it, you never regret it.” Since 2020, he and Antonia have been fierce advocates for fire families.

“I’ve had to be adaptable, I’ve had to be present, and deal with adversity with a limited budget in order to make sure my family gets through,” said Christopher. “And I’ve worked my way up to general manager positions, started successful businesses of my own, became a skilled engineer. Navigating both corporate and business environments has made it possible for me to understand complex economic matters.” 

Around town, Christopher will sometimes stop in at Scopazzi’s in Boulder Creek for cocktails and that old school Santa Cruz Mountains feel; connect with the neighbors. Or slip into Otoro in Scotts Valley for sushi and friendly faces. Christopher says that he loves how each town in the Santa Cruz Mountains has its own character but still retains that synergistic sense of place. 

bradfordforsupervisor.com

Monica Martinez

“More than anything, I’m a mom,” Monica Martinez said. “So much of what I do is around the children.” Her daughter plays softball and her son is busy at school where she volunteers as much as possible. In fact, her daughter got her hooked on softball, so Monica joined the IOOF/SLV Women’s League and is a member of the Tailgaters 2023 B-Division champs. She looks forward to her Thursdays at Highlands Park where she enjoys getting outdoors for batting practice and being socially active. “It’s very cool,” she said, “a highlight of my life!” 

The rural Central Valley, California native and Felton resident has roots in raising animals and farm management and pursued an Agriculture major at Cal Poly. Latinx and LGBTQ, Monica was keenly aware of flawed social policy in conservative strongholds and turned her studies toward political science and social justice. “I threw myself into public service,” she said, “in an effort to improve the lives of people left behind.” 

With a Master’s degree in Public Administration, Monica is currently the CEO of Encompass Community Services, Santa Cruz County’s largest health and human services nonprofit, which serves the vulnerable in our communities through behavioral health, housing, and early childhood development programs. 

Back home in the mountains, you’ll find Monica attending concerts at Felton Music Hall by way of Redwood Pizzeria, and she said that she never misses Mountain Sol Festival or Redwood Mountain Faire at Roaring Camp every summer, or Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in San Francisco in the fall. A day off includes qual time with the kids, KPIG on the radio, and scritches with her Golden Labradoodle “Hank” and her cat “Mr. Bojangles.”

martinezforsupervisor.com

Tom Decker

“I want to live in a place where the grass is green in the winter,” Tom Decker remembers saying when he moved to California from farm country in Western New York decades ago. The eldest son of a big family of brothers and sisters, Tom was done shoveling snow. He discovered the Santa Cruz Mountains and settled in Ben Lomond where he took an active role in his church, raised a family, and starting in 2020, dedicated himself to helping victims of the CZU Lightning Complex Fire. 

A career realtor and builder and regional director for BAM Homes, which manufactures Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), Tom built an office — one of his own ADUs — in downtown Boulder Creek in the vacant lot behind Schwartzbach Realty. His team erected the building in just three weeks as a way to show Santa Cruz County bureaucracy how the rebuild process could be streamlined for those hitting a wall at the Planning Department. One of Tom’s sons lost a home in the CZU, so he knew what fire families were going through. “I went down to 4LEAF to show them,” he said. “Permits were impossible to get. People ran out of money to rebuild, ran out of heart to continue.” 20 months later, Tom won his permit. Since then, ten fire families in the mountains have replaced their homes with a permitted ADU with Tom’s help. 

Tom and his wife Maria spend leisure hours enjoying the best of living in Santa Cruz County. He said, “I’m very pleased that Henflings has got their burger mojo back. We lost Chuy, former cook at Henflings, and went through a couple of years of uncertainty, but I’ll pit them against the competition any day!” The Sawmill Restaurant & Ale House just north of downtown Boulder Creek is also a favorite. Tom and Maria often hang out to people-watch at Pleasure Point, which has what he calls the essential Santa Cruz vibe.

deckerforsupervisor.com

Ballot Drop Box Locations

Drop boxes are available 24/7 at the following locations:

Felton
• Graham Hill & Mt. Hermon Rd, Felton Covered Bridge Park parking lot

Ben Lomond
• Highlands Park, 8500 Highway 9

Boulder Creek
• Boulder Creek Community Church, 12465 Hwy 9

Scotts Valley
• City Hall parking lot, 1 Civic Center Dr.

Santa Cruz
• County Building 701 Ocean Street, Santa Cruz
• Downtown Branch Library
• UC Santa Cruz – Quarry Plaza

Aptos
• Cabrillo College, parking lot R by the football stadium 3732 Cabrillo College Dr.
• Polo Grounds, 2255 Huntington Dr.
• Resurrection Church, 7600 Soquel Dr.

Capitola
• Capitola Mall entrance 1855 41st Ave.
• City Hall parking lot, 420 Capitola Ave.
• Public Library, 2005 Wharf Rd.

Watsonville
• Corralitos Community Center parking lot, 35 Browns Valley Rd.
• County Health Center, 1430 Freedom Blvd.
• Parking Lot 14, 316 Rodriguez St.

Visit votescount.com for additional locations.

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Julie Horner writes about Santa Cruz Mountains news and events. 

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