California is in the worst drought in 1,200 years. Last summer, 150 wells dried up in Yolo County and farmers scrambled to save their crops. This will be another hot, dry summer with intense wildfires. The warning signs are all around us. Our once stable climate is breaking down.

As an innovative, climate champion with thirty years of experience tackling systemic inequality and environmental injustice, I will implement bold and pragmatic solutions to rapidly transition our county off fossil fuels. I will work to:

• Convene a Drought Response Working Group to protect groundwater for future generations and guarantee the human right to water for all
• Establish community resiliency shelters and equip them with fossil-free electric power to provide essential services such as air conditioning, freezer space and phone charging during grid outages
• Work with Valley Clean Energy to expand heat pump technologies across the county
• Promote active mobility, electric car sharing and public transit
• Develop a $20 million Climate Resiliency Fund with the Yolo Climate Action Commission and county staff

Experience

• Worked directly with the Yolo Climate Emergency Coalition and County Supervisors to pass a resolution that initiated the Yolo Climate Action Commission in 2020
• Created the Yolo Interfaith Climate Justice Alliance in 2021 to educate and mobilize the faith community
• Recently mobilized and challenged County policy on gravel mining expansion in the lower Cache Creek watershed, which will destroy 300 acres of prime farmland, expose wildlife and possibly humans to toxic mercury, and increase diesel emissions in Woodland. This industry has donated to the opponent.

Young people have a much better understanding of what is at stake if we don’t act quickly to change the system. They are at the forefront of fighting, organizing, strategizing, mobilizing for a livable planet for all of us.

As County Supervisor, I will support and empower young people to have a direct voice in shaping their future. I will:

• Appoint youth representatives in decision making at all levels including key commissions and the Board of Supervisors itself
• Provide the training, transportation and financial compensation needed to engage effectively in county decision making
• Establish a Yolo Youth Commission to guide future generations planning
• Launch “Bikes for All/Bicis Para Tod@s” countywide bike campaign to provide universal access to bikes for all ages and abilities
• Work with the Yolo County Office of Education to expand outdoor learning programs
• Expand ecological stewardship training for Native and BIPOC youth at the county-owned Cache Creek Nature Preserve and other county parks

Experience

• Prioritized for years working with youth communities – from organizing against labor exploitation to supporting youth environmental leadership
• Worked with youth leaders in 2018 to launch Climate Strike Davis which successfully pushed Davis Joint Unified School District to commit to meet 80% of its energy demand with solar power
• Advocated successfully with the Ethnic Studies Coalition for comprehensive, K-12 Ethnic Studies to be implemented in district, county, and state by 2029
• Led the Environmental Enrichment Program at Cesar Chavez Elementary School, co-developing with young people an education program called Ecologistas en Accion

“Buen Vivir” is an indigenous concept well suited for the 21st century. Living in harmony and balance with each other and the natural world is fundamental to “living well.” I believe we can meet the needs of every Yolo County resident for food, safety, community, employment, mobility, communications and shelter without depleting our life-sustaining ecosystems.

Our current economy is unsustainable. We need a different approach – one that respects ecological boundaries and safeguards the well-being of future generations.

Locally, we are beginning to shift our economy towards a vision of buen vivir.

As supervisor, I will accelerate this just transition and:

• create a Community-Wealth Building strategy to provide funding and support for local economic enterprises
• develop an ‘anchor’ institution strategy which leverages the purchasing power of public-oriented institutions such as school districts and hospitals to boost our local economy
• bring public banking to Yolo County to provide affordable financing for local projects such as co-operative housing
• expand universal basic income to low-income families to break the cycle of poverty
• work with county social services to overcome systemic inequalities such as lack of childcare, transportation and healthcare, particularly pre-natal care and mental health services and addiction treatment
• pilot participatory budgeting as a catalyst for community development
• build community-centered housing for homeless, farmworker families and essential workers.

Experience

• mobilized Yolo County in 2020 to become the first agricultural county to commit to a just transition to becoming carbon neutral by 2030
• helped form Women in Leadership Davis, a mutual aid group created during the pandemic to support marginalized populations, especially women of color
• led the California Fair Trade Campaign in 1997–2000 that brought together labor unions and environmental groups to challenge unjust trade policies
• worked as an environmental engineer from 1995–1997 to remediate toxic waste sites in West Oakland
• worked at the East Bay Conversion Reinvestment Commission to bring millions of dollars of contracts to local businesses during the closure of three military bases in Northern California.

The pandemic revealed deep disparities in our society and will have a long-term impact on our collective well-being. Many are still picking up the pieces of shattered lives. We can’t simply “return to normal” when for many that is a return to a racist, inhumane and uncaring system and society.

In this campaign, we are enacting the change we want to see in the world.  As County Supervisor, I will bring to the county a holistic approach that soundly rejects racism, exclusion and oppression in all forms. As your County Supervisor, I will:

• ensure careworkers are well-paid, treated with dignity and respect and protected by union contracts that include healthcare benefits
• provide professional climate-disaster response training for caregivers throughout the county
• promote peer-to-peer counseling in response to mental health crisis
• expand addiction treatment and mental health diversion programs as alternatives to incarceration
• provide universal access to nature and gardening space for all Yolo County residents
• work with the Yolo Transportation District to design public transportation to popular hiking areas and regional parks.
• build a system of interconnected bike trails throughout the county
• work with the Department of Public Health to identify and mitigate exposure to unhealthy environmental conditions including extreme heat, wildfire smoke and toxics.
• improve indoor air quality through upgraded electric HVAC systems in county buildings, prioritizing schools

Experience

• advocated during the pandemic for young people to safely return to school outdoors. DJUSD provided teacher training and funding for each school to create outdoor classrooms to expand outdoor learning during COVID and beyond
• organized to combat isolation by creating and encouraging the growth of free outdoor summer camps for youth and families with the support of UC Davis graduate students
• volunteered with elementary students to collect food and deliver it to people in need during the pandemic
• work closely with California Native naturalist Diana Almendariz to expand homeland (place) based-learning opportunities for all ages