My family and I are proud to be a part of the Live Oak Community for the past 15 years. As a little league coach, leader of the bond effort to preserve the Soquel schools, and in my capacity representing the area on the Cabrillo College Board, I have worked with my neighbors to build and strengthen the schools, youth activities and other organizations that make this a great place to live and work. Through my volunteer efforts, I have brought together the people and resources needed to create solutions that best serve our community.
With my management experience leading large non-profits such as the Santa Cruz AIDS Project and building a business, I have been able to successfully address housing, healthcare, economic development and workforce development issues that challenge our community. I have created housing programs that have received national awards, help design the Children’s Healthcare Initiative that provides coverage for 7,000 kids in the county, and led the campaign to double the number of spaces for the Cabrillo nursing programs and will build a new home for the Stroke Center.
I want to put my experience bringing people together to tackle tough issues and my record of effective elected and volunteer service to work as Supervisor for the 1st District. As your Supervisor, I will fight for local residents on the issues of greatest importance to you:
⇒ Neighborhood Protection – The 1st District is home to some of the most unique neighborhoods in the county. I want to preserve the character of Pleasure Point, Soquel Village and the Summit area by working with neighbors on the creation of community plans where the local residents identify opportunities for parks, family supporting services, youth activities and standards for development.
⇒ Public Safety – I will continue to strongly support community policing and neighborhood involvement, but we must do more. We must address opportunities for young people in the district, insure accessible services for families and job options for all who are interested in employment. I will work to build on our efforts at Cabrillo to expand the pipeline of local residents into the field of law enforcement and fire safety. We must also create affordable housing opportunities for our public safety professionals so they can live in the communities that they serve.
⇒ Affordable Housing – I will protect the largest stock of affordable housing by strong enforcement of the mobile home rent control law. We must vote NO on Prop. 98 to protect the over 2,000 mobile homes in the district. I am committed to using creative means to expand the affordability of homes in the district.
⇒ Environmental Protection – Our coastline is the most valuable recreational and economic asset in our community. I will preserve the coastal watershed and work with neighboring jurisdictions to insure protection of the coast. We must fight to know what the state government intends to spray on our homes and insure that it is not dangerous.
⇒ Transportation – We must work to repair our local roads and strengthen our public transit system. We should move to purchase the rail line that bisects the county and move beyond the fight over widening Highway One to fund measures that will alleviate congestion and enjoy popular support such as metering and repair of the ramps.
⇒ Economic Development – We must identify areas where sound economic development plans can be acted on with a combination of neighborhood-serving retail, jobs with family supporting wages, and business that build on the strengths of our area in manufacturing, the arts and high tech.
I know that listening and being accessible are vital qualities for your Supervisor. You’ll always have my undivided attention. The proof? My cell phone is 566-0122 or email john@friendsofjohnleopold.com. Contact me any time.
To be successful in this campaign I will need your help. I am asking that you support me by endorsing my campaign and giving generously by clicking here to donate now. Together we can strengthen the representation in the 1st District and insure that all who live there have a voice on the Board of Supervisors.
