Santa Cruz Local

Voters on Election Day on Nov. 4 at the Depot Park polling location in Santa Cruz. (Amaya Edwards — Santa Cruz Local/CatchLight Local)

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY >> The final campaign finance disclosures ahead of the June 2 primary election reveal the people, organizations and political groups underwriting candidates for Santa Cruz Mayor, Santa Cruz City Council and Santa Cruz County Supervisor.

A Santa Cruz Local analysis of financial reports uncovered four key trends.

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Read our full voter's guideNuñez is boosted by rail opponents.

District 4 Board of Supervisors candidate Tony Nuñez started fundraising months later than incumbent Felipe Hernandez, and has a narrower list of endorsements. Nuñez has quickly raised a comparable amount of cash — about $29,000 to Hernandez’s $34,000. 

More than half of that money is from contributors listed as members of Santa Cruz County Greenway, a nonprofit that supports a trail only on the Santa Cruz rail corridor, or who have otherwise publicly opposed aspects of plans for passenger rail. Most of those contributors listed themselves as living outside the district, in mid-county or Santa Cruz. 

Nuñez said despite the support from Greenway, he differs from the organization’s long-term goals.

“I’ve been really clear since the beginning that I still believe in rail,” he said. But following reports that indicate the local price tag for the train could require a 1.5% sales tax hike, he said he’s concerned about the potential tax’s disproportionate impact on low-income South County residents. He said he’s open to wealth taxes and hospitality taxes as more equitable funding sources.

Any increase in sales tax may be more useful “to fund economic opportunity within South County,” rather than “to move people from South County to North County faster, in a more efficient way,” he said.

“If my residents want this, I’ll continue to vote for it,” Nuñez said of plans for rail. “I want to see it move forward, and I also have to be a good representative of my constituency.”

About 15% of Hernandez’s money comes from people with a history of vocal support for the rail, including members of Santa Cruz County Friends of the Rail and Trail. 

Nuñez also has support from a handful of nonprofit professionals, including Pajaro Valley Prevention and Student Assistance CEO Jasmine Najera and Community Bridges Chief Financial Officer Douglas Underhill. 

Hernandez is buoyed by labor unions, plus agriculture and energy industries.

Nearly a third of Hernandez’s money comes from political action committees for labor unions, including:

• SMART Transportation Division, representing Santa Cruz Metro bus drivers. 
• The Monterey/Santa Cruz Building and Construction Trades Council, representing multiple building and construction labor groups.
• Dignity CA SEIU Local 2015, representing In-Home Supportive Services caregivers. 

The County Employees Management Association directly contributed $1,000 to Hernandez. A committee funded by the association independently spent about an additional $7,000 towards door hangers and other campaign materials. 

Hernandez’s other contributors include:

• Agricultural businesses, including Miles Reiter of Driscoll’s; Darren Story and Shy Ann Kenwood of Strong Agronomy, and Thomas Broz of Live Earth farms and Miles Reiter of Driscolls.
• Energy companies, including a sales executive for infrastructure contractor Energy Systems Group, a senior director of the Western States Petroleum Association, and a program manager for the low-carbon multinational utility Engie. 
• Steven Dobler, who has partnered with New Leaf Energy Inc. on a proposal for a battery storage facility on 90 Minto Road. Dobler and his farming company donated a combined $1,100. 
• Current and former elected officials, including Monterey County Supervisor Luis Alejo, former Watsonville Mayor Lowell Hurst and former State Senator Bill Monning.

Elias Gonzales, the third candidate vying for the District 4 seat, has raised less than a third as much as either of his opponents. His donors include the organization Santa Cruz For Bernie, Santa Cruz mayoral candidate Chris Krohn, Watsonville City Councilmember Vanessa Quiroz-Carter and anti-surveillance activist Lourdes Barrazza.

Ryan Coonerty has far outraised his opponents.

Santa Cruz Mayoral Candidate Ryan Coonerty has raised $67,286 in cash donations — more than twice as much as the four other candidates combined. 

Additionally, the political action committee Santa Cruz Together reported about $13,000 in independent spending for mailers. Santa Cruz Together was formed in 2018 to oppose the rent control voter initiative Measure M, and has since donated to oppose a 2022 initiative for an empty home tax, and supported multiple candidates for Santa Cruz City Council.

The group’s most recent fundraising push in 2024 included $5,000 donations from four companies: Redtree Partners, Santa Cruz Seaside Company, Swenson Builders and S.C. Beach Hotel Partners.

Coonerty’s other donors include:

• Current and former elected officials, including Golder, State Assemblymember Gail Pellerin, U.S. Rep Jimmy Panetta (D-Santa Cruz) , Santa Cruz County Supervisor Kim De Serpa, and Santa Cruz City Councilmembers Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson. 
• Real estate agents and property managers, totalling about $5,000. 
• Developers and associated businesses, including Timerie Gordon, principal of Nielsen, and land use consultant Owen Lawlor. 
• Downtown businesses, including heads of Beachview Inn, Rush Inn, Pacific Cookie Company, Pacific Wave and Zoccoli’s Deli. Coonerty’s sister and owner of Bookshop Santa Cruz Casey Protti donated, as did his mother-in-law and owner of Dell Williams, Casey Bernard.

Coonerty has professional connections to developers and family connections to Downtown businesses. Neither, he has said, will compromise his decision-making process as an elected official. 

The progressive mayoral candidates have overlapping support.

The other four mayoral candidates — Krohn, Ami Chen Mills, Gillian Greensite, and Joy Schendledecker — have received donations from some of the same supporters.

Ten donors gave to multiple of Coonerty’s challengers, including three that backed all four challengers. Santa Cruz for Bernie founder Jeffrey Smedberg, former city council candidate Ron Pomerantz and Krohn’s wife Rachel O’Malley are among the repeat donors. 

One mailer paid for by Krohn’s campaign urged voters to vote for Krohn — or Schendledecker, or Chen Mills. 

Questions or comments? Email info@santacruzlocal.org. Santa Cruz Local is supported by members, major donors, sponsors and grants for the general support of our newsroom. Our news judgments are made independently and not on the basis of donor support. Learn more about Santa Cruz Local and how we are funded.

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The City of Capitola will be home to a future female surfer statue originally planned for Pleasure Point. (Stephen Baxter — Santa Cruz Local file)

CAPITOLA >> After months of navigating pushback from East Cliff Drive residents, the team behind the female surfer statue project announced today it will have a new home: Capitola Esplanade. 

The 18-foot tall statue representing women’s contributions to surfing was proposed for an area on east cliff known as the Dirt Farm, which overlooks a surf break called Jack’s, or 38th. Despite gaining early support from dozens of local waterwomen, surfboard shapers, artists and other local leaders, including Santa Cruz County Supervisor Manu Koenig, whose district includes the area, ultimately the support was not what the team had envisioned.

“When we first knew this project was going to go public I thought the main concerns would be physically her, what she looked like, how old she is, etc.,” said Kari Lockhead, one of the project leads. “At first I thought people had legitimate concerns that I wanted to address, but it quickly became a lot of misinformed conversations. So the negativity around it from social media posts to podcast interviews about it really spiraled and it was disappointing. This is not offshore drilling, this is a female surf statue, the third of its kind in the world. And if we can’t celebrate and come together on that then we’re in the wrong space.”

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The pivot to Capitola was natural, Lockhead said, with the village being a known travel destination and home to the Women on Waves surf competition held in October of each year. Capitola’s surf breaks were also inducted into the Santa Cruz World Surfing Reserve in 2025, now encompassing seven miles of coastal surf from Capitola to Natural Bridges State Park. The two surfer statues – the male version on West Cliff Drive and the proposed female statue at Capitola, will bookend the preserved coastline, Lockhead said.

“This is an east side loss and her win,” Lockhead said. “No one deserves to be in a position where they have to constantly justify their place, and that includes this project. Capitola has become a place that’s part of the greater community. They host movie nights and festivals and concerts, they are about bringing our county together.”

The statue will be created by sculptors Brian W. Curtis and Thomas Marsh, the same artists who crafted the original West Cliff Drive male surfer statue and is privately funded. It’s still in the initial phase, Lockhead said, and next steps include a review by the city’s arts commission and then eventually approval by Capitola City Council. The exact location is still in discussion, and if approved, installation is targeted for 2027.

This story will be updated.

Questions or comments? Email info@santacruzlocal.org. Santa Cruz Local is supported by members, major donors, sponsors and grants for the general support of our newsroom. Our news judgments are made independently and not on the basis of donor support. Learn more about Santa Cruz Local and how we are funded.

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More than a dozen parents and students from Duncan Holbert, which primarily serves children 0-5 years old with disabilities, said the school is crucial to her child’s success. (Pedro Gonzalez Renteria — Santa Cruz Local file)

WATSONVILLE >> A controversial proposal to relocate students from Renaissance High School and Duncan Holbert Preschool in the coming school year was pushed off by Pajaro Valley Unified School District trustees at a Wednesday meeting that went late into the night. But larger questions about school closures remain.

“As you see, my son is autistic,” said Jessica Ortiz in Spanish, as her young son ran cheerfully through the board room. Minutes before, he had swiped the gavel from the trustees’ table, before another attendee gently returned it. Ortiz, along with more than a dozen other parents from Duncan Holbert, which primarily serves children 0-5 years old with disabilities, said the school is crucial to her child’s success. 

“My son lost his fear of speaking there,” she said. “He couldn’t talk, and now he speaks two languages — more than me.”

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Without warning, parents and teachers at Duncan Holbert last Friday were taken aback when the district released a proposal to relocate Duncan Holbert’s students to other elementary schools across the district to make room for high schoolers from continuation school Renaissance High in La Selva Beach. Staff and students of the high school were similarly surprised and skeptical of the idea. 

District leaders had planned to bring the school reorganization back to the board for a vote in June. Instead, following pushback from dozens of attendees, the trustees directed Superintendent Heather Contreras to postpone the decision. 

A Sustainable Schools Advisory committee that formed in March to study possible school closures is set to return to the board with recommendations in November. 

School closures are meant to save the district money amid declining enrollment and persistent budget shortfalls. Trustees laid off dozens of teachers and mental health clinicians to help close the shortfall. The layoffs were finalized at Wednesday’s meeting.

How to get involved

As district leaders consider decisions about the future of PVUSD, parents, students, staff and community members will have opportunities this summer to raise concerns, ask questions, and consider future district leadership. Spanish translation and interpretation is available.

Board meetings 

Agendas with topics to be discussed must be posted at least three days in advance. The meetings usually begin at 6 or 7 p.m. and are streamed live. Attendees may comment on agenda items or other topics, usually for between one to two minutes.  

Board meetings are scheduled for: 

• June 17.
• June 24. 
• July 15. 
• Aug. 5. 
• Aug. 26.  

See a full schedule for 2026 meetings. 

The meetings alternate between:

• PVUSD District Office Boardroom, 294 Green Valley Road, Watsonville.
• Watsonville City Council Chambers, 275 Main St., 4th floor, Watsonville. 

All board meetings are livestreamed on Youtube. 

Listening Sessions

Trustees hold virtual listening sessions prior to each board meeting to discuss items on the agenda or other topics. 

The meetings are held on Zoom, and are scheduled for 7-8 p.m.:

• June 22.
• July 13.
• Aug. 3.
• Aug. 24.
• See a full schedule for 2026.

The district also has an online form to submit questions.

School reorganization committee 

A 23-member Sustainable Schools Advisory group is studying possible school closures or reorganizations. Meetings are livestreamed on Youtube. The group will begin asking for public feedback in late June, said district spokesperson Alejandro Chavez.

The committee is set to meet at 5:30 p.m. on:

• May 28.
• June 10.
• June 23.
• July 14.
• July 22.
• Aug. 4.
• Aug. 19.

See a full schedule, documents under review and recordings of past meetings. 

Contact trustees and administrators

See contact information for administrators and staff in the district directory.

Vote or run for office

Three of seven trustee seats be on the ballot in the Nov. 3 general election:

• Trustee area 1, now represented by Joy Flynn. Flynn said Thursday evening that she is not seeking reelection.
• Trustee area 4, now represented by Daniel Dodge Jr. who has said he is running for reelection. Pajaro Valley High School senior Eriberto Estrada has announced he is also running.
• Trustee area 5, now represented by Olivia Flores. 
• Trustee area 7, now represented by Misty Navarro. Navarro has said she is running for reelection. District parent Mads Realmuto has announced he is also running.

The filing period for candidates is set to open this summer.

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Questions or comments? Email info@santacruzlocal.org. Santa Cruz Local is supported by members, major donors, sponsors and grants for the general support of our newsroom. Our news judgments are made independently and not on the basis of donor support. Learn more about Santa Cruz Local and how we are funded.

Learn about membership Santa Cruz Local’s news is free. We believe that high-quality local news is crucial to democracy. We depend on locals like you to make a meaningful contribution so everyone can access our news. Learn about membership

The post PVUSD school relocations are postponed, but still on the table. appeared first on Santa Cruz Local.

Renaissance High School is a continuation school for students who have struggled or been expelled at other high schools. (Nik Altenberg — Santa Cruz Local file)

Pajaro Valley Unified School District board meeting

• 5 p.m. Wednesday, May 20 at 294 Green Valley Road, Watsonville.
• The meeting will be livestreamed on YouTube.

SANTA CRUZ >> Students of Renaissance High School, a continuation school in La Selva Beach, and Duncan Holbert Preschool in Watsonville, which serves students with disabilities, could be relocated in a plan to be considered by the Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees on Wednesday.

“I feel like everything’s getting taken away from us,” said Maria Salazar, an 11th grader at Renaissance. “They already took our teachers, our mental health clinicians, and now they want to take our campus, and it just kind of feels like they’re breaking us down.”

The proposal was announced in a Renaissance High staff meeting and in a letter to Duncan Holbert parents on Friday.

The plan to close and relocate students from two schools that serve vulnerable populations drew swift condemnation. An online petition to oppose closing Duncan Holbert gathered more than 1,300 signatures by Monday afternoon. The petition called the plan “haphazard and rushed” and said the dispersal of students to other campuses would disrupt students’ education.

“District administration views the proposal as an opportunity to create more inclusive environments for both preschool students receiving special education services and students enrolled in alternative education programs,” district staff wrote in a press release Friday. 

A board staff report says the school closures could be finalized this summer if the board approves the plan at its June 17 meeting.

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PVUSD faces a budget crisis due in part to declining enrollment and the end of one-time pandemic-era funding. In December, the board approved a controversial slate of layoffs that slashed mental health staff, teachers and other positions totaling more than 150 full time equivalent staff. 

The report cites the per student cost at Renaissance as roughly twice the district average, and points to issues with the school’s water quality that could cost roughly $3 million to address. In 2024, PVUSD voters approved $315 million in bonds to repair and upgrade school facilities.

The staff report describes the relocation of Duncan Holbert students as an improvement in equity, stability and continuity, as disabled students could then attend preschool through middle school at the same site and learn alongside general education students. 

Renaissance High has 92 students, according to the district staff report, and the Duncan Holbert campus serves more than 150 students including state preschool programs, according to the online petition.

Duncan Holbert office manager Mayra Zamudio said in an interview Friday that she worries students won’t have the same support at schools not specialized for disabled students, and that the relocation will disrupt their sense of stability. 

“Change is very big for these little ones,” she said.

Ariel Stonebloom, who teaches biology and agriculture at Renaissance, said the school’s rural campus, with a large garden, is integral to the success of students who have often struggled in traditional school environments.

In a much smaller, more urban campus, “our program is not going to work,” she said.

Renaissance High 11th grader Rebecca Buckman said the garden is a big part of the school. Buckman transferred to Renaissance several months ago and described feeling less anxious and getting along with her peers better.

“I feel like the adults in the situation may not understand how much this actually means to us,” Buckman said. “It’s helped my mental health a lot being here.”

In March, trustees voted to form a committee to study possible school closures, in response to persistent budget shortfalls. This proposal wasn’t included in that process but the district staff report indicates the proposal would be reviewed by the committee.

The proposal comes a year after the board considered moving Ceiba College Prep, a charter school, to Renaissance due a zoning dispute at Ceiba’s campus, and making room for Renaissance students at Pajaro Valley High School. 

Renaissance and Pajaro Valley High students, parents and staff raised concerns over the proposal, but ultimately PVUSD found a resolution that allowed Ceiba to stay at its Watsonville location.

Questions or comments? Email info@santacruzlocal.org. Santa Cruz Local is supported by members, major donors, sponsors and grants for the general support of our newsroom. Our news judgments are made independently and not on the basis of donor support. Learn more about Santa Cruz Local and how we are funded.

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Mayoral candidates Gillian Greensite, left, and Ryan Coonerty speak at a candidate forum at the Kaiser Permanente Arena in Santa Cruz on May 14. (Amaya Edwards — Santa Cruz Local/CatchLight Local)

SANTA CRUZ >> As Santa Cruz contends with state housing mandates and the nation’s most expensive rental market, candidates running in the June 2 election have proposed major changes to the city’s housing policies. 

Read on to hear how candidates described their views  in interviews with Santa Cruz Local. For more on candidates’ positions on important local issues, read the full Election Guide. 

Chen Mills and Noack call for more “missing middle” homes

Gabriella Noack, who is challenging Renee Golder for the District 6 City Council seat, said she wants more small-scale multifamily development in single-family neighborhoods. 

“We can focus more on building duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes that prioritize access to public space, walkability, bikeability,” Noack said.

Such medium-density housing is known as the “missing middle” between single-family homes and large apartment buildings.

Confused about housing jargon?

Read Santa Cruz Local’s housing glossary to learn common words, phrases and laws.

State and local laws have already cleared a path towards some denser development in single-family neighborhoods. The 2021 state law SB 9 allows up to four units on single-family lots, including duplexes. In 2023, the city council approved a long-term development plan that calls for up to 10 units on some single-family parcels near public transit, and potentially more small-scale multi-family housing throughout single-family neighborhoods.

Noack and mayoral candidate Ami Chen Mills said more missing middle housing could be built instead of large buildings downtown and along major streets. 

District 6 Santa Cruz City Councilmember Renee Golder, left, faces a challenger in Gabriella Noack. (Amaya Edwards — Santa Cruz Local/CatchLight Local)

Making the switch would require the go-ahead from state authorities. 

The council could vote to allow more multifamily housing across single-family neighborhoods. But to downzone other areas, the city would have to convince state housing authorities not just that upzoned neighborhoods could expand enough to offset downzoning, but that the new development is economically likely to happen in the next six years.

Krohn and Greensite want to take on the state

Mayoral candidates Gillian Greensite and Chris Krohn say the city has been too welcoming to developers, and that leaders should take a more aggressive approach in fighting back against large market-rate projects and state laws that remove local control.

Krohn wants to join cities like Santa Monica and Huntington Beach in legally pushing back against state housing mandates, either by filing briefs in support of the cities’ suits against the state or joining as a litigant.

Even if they aren’t successful, Krohn said, “those kinds of lawsuits send signals to the developers themselves” that the city won’t easily bend to proposals residents oppose.

Former Santa Cruz City Councilmember Chris Krohn is making a bid for Santa Cruz Mayor in the June 2 primary election. (Amaya Edwards — Santa Cruz Local/CatchLight Local)

Cities have had some success challenging state law — in 2024, the Los Angeles Superior Court ruled that a group of charter cities were not obligated to abide by SB 9, although that ruling is now under reconsideration.

Krohn also said he wants to slow the production of market-rate “luxury apartments,” although he’s not sure whether he would risk a lawsuit, or the further loss of local control the state imposes on local governments that don’t meet their housing goals.

“I’d have to take a look at the situation and how far the council was willing to go, and the advice of the city attorney,” he said. Local governments that defy state laws to block development have mostly lost legal battles with the state, and have often faced heavy penalties.

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Greensite said the city should take “a leadership role” in advocating for major change at the state level.

“I would be really working hard to have our state representatives come to town hall meetings and explain this to the people,” she said. “I think the state laws are outrageous, and I would be pushing back very strongly.”

The city has lobbied state lawmakers for “modest changes” to housing laws — to little effect, said Lee Butler, Santa Cruz director of planning and community development. 

Ami Chen Mills is making a second attempt at Santa Cruz Mayor in the June 2 primary election. (Amaya Edwards — Santa Cruz Local/CatchLight Local)

Chen Mills and Krohn propose a rental registry

Chen Mills and Krohn both want to create a public rental registry more comprehensive than the city’s existing map of rentals. Krohn said the registry could include the identity of landlords and how many bedrooms each unit has. Chen Mills said it could include what rent is charged, to ensure compliance with state rent hike restrictions.

The city council discussed creating a mandatory or voluntary rental registry in 2019 and 2020, but it was never approved. In 2020, city staff estimated that a mandatory rental registry would cost $77,000 to create and $44,000 to maintain each year after. 

Most candidates say city needs more tax revenue

Nearly all candidates mentioned the city’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund as a way to fund construction and preservation of affordable housing. Some want to add new taxes to bolster the fund — without raising sales or property taxes.

Hector Marin, right, is challenging incumbent District 4 City Councilmember Scott Newsome in the June 2 primary election. (Amaya Edwards — Santa Cruz Local/CatchLight Local)

The taxes proposed include:

• A higher real estate transfer tax. The city’s existing real estate transfer tax, established in 2025 with Measure C, goes toward the housing trust fund. “Next year, let’s make it a little stronger” by removing the $200,000 cap on the maximum tax paid, said mayoral candidate Joy Schendledecker.
• A gross receipts tax on businesses earning more than $1 million annually. The tax, proposed by District 4 Santa Cruz City Council candidate Hector Marin, could exempt locally owned businesses, he said. Some money could also be used to hire more police officers and mental health liaisons to enforce homeless camping restrictions, and to boost a small business incubator program, Marin said.
• An updated business registration tax. Chen Mills said the tax could be similar to one in Scotts Valley. Santa Cruz’s existing business registration fee charges $145.15 annually, plus up to $7.40 per employee.  

Those taxes would need voter approval if placed on the ballot by the city council or a citizen initiative. 

Mayoral candidate Ryan Coonerty said he doesn’t plan to propose new or raised taxes. 

“People are feeling the pinch of affordability, and so we will not be able to go to the ballot and just raise people’s taxes,” he said. Instead, he said, he wants to drive economic growth to raise more money with the city’s existing sales tax and transient occupancy tax.

Election Guide 2026

• Santa Cruz Mayor
• Santa Cruz City Council
• District 4 Santa Cruz County Supervisor
• District 2 Monterey County Supervisor

Questions or comments? Email info@santacruzlocal.org. Santa Cruz Local is supported by members, major donors, sponsors and grants for the general support of our newsroom. Our news judgments are made independently and not on the basis of donor support. Learn more about Santa Cruz Local and how we are funded.

Learn about membership Santa Cruz Local’s news is free. We believe that high-quality local news is crucial to democracy. We depend on locals like you to make a meaningful contribution so everyone can access our news. Learn about membership

The post Four housing ideas from Santa Cruz mayor, council candidates appeared first on Santa Cruz Local.

Madre Rosa Dolores Rodríguez came to the Pajaro Valley in 1989 to help after the Loma Prieta earthquake, and never left. (Amaya Edwards — Santa Cruz Local/CatchLight Local)

Editor’s note: This story first appeared in Noticias Watsonville’s WhatsApp channel. Scroll down to watch a video report.

PAJARO >> Rosa Dolores Rodríguez, better known to her community as Madre Rosa Dolores, never forgot the words one of her many aunts told her before she died, when Rosa was 16 years old.

“You have to be what you have to be, don’t let anyone tell you no,” she recalled in a recent interview in her office at Casa de la Cultura Center in Pajaro.

But she never imagined that her mission would be to become the driving force and heart of the community of Pajaro, a town located in northern Monterey County.

There, in 1989, Mother Rosa founded Casa de la Cultura, a community center that offers free classes, health services and food. Today, her mission is for the people she serves, mostly Mexican farmworkers, to feel pride in their language and culture, and themselves.

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“We can uplift the spirit of the community, the spirit of the individual — the recognition of their voice and the value of the person. And to be able to express all of that: culture, music, dance, food,” she said in Spanish. “This is a place that is open for whatever is needed.”

The youngest of 13 siblings born in Phoenix, Arizona, she grew up in the countryside. Her father, a man from Guanajuato who fought in the Mexican Revolution, and her mother, a woman from Piedras Negras, Coahuila, who always invited everyone to their home.

From an early age, she showed herself to be different from other girls her age. She played “Mexican Revolution” games with her siblings, played the saxophone and castanets, and loved bullfighting movies.

“We lived in a place where there were bulls two or three fields away,” she recalled. “Of course, we never ran with the bulls, but I loved going to see them and the horns and all that. I was little, I didn’t know, but I loved the idea of ​​’I want to be a bullfighter!’ I liked the bullfighters’ outfits.”

But her career wasn’t in the bullrings but in God’s ministry. In the late 1940s, her family moved to California to work in the fields, and from then on, she lived in different towns in the state following the harvests. She learned to drive at 14 and on weekends picked tomatoes, potatoes, almonds, apricots and cotton.

https://santacruzlocal.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/madre-rosa-dolores-pajaro-2026-1.mp4

It was at her aunt’s funeral that she felt something “stir within me,” as she put it, listening to the organ music during the Mass. And then, praying before the Blessed Sacrament on Holy Thursday, she had a spiritual experience.

“It was like a calling, it was like, ‘You have to come,’ something like that, I don’t know how to explain it,” she said.

In 1966, she entered the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul and for 26 years worked in schools and hospitals in California and Missouri. But after the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989, she came to Pajaro Valley to help those affected in the Watsonville area.

Here, she told us, her calling took a turn when she realized there was so much to be done. She began to get involved in the community and work with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, St. Patrick’s Parish, Catholic Charities and the Community Action Board.

Then, in a small room at Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Church in Pajaro, she began teaching a group of six women how to sew, and later, with their help, she began distributing food to residents.

Madre Rosa Dolores, right, speaks at a Noticias Watsonville listening session in March at Casa de la Cultura. (Kara Meyberg Guzman — Santa Cruz Local)

One day, after the 1995 Pajaro River flood, she saw a “For Rent” sign on a building at 225 Salinas Road. She called and told the owner her vision: to have a place to provide food, a free clinic, music, art and cultural classes, and “everything the community needs.” The owner agreed.

“People I knew back then helped me clean up here after the flood, and we got started,” she said.

Since then, the Casa de la Cultura has helped hundreds of families in the rural community of Pajaro, turning the 1995 flood, and more recently the devastating 2023 flood, into opportunities for growth.

“Now there’s a voice,” she said. “We’re helping the community find their voice, to express their needs. No more complaining. No more being victims, ‘Oh, poor things, they ignore us.’ They ignore us because we don’t speak up!”

Héctor Llamas, owner of Pájaro Food Center who has known her for 26 years, admires what she does for the community. 

“I think we need more women like her,” he said in Spanish. “She has always been concerned about the Pajaro community”

Llamas added, “She’s never still, she’s always looking for something more. Mainly county and state funds; she’s always looking for ways to get them for the community.”

Casa de la Cultura Center in Pajaro. (Amaya Edwards — Santa Cruz Local/CatchLight Local)

Mother Rosa Dolores, who has belonged to the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur since 2007, no longer dreams of being a bullfighter. But she has managed to overcome adversity and uplift the community, as great bullfighters do. 

She has two big dreams for the future: to conduct an orchestra (although she already did a mini one once with the Watsonville maestro Javier Vargas) and, most importantly, to secure a permanent home for Casa de la Cultura.

“It would be a beautiful thing for Pajaro,” she said hopefully. “But a dream that is becoming a reality is the housing project underway in Las Lomas. That is a huge, huge achievement for us, for the community.”

She asks her community to continue praying for her so that she can do what God asks her to do and that, when she is no longer here, they will continue the development of the community and their personal growth.

“Because I’ve lived here longer than I thought I would. I was only planning to be here for the duration of the earthquake and that’s it. But here I am. And it has been a great experience. And what I’ve liked is that I’ve been my own boss,” she said, laughing.

Editor Catalina Jaramillo contributed translation.

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