Reflecting on a decade of public service

I'm turning 40 years old in less than a month. When I was first elected to the Eureka City Council in 2014, I was 30. Without realizing it, I became (to the best of my knowledge) the youngest woman and first Latina elected in Eureka, and went on to be the first Latina on the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors when elected two years ago. But I didn't set out to be first in anything, I just wanted our public decisions to include a mix of perspectives. This included the ideas of a working person who wanted to put down roots here, enjoy life in Eureka, and someday bring together multiple generations of family here. And to be honest, there were times when I barely made it through those 10 years. While it's psychologically and emotionally difficult work, I'm not talking about the mental strain of the job.

See, to serve in local government, we choose to pay most elected leaders almost nothing. Eureka, the largest city in a four-county area, pays City Councilmembers $500 a month. Many cities, school boards, and special districts pay an even smaller stipend or nothing at all — it's fortunate for some folks to get their mileage reimbursed. While we see many appointed government workers making well-deserved six-figure salaries (after all, we compete with public agencies and private sector firms all over the state and nation for talent), elected officials typically receive almost no compensation. Although my current position pays me enough to make being a County Supervisor

my primary job, it often felt nearly impossible to spend the years developing the experience, broad base of knowledge, and nuanced skillset to navigate this role over the previous 8+ years. I am fortunate to have a supportive family who helped me eke by on my earnings from four jobs over the past decade of my life, and I am deeply aware that many people don't have that type of family help to get them through rough patches.

This is not an uncommon story in Humboldt County. Every day, I meet people who have three or more jobs. Costs for housing and basic necessities are very high, and our fellow community members struggle to make ends meet. Child care is also incredibly costly, creating challenges for working parents. I don't have to tell readers of this publication that there are many people struggling financially in our community. However, we in government expect to hear from the people who are the most closely affected by issues that we are deciding on, and to find ways to connect with these residents. We also expect that — magically — our boards, councils, commissions, and other decision-making bodies will reflect the true face of our communities. After all, that's what representative government is about, right?

You probably sense where this is going. If we as a community want to make it feasible for people to run for office — people from a wide variety of backgrounds, with lived experience to address the big issues in our communities, who bring perspective on current needs and opportunities, and who represent our ever-changing demographics — we have to pay them something fair for their time once they earn those positions. I'm not talking about my job (which is one rare exception), but I am talking about the people who make decisions for our cities, our schools, our water districts, and other organizations ensuring that the most fundamental functions of civil society are carried out. Without this, we risk a truly representative democracy where anyone with good ideas and courage can manage to serve in public office. We also will struggle to create any kind of pipeline for future regional, state, or federal leaders who come from and understand our community.

Next time I write this column which appears every other month, I'll lay out some of the things I'm working on this year and some of the things I want to accomplish before my current term on the Board of Supervisors ends in 2026. In the meantime, I urge you to encourage good people to run for office and support them to get there. As we prepare for the November general election, many people might need that little nudge! It takes a lot of support from loved ones, volunteers, people willing to put their resources behind prospective candidates, and a community willing to watch them grow. It's also worth it for local agencies to assess whether an increase in the stipends provided for this hard and important work are feasible — usually something they have to take to the voters.

I am grateful that my community has supported me along the way, and I look forward to more growth as I embark on my 10th year of elected office and my 40th year of life!

As always, I would welcome hearing from you and encourage you to drop me a line at narroyo@co.humboldt.ca.us.