Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Supervisor Ray Mueller, District 3
Subject: Reappointments to the Farmworker Advisory Commission
RECOMMENDATION:
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Recommendations for the Farmworker Advisory Commission:
A) Reappointment of Nicolas Romero-Gonzalez, representing Farmworker, for a second term ending June 30, 2028; and
B) Reappointment of Judith Guerrero, representing Family Member, for a first full term ending June 30, 2028; and
C) Reappointment of Stephanie Perez, representing Community Based Organization (Puente), for a second term ending June 30, 2028; and
D) Clarify and reconfirm term end dates reflecting June 30 for all Farmworker Advisory Commission members.
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BACKGROUND:
On June 14, 2022, the Board of Supervisors established the San Mateo County Farmworker Advisory Commission (Resolution No. 078906) as further amended September 24, 2024 (Resolution No. 080650). In creating the Farmworker Advisory Commission, the Board recognized that the agriculture industry is a major component of the San Mateo County economy. The initial Resolution referenced a 2019 Needs Assessment conducted by the County’s Healthcare for the Homeless and Farmworker Health (HCH/FH) Program, which found that, at the time, there were approximately 80 farms in the County, and they employed between 1,300-1,600 farmworkers. Yet many of these farmworkers had unmet needs and required support on issues such as employment, working conditions, immigration, healthcare, education, accessing safety net services, and affordable housing.
At the time when the Board created the Farmworker Advisory Commission, aside from HCH/FH, which is focused solely on providing healthcare to farmworkers, no County program existed to specifically promote the needs of farmworkers and their families, or to recommend programs, plans, and policies that would help farmworkers access benefits and services and address their unmet needs.
This ten-member Commission promotes programs and policies that address the unmet needs of farmworkers in San Mateo County. The Commission’s areas of focus include: advising the Board of Supervisors and County agencies on effectively outreaching to farmworkers and their families; helping farmworkers and their families navigate public agencies and access benefits and services; raising awareness among farmworkers about labor laws and other protections; bringing visibility to issues that disproportionately affect farmworkers; and helping to build trust and relationships in the County’s agricultural community, particularly between employers and employees.
Commissioners must be residents of San Mateo County and be members of one of the following groups: four (4) farmworkers, three (3) representatives from a designated community-based organization that targets and benefits the County’s farmworker population; 1 (one) family member of a farmworker; 1 (one) member from the San Mateo County Agricultural Advisory Committee; and 1 (one) representative from the agricultural industry who is not a farmworker.
Initial terms of Commission members were staggered to help ensure the continuity of the Commission. Five of the ten members served initial two-year terms. After the initial term, all members serve three-year terms, with a maximum term limit of four three-year terms.
DISCUSSION:
I. Clarifying Term End Dates
Initially, the terms of the Commission members were staggered to help ensure the continuity of the Commission, and each term began on or after July 1, ending on June 30 of the applicable year, depending on the length of the member’s initial term. Several Commissioners were inadvertently appointed to terms that started and ended on inconsistent dates. Therefore, this memorandum recommends clarifying the term end dates for current Commissioners so that they are consistent with the term lengths established by resolution. The Commissioners will serve the remainder of their respective terms according to the following schedule, assuming the Board reappoints the commissioners put forth for reappointment in this memorandum.
Member Title Appointed Expires Representing
Nicolas Romero-Gonzalez Member 10/04/22 06/30/28 Farmworker
Rogelio Nabor-Martinez Member 10/04/22 06/30/27 Farmworker
Currently VACANT Member 10/04/22 06/30/25 Farmworker
Currently VACANT Member 10/04/22 06/30/24 Farmworker
Judith Guerrero Member 09/12/23 06/30/28 Family Member
Corina Rodriguez Perez Member 10/04/22 06/30/27 CBO (Puente)
Stephanie Perez Member 10/04/22 06/30/28 CBO (ILS Svcs)
Jorge Sanchez Member 11/07/23 06/30/27 CBO (ALAS)
Currently VACANT Member 10/04/22 06/30/28 Agricultural Industry
John Vars Member 10/04/22 06/30/27 Ag. Advisory Committee
II. Reappointments
Nicolas Romero-Gonzalez and Stephanie Perez have each served on the FAC since its inception and are being recommended to serve for a second term ending June 30, 2028 representing Farmworker and Community-Based Organization (CBO), respectively.
Judith Guerrero was initially appointed to the Commission at its inception in October 2022 to represent a CBO seat. In 2023, an unexpected vacancy occurred for the Family member seat to which she was appointed for the existing partial term ending in 2025. Approval of this reappointment would reflect her first full term representing Family Member ending June 30, 2028.
Nicolas Romero-Gonzalez is an agricultural engineer who has lived in the United States for 16 years. After working in the agricultural industry in Kentucky, and later for Caltrain in California, Nicolas now works for a nursery in Pescadero and is interested in making sure the farmworkers are doing well economically, with their health, and that their workers' rights are respected.
Stephanie Perez is a Housing Project Specialist at Puente de la Costa Sur in Pescadero. She is currently working on Puente’s first housing project and hopes to continue working towards more affordable housing in San Mateo County, specifically the South Coast. She is very passionate about advocating for immigrants, as she knows firsthand, being a daughter of immigrants. She is interested in working alongside farmworkers, to be a voice for them within government and its importance to provide equality and equity for such an essential group in the community.
Judith Guerrero’s grandparents immigrated to the United States in the 1980s to work on a farm picking artichokes, peas, and brussels sprouts. Judith and her mother immigrated to Half Moon Bay in the 1990s. Upon their arrival, Judith’s mother immediately joined the workforce as a farmworker in a small farm on Highway 92, and has worked at this farm for over 30 years. When Judith was starting high school, they moved to live on the farm where her mother worked since the previous tenant moved out. For about five years, they lived at the back of the greenhouses closer to the creek, not visible from the main road, until her grandparents decided to retire and move back to Mexico. Judith and her mother had to relocate in Half Moon Bay. Her stepfather was also a farmworker and shared living in one small room in a home with four other families. While attending college, Judith also worked at the flower shop in the farm where her mother worked until Judith graduated college. Judith believes that her life’s journey has been connected to the farm industry in this country. She has been a resident of the coast since the 1990s. Before working for Coastside Hope, she worked for the Boys & Girls Club of the Coastside serving families of farmworkers with similar journeys to hers. Judith’s mother continues to work at the small farm on Highway 92. Judith is passionate about helping farmworkers and immigrants in the community reach their full potential.
FISCAL IMPACT:
None.