Ana Luz Acevedo-Cabrera
Candidate for Mayor, Marina · Professor/Nonprofit Boardmember
Ana Luz Acevedo-Cabrera grew up in Castroville and North Monterey County, attending Castroville Elementary, Gambetta Middle School, and North Monterey County High School. She holds a bachelor's degree in Geophysics with a seismology and structural-engineering focus, a master's in Earth and Planetary Science, and a master's in Civil and Environmental Engineering, all from UC Berkeley, along with a master's in Management from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where she is also pursuing an MBA. Trained as a seismic engineer, she worked on seismic hazard assessment and California's Earthquake Early Warning system, and has also worked in software engineering and entrepreneurship in Silicon Valley, including roles at Adobe, Facebook, and Coursera. She now teaches business, technology, and entrepreneurship at Hartnell College and coaches entrepreneurs and small-business owners. She is a community organizer with COPA, a coalition of faith-based, labor, and nonprofit groups active in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties, through which she has testified before the Assembly and Senate Judiciary Committees and helped shape a housing bill that became California law. She serves on the boards of CHISPA Housing and the Monterey County Free Libraries Foundation.
Positions in brief
Acevedo-Cabrera's platform focuses on funding new police and fire facilities without a broad utility tax, expanding workforce housing, and supporting existing local businesses.
Acevedo-Cabrera says Marina needs new police and fire department facilities to address emergency response delays, but opposes the city's proposed 7% Utility Users Tax as written because it bundles that funding with a new City Hall. She instead favors what she calls a fiscally conservative special bond measure that would raise funds only for police and fire buildings, with tax rates reduced if the measure passes. On housing, she wants to address the affordability gap for middle-income essential workers such as teachers, nurses, and firefighters, including exploring Cypress Knolls as a higher-density, townhome-style development site with grant funding for cleanup. On the economy, she wants to support existing Marina businesses through steps like rotating vendor opportunities at community spaces and a possible visitor center or business directory.
On the issues
Wants new police and fire department facilities funded through a dedicated bond measure rather than the proposed Utility Users Tax.
“a special bond measure that only raises funds for new police and fire department buildings”
Source →Opposes the proposed 7% Utility Users Tax as currently written because it bundles a new City Hall in with public-safety funding.
Source →Wants to close the affordability gap for middle-income essential workers through higher-density housing options such as townhomes at Cypress Knolls.
Source →Wants to support existing Marina businesses through steps like rotating vendor opportunities and a possible visitor center or business directory.
Source →
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