As a lifelong resident of Salinas he has dedicated his life to our community, the City of Salinas and the County of Monterey. Fernando knows the concerns of the residents of Salinas, because like most residents of Salinas his family did not have it easy growing up.  He was one of 11 children with a father that worked at the Spreckles Sugar Company and had a stay at home mother.  His family is very much like all of ours here in  District 1.  He understands that the past few years have been extremely difficult and Fernando has been working hard to make a difference on the issues that most affect people’s lives: a safe community, access to high-quality, affordable health care, good-paying jobs, and overall accessible government that listen to the community.  Supervisor Fernando Armenta’s vision is simple, make government transparent and seamless

Supervisor Armenta has spent his life fighting for our families, and he has brought that same fighting spirit to the County of Monterey for the past 11 years. Below are some of Fernando’s priorities:

PUBLIC SAFETY AND YOUTH

Making Certain Public Safety issues are Addressed And That Our Youth Have Positive Avenues To Pursue

Fernando knows that our kids need safe schools and safe neighborhoods. Children have a right to attend schools that are free from violence, drugs and the gang influences that plague many of our neighborhoods.  However, this can only be achieved by working together.

Supervisor Armenta pledges that he will continue to work on crime prevention/intervention efforts in our County:  He will continue to provide leadership to support our comprehensive efforts to prevent and intervene in the gang issues our community faces.  And he will have the County continue leading in our lobbying efforts in having more resources and departments participate in comprehensive crime prevention/intervention programs in our community.

Furthermore, he will continue to take the lead in ensuring that City, County, and Schools continue developing partnerships to have prevention plans that decrease gang violence.

Fernando believes that elected officials need to work together in a seamless fashion to get things accomplished.  There will always be naysayers and people that are negative, but as a community he believes we can work together to combat all issues including violence in our community.

We must work with our County Sheriff, District Attorney, Probation Department, the various City Police Departments as well as various non-profit organizations, community groups and leaders to address the issue affecting public safety throughout our county.

We must continue to put more effort in collaborations and develop more partnerships with the different jurisdictions all the while creating a partnership with our community.  In addition we must invest more dollars into prevention efforts and intervention efforts.  This includes making certain that our community has many offerings for all of our youth.  Including baseball, basketball, soccer, volleyball, softball, the arts and other activities that will not only entertain youth but guide them into being responsible young adults with a stake for the future.

HEALTHCARE

Developing Healthcare Opportunities For All Our County Residents

One in four Californians lack health insurance. Millions more struggle with rising health care costs. Fernando believes that affordable health care is critical to creating jobs and is a piece of the puzzle in getting our economy back on track.

Supervisor Armenta has spent his career fighting to expand access to quality health care and has made sure our Safety Net is not broken.  As a County Supervisor, he has made certain that our healthcare safety net is strong and he will continue to push for more services for our community.

Fernando will continue to have the Health Department and Natividad Medical Center develop a comprehensive/collaborative long-term service delivery plan.  In addition he will continue working on Mental Health Service Act programs to be expanded for our community as a whole, while making certain that our Health Department build more partnerships with our local schools.  For example; our Healthy Start Program in the Alisal School District.  Supervisor Armenta will make sure that through the Health and Human Services Committee that he helped form in the County of Monterey that we make certain we are prepared for the upcoming Healthcare Reform Changes.

Jobs and the Economy

Local Jobs, Creating Jobs And Strengthening Our Community Through Our Economy

Fernando believes getting our community back to work should be our number one priority. That is why he has supported our Enterprise Zone, our Redevelopment fight, our push for more local dollars staying here to provide more local jobs.

Supervisor Armenta has taken the lead in looking at creating a Local Job Preference Ordinance when there are bids for County Projects and purchasing supplies.  This is all in an effort to make sure our local people have jobs.  Yet made sure our County Employees are protected.

Supervisor Armenta has made certain that the County of Monterey has been working with other cities and as a region when looking at Economic Development and has been very supportive of the creation of the Economic Development Department that was created in 2011.

Fernando has been instrumental in supporting the summer youth employment program in the past 11 years.  For the past 11 years he has taken the lead in protecting this program and in trying to increase the amount of youth that work each summer.  However, due to the federal decrease in funding for this program the amount for this program has fluctuated and it is currently on a downturn.  However, he truly believes that this must be a strategy used to help out youth violence and Supervisor Armenta will continue to lobby and push for more money for these programs.

There are many priorities, including housing, transportation and education. All of them have to do with our quality of life and Supervisor Armenta is committed, has the experience and the ability through his leadership to continue fighting for all of us in a manner that brings our community together to make certain that our priorities are that of our community and that they foster positive results.  The decisions Supervisor Armenta makes may not always be the most popular but he hopes that our residents understand that it is done with the best information available to him to make the decisions that hopefully pan out positively for all of us, because we are all in it together for the greater good of the community.