Napa County

Gallagher says the county “should always be looking at all options” and maintains that nonprofit groups already play an important role in serving farmworkers and their families. As supervisor, she would work “very closely with community-based organizations to push relief money out into the community.”

Truchard says she would be interested in pursuing something similar to Sonoma's program. “If we have those funds,” she says, “we should absolutely protect those workers at all costs.”

Gallagher wants to prioritize affordable housing for Napa’s workforce. Housing, she says, should be a part of every development negotiation the county has with businesses that want to bring more employees into the county and adds, “I think it's fair for us to say, ‘How do you plan to house these people?’” Gallagher touts her role in helping to form the Napa Housing Coalition, an ad-hoc group that advocates for more affordable housing. In 2020, the coalition pushed the Board of Supervisors to enact eviction protections for tenants who were financially affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Truchard says her experience as a real estate lawyer makes her well positioned to form strong partnerships between the county, cities and developers. She notes the county can do a better job of working with cities, specifically the city of Napa, to identify underutilized parcels that can be developed into both affordable and market-rate housing. “The key is for the county to work with the city of Napa and create a symbiotic relationship,” she says.

Dunbar says the county should be working to increase the supply of affordable housing and making sure that those who work here can actually afford to live here. As mayor of Yountville, Dunbar touts his collaboration with several state agencies to build affordable housing units on property owned by the Veterans Home of California in Yountville — a project, he says, that stems from Gov. Gavin Newsom's 2019 executive order that makes it easier to build affordable housing on surplus state property. During Dunbar’s tenure as mayor, he says, Yountville has also expanded its partnership with Napa Valley Community Housing to buy properties and convert them to affordable housing units. Additionally, he says, he supports the construction of ADUs that offer below-market rate rent. Increasing the supply of affordable housing, he adds, "improves our workforce availability and with that, air quality and other climate benefits.”

Cottrell says that the county should be working with employers to increase affordable housing supply. When a business approaches the county with a development proposal, she says, officials should ask how the business plans to house new employees. “We should be having conversations with project applicants to say, ‘How are you going to help us solve the housing imbalance that is happening here?’” she adds. Cottrell also advocates for an increase in the county’s housing impact fee, a one-time payment charged to developers for new housing built. She notes that as a planning commissioner, she has followed the growth of accessory dwelling units (ADUs, also known as “in-law units”) across the county. She says that if the county is to encourage the construction of more ADUs, it should first have data confirming that they are in fact rented out to residents with moderate- or low-income levels.

Dunbar says Napa should be working with other counties and growers across the region to protect water resources. He sits on the board of the county Flood Control & Water Conservation District, where the mayors of the five Napa localities work with the Board of Supervisors to oversee the maintenance of the county watershed, among other responsibilities. Dunbar also supports encouraging growers to find new ways to cut water consumption, including water recycling. During his tenure as Mayor of Yountville, he says the town’s wastewater treatment plant expanded its capacity to recycle over 90% of available wastewater, thanks to a series of partnerships with nearby wineries. 

Cottrell says the county should identify and reward local growers and wineries who implement successful water conservation methods. She currently serves on the board of the Watershed Information and Conservation Council, which advises the Board of Supervisors on how to manage water resources. Cottrell says the county needs to improve groundwater monitoring to make more informed decisions about its water resources. “We're going to need to improve our monitoring and our data collection of the various monitoring wells … so that we're getting more real time data,” she says.