Here are images from the ramp up for the November election.
Luis Alejo is representing Watsonville at the Democratic National Convention.
The mother of four and small business owner is running for office for the first time.
The incumbent is seeking another term on the board.
The former mayor is vying for his first term on the school board.
Alejo seeks re-election to represent Watsonville and Gilroy.
The Planning Commissioner is running for elected office for the first time.
Hurst is seeking re-election; he's served 10 years in two stints on the city council.
Volunteers are trying to register student voters.
The complex matter is being negotiated with the state; the city is solvent, leaders say.
Aug. 28 is the anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s famous speech in 1963. Do his words still resonate in 2012? And what do they mean in an election year?
The first council meeting in weeks is Tuesday; there are contracts to approve and a report on the Homeless Shelter Program.
A new online system through the California Secretary of State's office will speed up the process of registering and help reduce human errors.
The council appointee faces his first election uncontested.
The local business owner is running uncontested for the District 6 seat.
Aptos High graduate makes first bid for school board.
Patch sites across the nation are telling their communities' stories about the 2012 Republican National Convention.
Green Village Mobile Home Park owner is denied a rent increase following arbitration with park residents and the city of Watsonville.
Cathedral of Faith is searching for a location to have sermons in Watsonville.
The city's Planning Commission will decide if Del Mar Seafoods can keep the dynamite-like devices in its Walker Street facility.
The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees will take a position on Prop. 30, the governor's tax proposal.
The county Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 in favor of a resolution to remember unaccounted for military personnel.
Top Bay Area Libertarians are skeptical about Romney’s record and have little faith in him as a voice for small government.
Californians Aware is asking voters to sign a petition that would protect key provisions of the Brown Act, the state's open-government law.
While officials are working to return a grow site recently raided near Mount Madonna County Park back to its natural state, they face an uphill battle in releasing the California wild from the grip of illegal growers.
About 14,000 truckloads of dirt will be removed from the Pajaro River this summer.
Assembly Bill 1081, dubbed the 'Trust Act,' calls to limit deportations of illegal immigrants across the state.
Mayor Eduardo Montesino addresses concerns about Watsonville's budget and debts.
Emilio Martinez said it's time he went fishing.
Greg Caput explains the work that will go on along the river over the next three months.
Watsonville is in another battle with the state over Redevelopment Agency funds, but the city isn't backing down.
Karina Cervantez, a Watsonville Planning Commissioner, will run for city council and Margarita Cortez has filed for her position on the Cabrillo College Board of Trustees.
The Pajaro Valley Unified School District will continue to operate with the goal of transparency, staff says.
The state has suspended mandates that require local jurisdictions to keep the public informed.
Monday is the first day to "pull papers," the initial step to run for Watsonville City Council in the November election.
In an effort to save money, the state decided to suspend mandates that require local jurisdictions to keep the public informed.
MapLight offers 'Voter's Edge' for California, revealing campaign contributions, endorsements, and more.
The 2012 Young Assemblymembers Program cultivates the next generation of leaders; it finishes with a ceremony Saturday.
What role is the Pajaro Valley playing in the most expensive political race in the nation's history?