The number of Latinos elected in Sonoma and Napa does not reflect the region's demographics

“I grew up on a winery and spent many winter and summer holidays helping my father and doing winery work myself,” Ortiz said.

His appointment came in 2021 when Sheriff John Robertson retired after 40 years of police service. Ortiz previously served as chief of the American Canyon Police Department.

A year later, Ortiz ran to defend his seat and won with 60% of the vote.

Ortiz said the most important qualities for any elected official are professional skills, knowledge and preparation. He added that representation is important, and he is confident each generation can bring a higher percentage of Latinos into leadership positions.

The question of why the proportion of Latinos in Napa County overall is more than twice as high as in Sonoma County may be because Latino families in Napa County have had a longer connection to local vineyards and wineries and that the transition from an immigrant population to a multigenerational population occurred earlier in these communities, he said.

Training ground

Efforts are currently underway to reduce some of these barriers and increase civic engagement and voter registration among Latinos in the region.

Los Cien, the local organization of Latino leaders, seeks to create a training ground for local leaders, recruiting future candidates from the region's underrepresented communities.

The program prepares participants to serve on commissions, foundations and boards of nonprofit organizations and includes a three-month civic boot camp that teaches participants things like nonprofit board governance, Robert's Rules of Order, reading a budget and serving on a commission.

Seats on committees and boards are often the first step toward higher elected office.

“It really is a stepping stone and it is less overwhelming, more doable and more realistic,” said Hernandez, the CEO of Los Cien.

He cited the example of local foundations that support youth sports and where skills such as diplomacy, fundraising and interaction with other community members can be trained.

“This is valuable training to prepare someone to run for school board or city council,” he said.

Los Cien is also preparing a study to determine the demographic makeup of Sonoma County's nonprofits and commissions and establish a “baseline” for representation on those boards.

“We want to change that landscape,” he said. “Because 30% (of the population) lives in Sonoma County, we want 30%, at least 30% of the nonprofit boards and commissions to be Latino (pronounced la·ˈ​ti·​ne), and we know that's not the case.”

Bañuelos, a trustee and advocate for SRJC, said it is critical to encourage future leaders to be civic engaged as the local Latino community continues to grow.

She has again filed for a seat on the City Council, this time for the vacant seat in central Santa Rosa's 5th District. She decided not to run for another term on the junior college board after redistricting put her in the same district as another member of the board of trustees, a friend of Latino descent.

Her opponent in the City Council race, Jeremy Newton, is seeking public office for the first time. Newton, who is black, is a former Navy fighter pilot and current United Airlines captain. He has received many of the top endorsements from the area's elected officials.

Bañuelos is endorsed by the Sonoma County Democratic Party.

If she wins, she would be the first member of the council to publicly identify as Latina. Maureen Casey, who served on the council in the early 1990s and is half-Mexican, was effectively the first Latina member of the council, although this went largely unrecognized at the time.

“The need for representation is greater than ever and I hope that in the next few years more people will be willing to do it because we are going to need it,” she said. “The community is changing and we need to change with it.”

Press Democrat intern Ana Fingerson, web developer George Buce and reporters Jennifer Sawhney and Edward Booth contributed to this story.

Reach staff writer Martin Espinoza at 707-521-5213 or [email protected]. Follow on Twitter at @pressreno.

Reach staff writer Paulina Pineda at 707-521-5268 or [email protected]. On X (Twitter) @paulinapineda22.

Editor's note: This story has been revised with additional information about the 5th District Santa Rosa City Council race between Caroline Bañuelos and Jeremy Newton.