Exit interview with Capitola Mayor Yvette Brooks

CAPITOLA, Calif. (KION-TV) -- KION had a chat with Capitola Mayor Yvette Brooks ahead of her decision to depart the city and join United Way as their CEO.

"In 2018 I ran on a platform to support all community members, families and children, and when this opportunity arose, I couldn't think of a better way to serve an entire community and the entire county of Santa Cruz," said Mayor Brooks.

Brooks decided to seize the opportunity as United Way CEO and will be stepping into her role in the coming weeks.

"It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me and I wanted to jump in," she added. "It's a bittersweet moment for me."

Brooks, who is currently wrapping up her second mayoral term, said that mayoral ship involves serving the people of Capitola, maintaining the budget and handling crisis when they arise.

"Our bridge when it collapsed with the cyclone bomb storm, floods... there are a lot of things that we don't plan on having to deal with but as mayor, you have to step into being a leader for the community," said Brooks. "I've had the honor to do so twice."

Over the span of six years, Brooks says that the City of Capitola has been able to accomplish a lot.

"When I ran, my daughter was four years old, and just the other day she said, 'Mom, I'm 10 now and look at all the things we've done!'" said Brooks.

The city has expanded their Parks and Recreation department, created an afterschool program for students during the pandemic and worked with state and federal officials to find funding to fix Capitola's Wharf, according to Brooks.

Brooks said that she was also able to create the Dedicated Children's Fund as well as the Transient Occupancy Tax increase, which adds more funds for children's resources.

"I'm really excited about that because we can continue to take care of our most valuable resources in our community, and that's our kids," she said.

Brooks says that she's also proud that Measure Y passed, which raises the pay for city employees and Capitola Police.

"I feel really proud of the work that we accomplished and I'm proud of the people who are sitting on our [council] today," said Brooks. "We have a majority of women directors leading and most recently our chief of police."

Brooks suggests to the future city leaders to remain diligent, proactive and collaborative, especially when faced with the unknown and crisis, citing that many of Capitola's city buildings are still located in flood planes.

"Be proactive and not being reactive when it comes to these issues and climate change," Brooks advises to future city leaders.

Brooks says that city information is easily available to the residents of Capitola by visiting their website at cityofcapitola.org.

"I've always believed that public service is so important to everybody and that everybody should look at volunteering or donating or just being a part of something bigger than themselves, and now I get the opportunity to do that with United Way," said Brooks.

Brooks says that she hopes her legacy is a pathway for other aspiring girls to run for office.

"My legacy, I hope, is that my daughter one day can run here and feel proud of the work that she's doing and feel welcomed as a woman, and especially as a Latina little girl herself. And I want other people to see that they, too, have the chance to serve and be part of the community and feel welcomed in doing so," said Brooks.