Political newcomer challenges incumbent for San Benito County District 1 Supervisor seat

San Benito County Supervisor, Mark Medina is seeking a re-election for San Benito County District 1.

"Well, I ran three years ago. I ran for the Board of Supervisors to make a change to make a difference in San Benito County, and right now as a board, we have a lot of momentum going forward. I want to continue doing what I started to do and make sure San Benito County is a great place to live at," says Mark Medina.

However, a newcomer to politics, Betsy Dirks, is putting her foot in the race.

"Everyone is really concerned about 156 and 25. 25 is actually in my district and so the traffic and congestion that we see there with the growth that has happened in such a short time frame our infrastructure cant really support that. So, obviously that's an area we need to work with the state and Santa Clara County on 25 to make sure that project doesn't get delayed in the ways the 156 projects has been delayed," says Dirks.

That project was delayed by CalTrans because of lack of funds. However, fixing the infrastructure seems to be the number one priority.

"We've issued a five year commitment to the economic envelopment corporation. We have $100,000 a year going towards economic development and the other part is becoming - as I am now, but - more involved in the community trying to work around bringing people into the community that will be able to really bring jobs here and keep people from commuting up and down 25 and 156," says Medina.

Betsy Dirks agrees. "It isn't attractive to businesses that people are sitting in traffic for it takes 45 minutes to get to gilroy for instance on any given day," she says.

Fixing the roads would use funds from State Bill 1 and Local Measure G which passed 2 years ago. Measure G is a 1% sales tax increase and for the first 5 to 7 years, it would be used to fix local roads followed by improvements to Highway 25. Fixing high volume traffic areas, the candidates say, would make San Benito County a more desirable place for people and businesses alike.

"A lot of it is trying to bring better broadband or better infrastructure in the county… meaning the internet, making sure we have the speeds that are needed to bring these companies here," says Medina.

But when it comes to the District 1 seat, Betsy Dirks believes she's the right person for positive change.

"I want some economic growth as well… and also too… I feel there's currently inequity on the current board of supervisors, there's no women currently on the board, so I felt it was really important to offer that perspective and so that's another reason why I'm running," says Dirks.

Voters will decide whether to go with what they know or try a different approach to District 1.