Meet Felipe Hernandez
Santa Cruz County
Supervisor, District 4
Felipe Hernandez Bio
Felipe Hernandez is the son of an apple picker and a cannery worker. He grew up in a union household in Watsonville, raised by a father who picked apples for Pecchenino Farms and a mother who worked the line at the Richard Shaw Cannery as a Teamsters member. She stood on the picket lines during the historic Watsonville cannery strikes of the 1980s, and that experience shaped Felipe's lifelong commitment to working people.
After graduating from Watsonville High School, Felipe enlisted in the U.S. Army and served as a combat medic during Operation Desert Storm. He came home to fight for his community, putting himself through Cabrillo College and earning a Bachelor's degree in Community Studies from UC Santa Cruz.
He spent his career organizing for working families with the United Farm Workers, SEIU International, and the LEAP Institute. He served eight years on the Watsonville City Council, including terms as Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem, before voters elected him to the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors in 2022.
For too long, South County got overlooked. Roads that never got fixed. Parks that never got built. Services that never came south. Felipe ran for Supervisor because that had to change.
As Supervisor, he helped secure seven hundred million dollars to protect the Pajaro Valley from flooding, broke ground on the first new park in 63 years, and opened a government center right in South County where it belongs. He has invested in housing for working families and championed youth leadership through the Young Supervisors Academy.
South County deserves its fair share,
and Felipe Hernandez is not done fighting for it.