Ana Ambriz to replace Aurelio Salazar on Monterey County Planning Commission.

It's not just elected officials who make key decisions on issues; it's also the officials they appoint to serve as volunteers on various boards and commissions that leverage significant influence. 

The Monterey County Planning Commission has the first go at major and minor land-use decisions, including controversial projects like Ferrini Ranch along Highway 68, seasonal farmworker housing for Tanimura & Antle in Spreckels and Pebble Beach Company's proposed worker housing, a condition of approval for their built-out plans. 

And the commission is about to get at least one new appointee, believed to be its first Latina member. County Supervisor Fernando Armenta plans to appoint Ana Ambriz in January to fill a four-year term that runs through 2018. 

"I have always supported Latina females to run for office and succeed," Armenta said when he announced his intention to appoint her, as well as his own campaign for re-election. 

Ambriz will succeed Aurelio Salazar, who stepped down from the commission after Election Day when he won a seat on the board of Hartnell College. (Salazar, a program officer at the Community Foundation for Monterey County, unseated Hartnell incumbent Bill Freeman with 51 percent of the vote.)

Ambriz does Medi-Cal enrollment and outreach for the Monterey County Health Department, helping people determine if they're eligible—and some 150,000 Monterey County residents became eligible for an expanded Medi-Cal program under the U.S. Affordable Care Act.  

Her appointment will be on a Board of Supervisors agenda in January, and will required approval of the board.