A perpetual challenger takes on Monterey County’s longest-serving mayor—again.

As crisis has gripped the country and the region, with governments large and small scrambling to get ahead of it, the city of Gonzales has been uniquely positioned to take things on. The sudden need for universal internet connectivity with schools gone remote? The city was already distributing thousands of hotspots to residents before shelter-in-place. The climate crisis, coupled with the possibility of forced power outages by PG&E? The city on Sept. 21 inked a 30-year deal with Salinas startup Concentric Power for a microgrid to power its ag industrial park. A chronic challenge of youth violence? The city created a Youth Council to give kids positions of influence in policymaking.

And as South County is one region that’s borne the brunt of Covid-19, Gonzales’ case count remains relatively low – less than 3 percent of the county’s total, in a city where 2 percent of the population resides.

The guiding philosophy for the city is known as “The Gonzales Way,” a catchphrase officials use to convey a “framework of Love, Care, and Connect.”

But for Henry Martinez Sr. and Jr., a father-son team who have run for city council and mayor for six years and are doing so again in 2020, it’s a philosophy that mostly benefits people who live on the newer east side of town.

“The mayor and her circle of friends came up with ‘the Gonzales Way,’” says Martinez Sr., who is running for council against 12-year incumbent Scott Funk. “For half of us, it’s the way we get screwed.”

Martinez Jr. says his primary reason for running is to challenge Mayor Maria Orozco, who for years was unopposed. “If nobody runs, how can you call it an election?” he says. In his previous two attempts to unseat Orozco, Martinez, Jr. got just 20 percent of the vote. But with a third candidate in this year’s race, former Planning Commissioner Jose Rios, Martinez Jr. thinks his odds will improve.

Rios says he's running a grassroots campaign and has knocked on almost every door in the community. "I haven't gotten a single negative response," he says. "I think people are ready for a change."

Both Rios and Martinez Jr. oppose a move by the city to build housing instead of a planned community center. "The community came unglued when the proposal for housing was made," Rios says. 

Orozco—who’s been mayor since 2008 and on council since 2001—is more interested in focusing on her achievements than pushing back against her detractors.

A sister city relationship with Tateposco, in Jalisco, Mexico, is a particular source of pride. It’s a city many Gonzales residents immigrated from, and became a way to engage residents in local government for the first time.

When it comes to Covid-19, Orozco is proud of the city’s outreach – three banners are prominently placed around town with velcro numbers updated every Friday, showing how many infections are confirmed.

When state funds were made available for undocumented immigrants who didn’t qualify for federal assistance, Orozco started calling around to help determine eligibility. “It was hard to hear the stories and how families are struggling,” she says. “There was just a sense of desperation.”

But she helped get them the aid they needed because of cultivating relationships, saying “I’ve been on the council for almost 20 years and people trust me. I am here to serve all of our residents.”

Editor's note: This story has been updated from the version that appears in print to reflect comments from Jose Rios. The story has been corrected to reflect that he is a former planning commissioner, not a current planning commissioner.