Marianne Paiva

Environment / Energy Ensuring water reliability is the most important issue facing Butte County in the years to come. Criminal Justice / Public Safety My research on the Camp Fire taught me something that stays with you: the most dangerous moment is often the evacuation itself, when roads get gridlocked, routes become confusing and unmanageable, communication fails, and the fire moves faster than people can process. In those moments, people can do everything right and still be in danger. That’s why I’m focused on readiness that works in real life: clear evacuation planning, building areas of refuge within fire-prone areas, reliable communication, coordination with first responders, and infrastructure that supports response: safe roads, maintained routes, and systems that don’t crumble under pressure. Environment / Energy Flood control is a good example of “maintenance-first” governance. Maintaining creeks and drainage, removing debris and sediment build up, improving levees, and coordinating with districts and agencies can reduce impacts before an emergency occurs. Prevention is more cost-effective, and it protects residents from avoidable hardship. Aquifer recharge is practical long-term planning: putting water back into the ground when we have it, so we aren’t in crisis when we don’t. It strengthens rural wells and agriculture, improves reliability, and reduces drought vulnerability. And it connects directly to land use: where we build shapes runoff, infiltration, and the long-term stability of our groundwater. Infrastructure / Transportation I believe in common-sense growth: supporting housing where it makes sense, near services and reliable infrastructure, while avoiding development in the most vulnerable fire and flood areas. Good growth planning reduces risk, prevents costly infrastructure strain, and protects quality of life. Healthcare Behavioral and mental health is a basic need in every community, but particularly a community like Butte County, where we have faced community-level trauma in recent years. I'll advocate for additional state funding, and work with local agencies to secure grants in partnership to enhance existing proven programs and add more programs where needed. Infrastructure / Transportation As Supervisor, I'll work to protect farm land from encroachment of sprawl.