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RICHELLE NOROYAN MAKES SECOND SANTA CRUZ COUNCIL BID
Santa Cruz Sentinel, CA
Oct 23 2014
Public safety, economic development priorities for UCSC official
By J.M. Brown
Editor's note: The Sentinel is taking a look at candidates running for
city councils. Today's report on Richelle Noroyan is one in a series.
SANTA CRUZ >> Making a second bid to join the Santa Cruz City
Council, Richelle Noroyan, a member and former chair of the city's
Transportation and Public Works Commission, pledges to make public
safety, economic development and water supply security top priorities
if elected Nov. 4.
Noroyan, 46, who works in community relations for UC Santa Cruz,
was a district director for the late Assemblymember Ira Ruskin and
is a former chair of the Santa Cruz County Democratic Party Central
Committee. She placed fifth during the 2012 council race, when four
seats were open.
Noroyan said more needs to be done to reduce property crime and
improperly discarded drug needles, a problem that has vexed the
city for two years. Endorsed by the city's police and firefighter
unions and leaders of the public safety advocacy group Take Back
Santa Cruz, Noroyan said the county's public health division makes
too many exceptions to its own one-to-one exchange policy, making it
easy for people to access needles.
"I would like to examine more why our needle exchange hands out more
needles than Santa Clara County and if that correlates with the amount
of needles being found in the community," Noroyan said.
Noroyan also calls for a comprehensive survey of the homeless
population in Santa Cruz to determine their place of origin, among
other pieces of information, which should help law enforcement and
social services personnel more effectively address the problem.
"We need to know that population a lot better than we do right now,"
Noroyan said. "If they grew up here, it's important to know. Are we
creating drug addicts? Are people attracted to Santa Cruz as a homeless
person or someone looking for services? We need to stop trying to treat
it and prevent it. We only seem to be dealing with the after effects."
In terms of economic development, Noroyan said there needs to be a
greater "tech transfer" of the intellectual capital at UCSC to new
business opportunities in the city. There also needs to be a stronger
alignment of the city's workforce needs with what is being taught at
Cabrillo College and local high schools, she said.
If the city doesn't pursue seawater desalination, as it had planned
since 2005 to do, Noroyan said Santa Cruz will have to consider
tertiary treated wastewater, individual graywater systems and other
alternatives to boost the drought-vulnerable supply offered by the
San Lorenzo River, North Coast streams and groundwater sources.
Noroyan, who grew up in Santa Cruz as the daughter of owners of Hugo's
Armenian Restaurant, graduated from California State University,
Fresno with a bachelor's degree in political science. She returned to
Santa Cruz nearly 20 years ago after working in other parts of the
state. She is married to Jim Jensen, an information systems analyst
for the county.
Her campaign has been endorsed by Mayor Lynn Robinson and
Councilmembers Pamela Comstock, Cynthia Mathews and Hilary Bryant.
Former mayors Mike Rotkin and Emily Reilly have given their nod,
as well as county Supervisors Zach Friend and Neal Coonerty,
Supervisor-elect Ryan Coonerty and Sheriff-elect Jim Hart.
Richelle Noroyan
Who: Santa Cruz City Council candidate.
Age: 46.
Occupation: Community relations representative, UC Santa Cruz.
Education: Bachelor's degree in political science, California State
University, Fresno.
Family: Husband Jim Jensen.
Website: noroyanforcouncil.com
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/santacruz/ci_26779641/richelle-noroyan-makes-second-santa-cruz-council-bid
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Santa Cruz Sentinel, CA
Oct 23 2014
Public safety, economic development priorities for UCSC official
By J.M. Brown
Editor's note: The Sentinel is taking a look at candidates running for
city councils. Today's report on Richelle Noroyan is one in a series.
SANTA CRUZ >> Making a second bid to join the Santa Cruz City
Council, Richelle Noroyan, a member and former chair of the city's
Transportation and Public Works Commission, pledges to make public
safety, economic development and water supply security top priorities
if elected Nov. 4.
Noroyan, 46, who works in community relations for UC Santa Cruz,
was a district director for the late Assemblymember Ira Ruskin and
is a former chair of the Santa Cruz County Democratic Party Central
Committee. She placed fifth during the 2012 council race, when four
seats were open.
Noroyan said more needs to be done to reduce property crime and
improperly discarded drug needles, a problem that has vexed the
city for two years. Endorsed by the city's police and firefighter
unions and leaders of the public safety advocacy group Take Back
Santa Cruz, Noroyan said the county's public health division makes
too many exceptions to its own one-to-one exchange policy, making it
easy for people to access needles.
"I would like to examine more why our needle exchange hands out more
needles than Santa Clara County and if that correlates with the amount
of needles being found in the community," Noroyan said.
Noroyan also calls for a comprehensive survey of the homeless
population in Santa Cruz to determine their place of origin, among
other pieces of information, which should help law enforcement and
social services personnel more effectively address the problem.
"We need to know that population a lot better than we do right now,"
Noroyan said. "If they grew up here, it's important to know. Are we
creating drug addicts? Are people attracted to Santa Cruz as a homeless
person or someone looking for services? We need to stop trying to treat
it and prevent it. We only seem to be dealing with the after effects."
In terms of economic development, Noroyan said there needs to be a
greater "tech transfer" of the intellectual capital at UCSC to new
business opportunities in the city. There also needs to be a stronger
alignment of the city's workforce needs with what is being taught at
Cabrillo College and local high schools, she said.
If the city doesn't pursue seawater desalination, as it had planned
since 2005 to do, Noroyan said Santa Cruz will have to consider
tertiary treated wastewater, individual graywater systems and other
alternatives to boost the drought-vulnerable supply offered by the
San Lorenzo River, North Coast streams and groundwater sources.
Noroyan, who grew up in Santa Cruz as the daughter of owners of Hugo's
Armenian Restaurant, graduated from California State University,
Fresno with a bachelor's degree in political science. She returned to
Santa Cruz nearly 20 years ago after working in other parts of the
state. She is married to Jim Jensen, an information systems analyst
for the county.
Her campaign has been endorsed by Mayor Lynn Robinson and
Councilmembers Pamela Comstock, Cynthia Mathews and Hilary Bryant.
Former mayors Mike Rotkin and Emily Reilly have given their nod,
as well as county Supervisors Zach Friend and Neal Coonerty,
Supervisor-elect Ryan Coonerty and Sheriff-elect Jim Hart.
Richelle Noroyan
Who: Santa Cruz City Council candidate.
Age: 46.
Occupation: Community relations representative, UC Santa Cruz.
Education: Bachelor's degree in political science, California State
University, Fresno.
Family: Husband Jim Jensen.
Website: noroyanforcouncil.com
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/santacruz/ci_26779641/richelle-noroyan-makes-second-santa-cruz-council-bid
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress