 Hello, my name is Shebra Calantari Johnson. I'm a mom and a wife, an immigrant and neighbor, a small business owner and social change leader, and I'm running for Santa Cruz City Council. Our community has been living in crisis in recent weeks and months. My thoughts go out to everyone who's been impacted and my gratitude to everyone who's stepped up and helped. It's during these times of crisis that we can come together and we build a stronger future. We've done this before and we can do it again. When my parents left Iran after the Revolution, they sought a better life for our family. The promise of America, the opportunity to work hard and provide for your family and to live in a diverse and inclusive community. This is what they came here for and this is what I want for our community. Today, like many of you, I'm concerned about the unprecedented challenges we face, our health, economy and social fabric, our experiencing significant stress and uncertainty. The path through recovery will not be quick or easy, but we're in this together and together we can find solutions to bring about positive change in the town that we love. My response is to serve Santa Cruz as a member of our City Council, to serve through partnership and lead with a pragmatic mind and a compassionate heart. I've dedicated my life and career to generating solutions to address our community's many challenges, supporting youth or early care and education, youth substance use prevention and homelessness, working on local city and county policies, securing over $30 million for Santa Cruz to fund issues that range from immigration rights to criminal justice reform. As your City Council member, I commit to economic recovery, affordable housing, community wellness and social equity. While I don't propose simple solutions to our city's challenging problems, I know that together we can unite, activate and uplift our community to build a resilient, inclusive and diverse Santa Cruz for all. My name is Shebra Callantary-Johnson and I would be honored to have your vote.