Support Marianne Paiva for Butte County Board of Supervisors - District 2

• Fix problems before they become emergencies, especially drainage and flood-prone trouble spots.
• Support aquifer recharge so wells and groundwater stay reliable over the long term.
• Improve evacuation planning and emergency communication so preparedness works in real life.
• Plan housing growth in safer places, with roads, water, and emergency access in mind.
• Protect the Greenline, farmland, and green space that define Butte County’s quality of life.
• Be transparent, seek feedback, and report results—so residents can see what gets done.

In Butte County, we live with wildfires each year. We know the fires will come. The responsible questions are: are we ready, and are we reducing risk now?

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.

And wildfire isn’t only about response. Recovery matters too. I will advocate for faster housing stability, basic needs support, and rebuilding that doesn’t repeat the same vulnerabilities. As we’ve learned with fires in the last 10 years, recovery takes time, and local government needs to stay engaged for the long term. 

In Butte County, water isn’t an abstract policy question; it is the foundation of community life and economic stability. Water management affects flood risk, well reliability during drought, and dependable supplies for drinking water and agriculture. It also shapes whether growth is sustainable, or whether today’s choices will make us more vulnerable to higher costs and greater risk in the future. We need to treat water like the strategic resource it is. That means planning for extremes, drought and deluge, and investing in maintenance and projects that reduce risk and strengthen reliability.

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.

But these issues and strategies aren’t just limited to rural areas of the district. Since the city relies on wells, the same threats exist, as we’ve seen in recent droughts where all residents were called on to reduce water usage, cut back on water-intensive landscaping, and reclaim water in even the smallest amounts. 

Ensuring water reliability is the most important issue facing Butte County in the years to come. 

Water and wildfire connect to everything else, including growth.

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.

It also helps preserve what makes Butte County special: farmland, green spaces, and the Greenline. These lands aren’t just scenic, they support our local economy, our identity, and our long-term resilience.

As the daughter of farmers, I value farming in the North State. But as we've seen in too many other Valley areas, housing sprawl threatens the livelihoods of small farmers, and threatens production of critical crops and livestock. In 2022, Butte County was home to more than 1,600 farms, with an average farm size by acreage of 233 acres, and total acres in production of 388,383 acres. But of those farms, 65% were less than 50 acres, and 81% in total were less than 180 acres: Small farms. 

And 91% of farms in Butte County were family-owned in 2022. 

As Supervisor, I'll work to protect farm land from encroachment of sprawl. 

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. 

Finally, none of this works without trust. People deserve county government that shows up. I will seek feedback, keep residents informed, and focus on what works, so people can trust the decisions we make. That means transparent priorities, responsible budgeting, and measurable results.