Former PVUSD trustee’s contentious past prevents appointment to Watsonville planning commission

The Watsonville City Council voted to deny the appointment of former Pajaro Valley Unified School District trustee Georgia Acosta to the city’s planning commission after a councilmember objected to Acosta’s conduct while she was on the school board. 

Acosta was nominated by City Councilmember Ari Parker, who represents the District 7 neighborhood, after former planning commission member Ed Acosta — who is married to Georgia Acosta — resigned from his role before the commission’s July 1 meeting. Ed Acosta served on the planning commission for several years and currently serves on the Santa Cruz County Board of Education. 

Parker’s attempt to appoint Acosta to the planning commission failed 4-2; Mayor Maria Orozco was absent from the meeting.

The seven-member planning commission is responsible for making recommendations on development proposals regarding zoning and planning within the city. Each city councilmember has the right to appoint a person of their choosing to each city commission, such as the planning commission. The city council must approve each nomination.

The vote to appoint Georgia Acosta to the planning commission was pulled from the consent agenda of Tuesday’s city council meeting by Councilmember Vanessa Quiroz-Carter. “I have some serious reservations about this person being appointed to the planning commission,” she told the council at the meeting. 

Acosta, a Cal State Monterey Bay adjunct professor, served on the PVUSD board of trustees from 2016 to 2024. She ran for reelection in 2024 and lost her seat to current trustee Carol Turley, who mounted an unsuccessful recall campaign against Acosta in 2021. 

The recall campaign stemmed from a 2021 vote by Acosta and former trustee Oscar Soto — serving as president and vice president of the board, respectively — and two other trustees to remove former superintendent Michelle Rodriguez from her position. The trustees did not provide a reason for the vote. 

Following criticism from the community, the board reinstated Rodriguez days later. In the same meeting at which the board reinstated Rodriguez, it also voted to remove Acosta and Soto from their leadership positions. Both remained on the board until last fall, when they lost their reelection races in a major shakeup. 

“As you all recall, Georgia Acosta attempted to oust the superintendent,” said Quiroz-Carter. She claimed that Acosta had “done multiple things against the rules,” such as bringing in her own attorney and locking people out of PVUSD board meetings. Quiroz-Carter described Acosta as someone who “has blatantly shown disregard for order” and conducts herself in a “horrible manner.” 

Parker defended her decision to nominate Acosta, arguing that she is highly qualified to serve on the commission and crediting Acosta’s job as an adjunct professor at CSUMB and her time as a PVUSD board trustee. 

Parker chastized Quiroz-Carter for “repeating things that are merely not proven.” 

“I know because I was a teacher in our school district for 40 years and present for all the things,” she said. “This is political.” Parker retired this year from teaching at Elma G. Bradley Elementary School.

Parker emphasized that Acosta has the best interests of Watsonville at heart and wants to see the city grow. “I have no reservations whatsoever, not only as a teacher, as a union member, as a city council member, certainly, about nominating her,” she said. 

Mayor Pro Tempore Kristal Salcido suggested during Tuesday’s meeting that the city council hold off on making any kind of decision about filling the vacant seat on the planning commission since Mayor Maria Orozco was absent. Orozco also served on the PVUSD governing board around the same time as Acosta.  

“It is my preference to have a full council before making such important decisions for planning,” said Salcido. 

Parker would have to nominate another person to fill the vacancy on the planning commission. It’s also possible that she could renominate Acosta for the commission, according to city spokesperson Michelle Pulido. Salicido had suggested delaying the vote on Acosta’s potential appointment until September, when all councilmembers were present — Parker will be absent for the Aug. 26 meeting. But, there was no formal motion to vote on Salcido’s suggestion.

Parker said she wanted to fill the vacancy quickly to ensure there would be no impact on the planning commission. She argued that the council should proceed with the vote, adding that the decision to appoint Acosta was well thought out, and that she believed the former PVUSD trustee was the most qualified person out of the other potential options, though no other names of possible appointees were brought up at the meeting. “That’s not how we’ve done it in the past,” Parker said in response to Salcido’s suggestion. “We’ve had people absent on council, and we’re missing one. It’s not like we only have bare quorum here today.” 

Parker said she’s never turned down any person who has been nominated by their respective councilmember from serving on any commission. “I trust this council to nominate people who will serve this city well, and I would hope you would trust me with that as well,” she said. 

Neither Parker nor Acosta responded to Lookout’s request for comment by publication time. 

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FOR THE RECORD: This story has been updated to clarify that the Watsonville City Council voted to deny Acosta’s appointment to the city’s planning commission. Lookout was provided with incorrect information by the city spokesperson. 
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