JARON DELIVERS:
Past Accomplishments, Continuing Priorities
When we say “Jaron Delivers,” we don’t mean pizza. We mean a leader that listens, finds a way, and gets the job done. From sidewalks to youth sports fields to narcotics enforcement, Jaron makes real progress on issues that were ignored by past leaders. Ink is cheap. Actions speak louder. Here’s what he’s led the past 5 years.
Public Safety
From a Sheriff’s office with the lowest-paid deputies of any city or county in the region in 2021, Jaron led the largest investment in public safety in Tuolumne County history that has since become a high-performing, fully-staffed department expanding its service to the community and ensuring minimum response times.
- Establishing the Tuolumne Narcotics Team (TNT) in conjunction with the Sheriff to shut down traffickers, drug houses, and dealers, particularly with the explosion of fentanyl
- Restoring competitive deputy, probation, and dispatcher pay, which has turned emergency level vacancy rates into a fully staffed patrol division
- Shutting down several long-standing illegal encampments, which had allowed drug use, fire risk, and economic distress to main street areas
- Appointed a Sheriff and District Attorney who have taken bold, innovative approaches to ensuring operations that adhere to the highest standards of performance and ethics
In 2013, the Rim Fire devastated the Stanislaus National Forest as California’s first megafire. Despite work in forest management, however, fire services and equipment atrophied. Jaron prioritized expanding fire coverage, modernizing equipment, and enacting safe fire practices to ensure Tuolumne would be safe.
- More than doubling fire station coverage in vulnerable communities, the first expansion since 2013
- Halving the age of fire fleet apparatus that was breaking down en route to calls, from 26 years to 1
- Implementing new vegetation management provisions and fire clearance requirements
- Supporting the work of Yosemite Stanislaus Solutions (YSS) in treating over 300,000 acres
- Soliciting and approving biomass utilization plants to ensure all fuels are disposed of cleanly, safely, and creating local jobs and exports, including green hydrogen fuels
- Rebuilding CHIPS Forestry, a 501(c)3 nonprofit that supports tribal fuel reduction crews
Fires & Forests
Housing & Development
After 20 years of not building, housing construction was not a priority when Jaron first ran. Despite the challenge, he put it as his #1 campaign issue to stop locals from being priced out of their homes. It has since become a top county priority with massive efforts to be builder-ready and support projects.
- Cut red tape on accessory dwelling units (ADUs), conditional zonings, lot sizes, and housing policy
- Modernized building process through a fully digital and concurrent permit system
- Directed millions in funding from PLHA, REAP, and SB 2 for housing, utility, and policy improvement
- Approved every housing project, including leading the championing of 56 affordable units
- Co-founded a local housing collaborative to bring together the community, developers, local planning staff, business owners, and community organizations to support pro-housing policy
- Hiring a housing specialist to pro-actively fix policy and pursuing an HCD Pro-Housing designation
Everyone knows there are opportunities to make government more efficient, except sometimes our elected leaders. To reduce cost and reprioritize resources, Jaron has been an outspoken advocate of government efficiency and fiscal discipline.
- Reduced highly paid administrative overhead through targeted staffing reductions and consolidations, supporting the line staff groundskeepers, IT, and facilities workers who keep everything running
- Doubled contributions to rebuilding a “rainy day fund” reserve to ensure the stability of operations
- Created Section 115 trust funds to begin paying down unfunded pension liabilities
- Promoted an award-winning budget transparency software through OpenGov to ensure citizens not only had access to information but that it was understandable and searchable
- Modernizing cybersecurity to ensure that systems are relient to attack
Government Efficiency
Family & Youth Services
Though not mandated, there are some services where the value is incalculable, especially for our kids.
- Restored cuts to libraries, youth centers, and recreation, supporting everything from community swim lessons to adult education, senior computer access, and children’s reading times after school
- Facilitated a $50,000 investment in local arts and assisted in a $300,000 allocation from Sierra Jobs First to support the arts as a form of economic development
- Initiated a seed fund to restore a local school play field replacing grass, irrigation, and making it safe
- Invested in the UC Cooperative Extension through 4-H to protect the sustainability of kids programs
- Regularly speaking to high school classes about local government, the importance of civic engagement, and encouraging active participation in their community
Without infrastructure, our communities cannot be prosperous and grow. Over 4 years, Jaron has worked in expanding broadband, fixing sidewalks, repairing what were the worst roads in California, and steadily making progress on years of deferred maintenance.
- Repaired long-deferred major road projects that increased the pavement condition index (PCI) by 10% in just 4 years, instead of a previous years decline of 3% annually. This lost the “worst roads” title
- Following through on a campaign promise, allocated $1.5 million from a Clean California grant to redo main street Jamestown sidewalks that had become hazards, replant trees, and do community art
- Led efforts to bring high-speed broadband internet access using federal and state funds to cover over 1,200 new homes and 250 businesses through programmatic CEQA studies, a master build-out plan, hiring a broadband specialist, and lobbying in DC to reform broadband ISP “fabric” data
- Partnering with CivicWell for millions in Safe Routes To Schools and Safe Routes for All grants at local elementary schools to ensure adequate parking, student safety, and walkability
Roads & Infrastructure
Homelessness
With homelessness tripling in 2017 at nearly 1.4% of the population, it had reached a community crisis point. Jaron spearheaded a three-legged stool approach to recovery services, housing, and strong enforcement that has created the first combined system to address this issue in county history — at no local cost.
- Establishing a safe stay encampment site on Justice Center property to ensure a point of access to social workers, consolidating issues from distributed camping, and avoiding shifting enforcement
- Founded a community-driven county committee to brainstorm and draft solutions
- Directed a housing program through a 40 unit 6-month facility, a 2 year assisted living facility, and a veterans housing complex, to ensure a hand up for those willing to seek help
- Enacting strict camping restrictions prior to the Grants Pass decision to remove illegal encampments from ADA sidewalks, river flood areas, public safety facilities, schools, and utility infrastructure.
- Steadily closed every encampment area in his district through a combination of education, enforcement, services, and building relationships with the homeless residents
A position of leadership isn’t just meetings and email. Since day one and even before taking office, Jaron has been an engaged community member that leads by examples and celebrates his district.
- Dressing up for kids as the Easter Bunny and Santa for holidays
- Helping the #1PileAtATime group clean up thousands of yards of illegal dumping and waste
- Volunteering during holidays to pack food and serve the less fortuntae
- Joining in community events such as Los Posades nativity renanactments and 4th of July
- Recognizing the sacrifice of our Veterans at annual memorials, halls, and events
- Taking 2nd place in the Tuolumne Lumber Jubilee “Bull of the Woods” with only a minor concussion
Community Celebration!
Support recognized leadership that gets results. Join Jaron's team.
Current Leadership Positions:
Chair, Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors
UC Agriculture & Natural Resource Presidential Advisory Committee Member
Vice-Chair of the Central Sierra Economic Development District (CSEDD)
Chair of CHIPS Forestry
CALAFCO Board of Directors, Central California County Representative
California State Rail Museum Foundation Board of Directors (CSRMF)
Valley Sierra Small Business Development Center Advisory Board Member (SBDC)
Board member of CivicWell
Sierra Nevada Conservancy (SNC)
Yosemite Stanislaus Solutions (YSS)
Co-Founder of the Tuolumne County Housing Collaborative
Amador-Tuolumne County Action Agency Board of Directors (ATCAA)
Member of the Columbia Chamber of Commerce
Member of the Jamestown Promotion Club
Member of the Tuolumne Historic Railroad Association (THRA)
Former Leadership Efforts:
Vice-Chair of the National Association of Counties Technology and Telecommunications Committee
Board of Directors for the Institute for Local Government (ILG)
Yosemite Gateway Partners (YGP)
Central Sierra Child Support Agency
TC Housing & Planning Policy Committees
TC Commission on Homelessness
TC Behavioral Health Advisory Board
TC Solid Waste Committee
Tuolumne County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors
California Illegal Dumping Techincal Advisory Committee