30 Sep ‘I Love Public Service’: Shanelle Scales-Preston Is Running for County Supervisor

Pittsburg City Council member Shanelle Scales-Preston is running for the District 5 supervisor seat currently held by the retiring Federal Glover. (Campaign photo via shanelle4supervisor.org)

Interview, Joe Porrello

Name: Shanelle Scales-Preston

Age: 46

Public Service: Served with or on boards of: Pittsburg Police Activity League; Marin Clean Energy (provides alternate options for energy on PG&E bills); Tri Delta Transit (bus service within East Contra Costa County); TransPlan (East CCC transportation authority); Los Medanos Healthcare Advisory (helps people access healthcare more seamlessly in communities of need)

Political Experience: Pittsburg City Council member since 2018, mayor in 2023

Running For: County Supervisor, District 5

CC Pulse: What made you decide to run and what strengths can you bring to the office?

Shanelle Scales-Preston: I love public service, and I’ve been doing it for 23 years — that’s what drives me. I started as an intern with Congressman George Miller. And then once he retired, I got the opportunity to work for Congressman Mark DeSaulnier, and that’s who I currently work for. I am in the community every day and work in all different areas of Contra Costa County, as well as with elected officials and city managers to do different projects and help with funding and resources. I’m already familiar with constituents’ concerns because they come to our office looking for assistance with things like the IRS, immigration, student loans, social security, anything that’s federally related. Our office is the one advocating on the constituents’ behalf.

CC Pulse: You’re running to replace the retiring Federal Glover, who is, of course, the only African American to have served on the Contra Costa Board of Supervisors. Can you speak to why it’s important to continue to have a Black voice on the board?

SSP: It’s pretty amazing that Supervisor Glover has been the only person of color to serve on the Board of Supervisors. District 5 is very diverse — there’s a lot of minorities — so not having a person of color to replace that seat, takes away the voices of people of color. I think it’s really important to have that representation on the board.

CC Pulse: What do you see as the top issue facing the county right now? What would you do to address that problem?

SSP: One of our top issues is definitely housing. We do not have enough affordable housing. Everyone can’t afford a one-bedroom apartment for $2,100 per month. The stigma often is that our unhoused are on drugs, but a lot of them are living in their cars and going to work. I’ve talked to a lot of the unhoused people and heard stories about them having to choose between a vehicle and an apartment, and they chose the car because it gets them to work. I serve as a council member in the city of Pittsburg and have been serving since 2018, and we’ve done a great job trying to create housing for all income levels. We put up 200 units of affordable housing in a previously blighted area less than a mile from BART, so we’re also creating walkable communities. We worked with a nonprofit developer to create housing for our unhoused veterans. When you look at old shopping centers or other places, you have to think of ways to be creative and rezone those areas so that it’s still commercial but also housing. The county can’t do it all; you need nonprofit developers, state and federal funding, and connections that are helpful for collaboration on these projects.

CC Pulse: Bay Point is the largest unincorporated community in Contra Costa County and also one of the most impoverished communities in the Bay Area. As a supervisor, how would you support economic growth in Bay Point while also keeping it affordable for families to continue living there? 

SSP: When I was growing up, Bay Point was West Pittsburg; I still have a lot of family who live there. It’s tough because it’s unincorporated. I wish it was annexed and part of our community in the sense that we were able to do more for them. As a council member, I had biannual meetings with unincorporated communities to talk about what our goals would be for the year. At the end of the year and halfway through, they saw progress in their communities, and I think that’s really critical. 

We need to work on economic development in our unincorporated areas so that they’re not living in food deserts. It’s important we’re working to bring markets and grocery stores to them, and having community farms so they can have fresh fruits and vegetables. We’ve been able to do that in the low-income El Pablo area of Pittsburg, which is kind of like North Richmond.

CC Pulse: How would you approach economic development in District 5, and what types of development would you like to see?

SSP: I feel like we have so much potential in our northern waterfront and other waterfront areas, but there just doesn’t seem to be real access. So it’s about working with East Bay Regional Park District to create that access. That would bring people into the community and create well-paying jobs. There’s good water, land and rail available, so it seems like prime location. I would just love to bring people to District 5 to see what we have to offer.

CC Pulse: As you see it, what’s the big public safety issue in your area, and how should the county address it?

SSP: I take more of a holistic approach when it comes to public safety by looking at types of community police and youth prevention programs. I’ve been a real champion when it comes to youth programming. One of the reasons I decided to run for Pittsburg City Council was because all of our youth initiatives got shut down. When I grew up, we had three youth centers, and then all of a sudden, we didn’t have any. I have been able to bring back our youth center, which opened last June. I’ve also brought summer jobs to our youth, so they can make money while figuring out what they do and don’t like doing. I also serve on the Pittsburg Police Activity League, and I’ve been able to build relationships in that regard. Having police working with East Bay Regional Park District, we’ve been able to put on hikes with our youth. 

I know police are important and that people need to feel safe. I have always fully funded our police department within the city of Pittsburg. I’ve always fully supported their requests to make sure they’re equipped with the tools they need to do their job.

CC Pulse: What differences between city and county government do you think would be the most challenging to get used to?

SSP: It kind of interconnects with all of my past jobs. I think it would be naturally easy for me because I’m already doing the work and connecting the dots by working with people at the county level. The county works on a lot of different services, so through my job, I’ve been able to collaborate with them — for example, our collaboration on A3, Anytime, Anywhere, Anyplace, which helps people having mental health issues avoid police presence by having a therapist come instead. That’s something I’m really passionate about, because my brother was one of those people. In my neighborhood, people were using and selling drugs, and so was my brother, but he had mental health issues. He ended up spending over 11 years in prison, but in less than a year, he ended up going back because, due to his mental health problems, he took my father’s life. I understand more services for mental health are still needed, and that’s what the county is trying to help improve right now. All of these services are especially needed in our communities of color and marginalized areas. Doing nothing or throwing people in jail doesn’t help. 

CC Pulse: Is there anything else you want to add?

SSP: I’m a mother of two sons, and I’m always trying to get women involved in the process if they want to see change. I’ve been on the ground my entire career, and I see the issues at hand and have been able to work on them by building relationships across the district. That’s why I’ve been supported by the majority of our elected local officials and all of these other different groups. It’s important for families to have a real person there that’s going to help them with these issues. I think sometimes we see elected officials and think we can’t talk to them or they’re above us. I’m just a real person, hanging out at our car shows or whatever community event is going on. People need to know you’re part of the community and accessible.

Pittsburg used to not have a good reputation, but if you come here now, it’s awesome; we’re thriving. We put a lot of work into making sure people feel safe in our community and making sure we’re creating economic development. For instance, the Courtyard by Marriott we recently facilitated being built. We only had one hotel in Pittsburg, and it was constantly full, so people coming to visit our city would have to stay elsewhere. In addition, last year we approved a 40,000 square-foot competition gym. So instead of kids and their parents always traveling for tournaments and competitions, they can do some of that here. We really transformed the whole community to be family-friendly. Due to real investment, Pittsburg is a place where there’s something for everyone, and all of that is something I know I can do in District 5.