Candidate for
County Supervisor; Santa Cruz County; Supervisorial District 5

A lifelong resident of the San Lorenzo Valley, Eric Hammer is a green builder and contractor. He has served on the Boulder Creek Recreation and Park District Board for the past 7 years where as Chair, he spearheaded the effort to revitalize Garrahan Park. In his second term on the board, the District received the 2009 Special Recreation District of the Year Award. The following year, Eric was honored as the recipient of the Most Outstanding Board Member by the California Association of Recreation and Park Agencies. Eric also serves as President of the Boulder Creek Business Association, on the Board of Community Bridges, on the Steering Committee for the Redwood Mountain Faire, and on the County Treasury Oversight Commission. He has also served as Chair of Mountain Community Resources, as a member of Rotaract, San Lorenzo Valley Rotary International, was the founding President of Youth First, and has been a member of the Valley Women's Club since the age of 16.

Having been raised in a family that honored civic involvement, public service has always been one of his core values, and he is raising his own family with that same commitment.

Eric attended Cabrillo Community College where he obtained an A.S. in Business and Hospitality Management. In his time at Cabrillo College, he served as Student Representative to the Board of Trustees, and was instrumental in bringing peer education and awareness on campus. He was honored with the Billy Paul Achievement and Service Award, the Associated Student Senate Award for Leadership, the Charles Bell Award and the statewide Award for Service from AGS Honor Society. He continued his education at San Francisco State University where he studied Hospitality Management and Culinary Studies with a minor in Business Administration. Eric served as Student Representative to the Academic Senate, as Junior Class Representative to the Associated Students and as President of the Hospitality Management Society. He received numerous honors at San Francisco State University, including the Certificate of Recognition for Outstanding Student Leadership, the award for Outstanding Dedication to Hospitality Management, and was recognized in the Who's Who in American Universities.

Currently, Eric owns Eric Hammer Construction in Brookdale. As a self employed business owner, Eric has executed all aspects of project leadership including budgeting, scheduling, financing, design, permitting and subcontracting. He has managed multi-million dollar budgets, large staffs, various business stakeholders, and has worked with Cities, Counties and Municipalities. His projects have included commercial, residential and mixed-use renovation projects as far reaching as San Francisco. Eric is committed to green business practices and long-term planning that prevents sprawl, reduces energy use and builds and protects the environment we all want for our children and planet.

Eric also finds time to manage and coach Little League in his community. He is married to Susan Handloff and has three children, Kai, Charlie and Ruby.