Sergio Contreras is a committed community leader and public servant with a proven record of success stretching back two decades. His accomplishments include protecting vital services for Orange County residents: promoting public health and public safety, ensuring fiscal accountability and championing public education.

 

Sergio served on the Westminster City Council from 2012 to 2020, where he spearheaded the largest upgrade to Westminster’s park system since 1996, encompassing 22 park facilities and representing a $10.4 million investment in the community. He oversaw the city’s first general plan update in decades. Sergio also placed emergency call boxes in all Westminster parks to increase public safety and fought to place outdoor exercise equipment in local parks to improve public health. He accomplished all of this at no additional cost to local taxpayers, maintaining his promise to residents to “do more with less.”

 

As a councilman, Sergio also modernized the Westminster Family Resource Center, created the city's first Community Preservation Unit and the city’s first Parks & Recreation Facilities Master Plan. Additionally, Sergio led the establishment of the Mendez Tribute Monument Park and Mendez Freedom Walking & Biking Trail, the first public monument to commemorate the civil rights milestone of the Mendez v. Westminster court decision that paved the way for desegregating schools across the U.S.

 

Sergio began his career in public service as a member of the Westminster School Board, where he served from 2004 to 2012, including as school board president. Sergio expanded after school programs to keep children off the streets and worked to provide extended-day learning opportunities to help students with English and math. He also increased access to music programs, arts programs and technology. Contreras was responsible for ensuring that Westminster School District was the first district in Orange County to provide day-long kindergarten at all school sites. He is also responsible for extending learning time for first through third grade classrooms, and modernizing schools to create safe and secure learning environments for community youth.

 

Sergio currently works to lift up the Orange County community as the executive director of United for Student Success at the Orange County United Way. Under his leadership, the United Way builds educational partnerships and helps disperse funds and resources toward creating educational equity by improving learning opportunities for socially and economically disadvantaged students, with the goal of increasing high school graduation rates across the region. 

 

Prior to joining United Way, Sergio worked as district director of California’s 56th Assembly District in the California State Legislature. While in that role, Sergio directly contributed to the successful governing and stable functioning of our community and our state. In his roles as a former commissioner to the Chief of Police in Westminster and member of the Orange County District Attorney’s Advisory Commission, Sergio worked to protect Orange County residents’ safety.

 

Sergio also serves his community by volunteering with various committees and charitable organizations. He is a former member of Westminster’s Community Advisory Group, former Westminster Cultural Arts Commissioner, former member of Westminster’s Advisory Committee for the Disabled, a former Westminster Planning Commissioner and he served on the Board of Trustees for the Orange County Vector Control District from 2012 to 2020 where he worked to protect public health countywide.  

 

Today, Sergio continues his work to improve public health by serving on the Midway Sanitation District Board of Directors, working to clean up Orange County communities and make the area a more desirable place to live.

 

Sergio is a first-generation American, born, raised and educated in Orange County. He was the first in his family to attend college. Sergio earned his A.A. degree from Orange Coast College, and bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice and master’s degree in Public Policy & Administration from California State University, Long Beach.

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