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Celebrating Our Ruth Vreeland Public Official of the Year Award Honoree: Mayor Mary Ann Carbone
Mary Ann Carbone was born in Monterey, California and grew up in Seaside with her parents and 12 siblings — Growing up she attended Seaside Elementary School, Fremont Jr. High and Cypress High School and pursued a continued education in the medical field, obtaining a degree in pharmacy. After receiving her degree, she decided to enter a non-traditional job and joined the Laborers International Union of North America. She worked in the commercial construction trades with her brothers in the 1980s until her retirement in 2009.
It was during those construction days, in 1991, that Mary Ann was appointed to the Sand City Council. Upon that initial introduction to politics Mary Ann decided to be a voice for the community and vowed to serve her community well. She has served on the Sand City Council for 33 years, as Councilmember, Vice Mayor, and as Mayor for the past seven years.
Mayor Carbone is the first Indigenous woman Mayor in Sand City, as well as one of several indigenous elected officials in the state of California representing over 750,000 indigenous people in the state. She not only represents her city well, but she continues to be a staunch advocate for the people, on issues affecting our regional community and beyond. She offers leadership, integrity, and problem solving while working on many city and regional agencies, boards and committees.
In her spare time, she continues to educate through speaking engagements in the schools during Native American month, quarterly outreach programs for needy native families through TANF – an organization which provides backpacks for children and encourages reading programs, native linguistics. Mary Ann continues to mentor and encourage indigenous youth to remember their heritage and culture through summer culture camps and dance programs to enable them to carry on those teachings to the next generation.
Mary Ann has three beautiful daughters, Annie Marie, Erika and Ginearosa.
Congratulations Mayor Carbone on being our Ruth Vreeland Public Official of the Year Award Honoree! We can't wait to celebrate you and your fellow honorees at this year's Annual Awards Dinner, presented by Monterey County Bank, on Saturday, March 29 at the Portola Hotel & Spa.
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