Nevada City is a town that asks a lot of you. It asks you to care deeply, to show up, and to believe that a small foothill community can be a model for how people come together and build something genuinely worth preserving. I know this because Nevada City has asked all of that of me – and I have answered that call, willingly, for most of my life.
My name is Jesse Locks. I was born and raised here, and though I spent a decade away, earning a degree and working at magazines in some of America’s great cities, I came back, because this place gets into your bones. Since returning, I have volunteered and served on the boards of numerous local nonprofits, worked for a national park site, and spent more than twenty years contributing to arts and cultural life in this community. In that time, I have worked alongside six city managers and dozens of city council members. I have seen what effective, compassionate public service looks like up close and I have seen what it does not look like. That experience has given me a clear-eyed sense of what this town needs right now.
Nevada City needs Micayla Sortland on its City Council.
I have known Micayla since we were teenagers working together at the Herb Shop in downtown Nevada City. Even then, there was something unmistakable about her – a creative energy, a genuine curiosity about people, and a quiet but steady commitment to showing up fully. In the years since, I have had the privilege of watching her grow into a remarkable force: a creative and musical powerhouse, a passionate disabilities advocate, and a person who understands, in her bones, what it means to fight for those whose voices are too often left out of the room.
When Micayla announced her candidacy, she did something that immediately set her apart. She reached out – genuinely, thoughtfully, and without agenda – to residents, business owners, artists, and advocates throughout downtown Nevada City. She came to listen. She asked about our past, our present, our aspirations, and yes, even our dreams for this city. She wanted to understand what local government could do better and where we felt it had fallen short. That kind of humble, intentional outreach is not a campaign tactic. It is a reflection of character. It is the mark of a true leader.
In more than two decades of working to make things happen in this community, I have come to believe that the best public servants share a handful of essential qualities. They listen before they speak. They engage meaningfully with their constituents, not just the ones who vote, but all the people whose lives are shaped by the decisions made at City Hall. They are creative problem solvers who understand that collaboration is not weakness – it’s wisdom. They are willing to work with people they don’t always agree with, because they never lose sight of the bigger picture: we are all on the same team. We are Team Nevada City. And we all want to see this community thrive.
Micayla embodies every one of those qualities.
The challenges facing Nevada City are urgent and they are real. Our infrastructure is aging. Our fire threat is not hypothetical, it’s a present and pressing danger that demands strategic, forward-thinking leadership. Our economy is evolving in ways that require adaptability and vision. And affordable housing remains a crisis that is quietly reshaping who can afford to call this place home. These are not simple problems, and they will not yield to simple answers. They demand dynamic, creative thinkers who are willing to roll up their sleeves and work across differences toward lasting solutions.
There is something else worth saying plainly: the character and culture of Nevada City did not happen by accident. It has been built, protected, and renewed by generations of people who worked hard to ensure this town remained welcoming, beautiful, and one-of-a-kind (read into that how you like). That legacy deserves stewards who understand its weight and its worth. Micayla Sortland understands both.
Nevada City is at a crossroads. We can choose leaders who divide and entrench, or we can choose leaders who build and unite. We can choose voices that speak for the few, or we can choose someone who has already proven she will listen to everyone.
I am proud to support Micayla Sortland. I hope you will join me.