Erin Minett, Nevada City Mayor

Host Brian Buckley leads our journey of discovery into the life and times of a mayor of a small mountain town, who bought a home here sight-unseen on the day of the great Bay Area 1989 earthquake. Growing up in Lafayette with older brothers led Erin to a number of experiences in activism and the choice to get arrested or not at protests. From enjoying school and community theater, Erin tried the LA acting scene and decided that wasn’t a great career choice. A shift to early childhood education led to a degree in Montessori education and the chance to be “appreciated as a performer” by pre-schoolers! She’s had a life-long involvement with the Democratic party, and after the move to Nevada City in 1991 she’s supported many community endeavors including Tall Pines Nursery School and Big Brothers/Big Sisters and she owns her own cleaning business. As a council member, she was able take care of city business and still have a full-time job. As mayor during the Covid pandemic, she’s been much busier, with non-stop meetings and even protesters on her doorstep. She strongly believes in the future of Nevada City and our community’s resilience to solve problems including affordable housing and homelessness. She has an intense interest in fire safety and encourages townfolk to “adopt a sliver” to help clean up small spaces with dangerous vegetation. Her advice to all of us: “If you want to really make a difference and pay it forward, get involved with local issues and/or nonprofits in our community. And be kind and take care of each other!”