Pyska to run for District 5 supervisorial seat
- Lake County News reports
- Posted On
COBB, Calif. – Cobb resident Jessica Pyska this week became the first candidate to officially throw her hat into the ring for the 2020 supervisorial elections.
The Lake County native said she will run for the District 5 seat, currently held by Rob Brown. Brown has indicated he will not seek reelection.
District 5 includes Kelseyville, the Clear Lake Rivieras, Buckingham, Loch Lomond and parts of Cobb Mountain area.
The primary election will be held on March 3, 2020, and the general election on Nov. 3, 2020.
In 2016, Pyska was one of the founders of the Cobb Area Council, or CAC, focusing on proactive recovery after the Valley fire, where she and her family lost their home.
In her current role as Economic Development Committee Chair of the CAC, Pyska works closely with Lake County supervisors and department heads to build a sustainable community through
restoration, rebuilding and reshaping, and to ease the burdens of communities working through long-term recovery, while supporting and revitalizing local businesses.
Pyska is co-owner of JP Consulting, a web and mobile app development consulting firm. She works part-time designing curriculum and teaching weekly classes for kindergarten through sixth grade students at Cobb Mountain Elementary School with a focus on gardening, nutrition, cooking, science, art, math and environmental education, and helps to raise the funds to support the program.
Since 2014 she has served on the board of the Friends of Cobb Mountain, a group dedicated to protecting the natural beauty of the Cobb Mountain area, and she coordinated the Valley Fire Rebuild Expo in 2016, where $30,000 in gift cards were handed out to those who had lost their homes. She also worked in the local wine industry for seven years and enjoys making wine at home.
Pyska has volunteered to help disaster survivors through the American Red Cross and Habitat for Humanity New Orleans. She is currently a leader of Junior Girl Scout troop No. 10463.
She has deep roots in Lake County. She was born at the old Lakeside Hospital and raised on Cobb Mountain with her two brothers and sister. She attended Minnie Cannon Elementary, then Cobb Elementary when it opened in 1985. She graduated from Middletown High School in 1994.
Her father, John Jennings, worked in the steam fields for more than 30 years before retiring from Calpine in 2005. Her mother, Karen Jennings, worked in the Middletown School District, then served on the school board for two terms in the 1990s.
After graduating from the University of California Santa Cruz, Pyska moved to San Francisco, joining a commercial real estate corporation.
She met and married Joel Pyska and they chose to move back to Lake County in 2005 to start their family. Their children, Camille and Asher, attend Cobb Mountain Elementary School.
Pyska said she looks forward to meeting with residents of District 5 to deepen her understanding of their vision, needs and priorities so she can better represent them.
She said she has already received enthusiastic support and commitments from those who know of her plans, as they believe in her strength and determination.
Pyska believes her personal journey through the fire recovery and rebuilding process makes her uniquely qualified to assist Lake County in building a solid future prioritizing economic vitality and advancing a high standard of disaster prevention and preparedness while preserving the things everyone loves most about the community.
She may be contacted at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .