Rudy Escalante has over thirty-five years of public sector and private non-profit experience serving multiple organizations in the Santa Cruz County area. He is a licensed private investigator experienced in conducting complex workplace EEO investigations.
As Deputy Chief of Police in the City of Watsonville, he oversaw the Administrations Division that included Personnel Investigations and contract negotiations. He was on the City’s negotiations team and assisted in obtaining agreements from the City’s bargaining groups that included additional pay cuts due to economic conditions.
Mr. Escalante served as Chief of Police in Capitola where he managed several MOUs within his department until his Honorable Retirement in 2016. Mr. Escalante served as the Chief Executive Officer for Janus of Santa Cruz, a local non-profit drug and alcohol treatment center serving the residents of Santa Cruz County.
While as Chief of Police, he participated in the Law & Legislative Committee for the California Police Chief’s Association and was the chair of their Firearms Committee. He has participated in legislative discussions and negotiations in Sacramento over firearms legislation. Mr. Escalante is an instructor for the South Bay Regional Public Safety Training Consortium where he teaches personnel investigations to newly promoted police sergeants.