'I Realized Early On That I Was a Public Servant': Newly Elected Councilman Ready to Make History on Wednesday

Greg Young, a 23-year Martinez resident who will become the first Black member of the City Council in Martinez history, brings background in community service to his first elected role

The following post by freelance writer Sam Richards is made possible through the support of paid subscribers and other financial supporters of the newsletter. It is being made available in full to paid subscribers only. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber if not already for $5 a month or $50 annually to fund more local coverage of Martinez.

By Sam Richards

Though Greg Young was only recently elected to his first public office, he feels as though he’s spent a long time preparing for it – starting with a work-study assignment he had while attending UC Berkeley, helping prison inmates in Vacaville find job and school opportunities, and later serving on various area foundation boards and on the Martinez Planning Commission and Contra Costa Library Commission. He continues to serve on the Juvenile Hall Auxiliary of Contra Costa County.

“I realized early on that I was a public servant, but I didn’t know how that was ultimately going to manifest itself,” said Young, who will be sworn in as Martinez’s newest — and first Black — City Council member on Wednesday night at a special Farewell Celebration and Oath of Office ceremony immediately before the regular City Council meeting. The roles he’s had, Young said, “helped get me in a frame of mind for community.”

Young, 57, defeated Dylan Radke in the Nov. 5 general election, receiving 56.2% of the vote. The two men were vying for the District 2 council seat being vacated by Mark Ross, a 28-year council veteran whose home is no longer in District 2, after the current district map was created in 2022.

Ross is expected to make farewell comments Wednesday night; Young and appointed incumbent Satinder Malhi – who ran unopposed for his first full council term in November – are also expected to speak.

Young is a 23-year resident of Martinez, a city his family chose to live in because it is a friendly community, and centrally located near the various Bay Area locales they frequent – including San Francisco, where Young is a senior deputy commissioner with the state Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, which protects consumers and services to businesses engaged in financial transactions. He had many years in the banking industry before that, and said he hopes to put that experience to use on the council.

Newly elected City Council Member Greg Young