Editor’s note: A Lookout View is the opinion of our Community Voices opinion section, written by our editorial board, which consists of Community Voices Editor Jody K. Biehl and Lookout Founder Ken Doctor. Our goal is to connect the dots we see in the news and offer a bigger-picture view — all intended to see Santa Cruz County meet the challenges of the day and to shine a light on issues we believe must be on the public agenda. These views are distinct and independent from the work of our newsroom and its reporting.
Here’s the good news about the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors races: We have a slew of excellent, energetic candidates eager to enact change.
The bad news is our state is facing a budget deficit projected at more than $70 billion, which means less money for counties, so whoever wins will have to do more with less. We’ve also seen much of the board’s veteran leadership exit in recent years, leaving questions about who will emerge as our strongest voices and what direction they will take our community.
The county budget hovers around $1.1 billion, which sounds like a lot until you realize all the services and funding needed to run our community. Think roads and parks, child care and mental health services, 911 operations, the public defender, libraries and more. Throw in the uncertainty of climate change and the unexpected recent costs of wildfires, storms and flooding, and it becomes hard to imagine how we totter along.
Our county executive, Carlos Palacios, calls our community “systemically underfunded,” which points to a need for leaders with creative ideas on how to get us the services we want and need. We also need supervisors who show leadership, who are unafraid to fight for what they believe and who have a history that shows they may respond smartly to the unexpected challenges of the next four years.
In this primary election, if no candidate receives 50% +1 of the votes, the top two challengers go onto the Nov. 5 general election. That’s why, in Districts 5 and 2, which have four and five candidates running, respectively, we are endorsing two candidates.
At Lookout, we regularly hear community complaints that the board is not innovative or active enough. That there are not enough voices in the room pushing for change, asking hard questions.
We agree.
District 1: Manu Koenig for District 1 county supervisor
District 2: Kristen Brown and Kim De Serpa for District 2 county supervisor
District 5: Monica Martinez and Christopher Bradford for District 5 county supervisor