Quick Take
Gabriela Trigueiro has defeated David Tannaci in the race for the District 1 Santa Cruz City Council seat.
Tuesday, March 19, 5:20 p.m. — Gabriela Trigueiro will be joining Santa Cruz City Council representing District 1 after her victory over over opponent David Tannaci. With 4,020 ballots counted through Tuesday, Trigueiro had received 52.2% of the vote, or 1,838 votes, to Tannaci’s 47%, or 1,656.
Previous updates
Friday, March 15, 4:30 p.m. — With 3,465 ballots counted through Friday, Gabriela Trigueiro firmed up her victory over opponent David Tannaci in the race for the District 1 Santa Cruz City Council seat. So far, she has received 52.18% of the vote to Tannaci’s 47.07%.
Monday, March 11, 4:30 p.m. — With 3,313 ballots counted, Lookout has called Gabriela Trigueiro the winner in the race for District 1 city councilmember in Santa Cruz, with 52.16% of the vote to David Tannaci’s 47.06%.
Friday, March 8, 4 p.m. — With 3,035 ballots counted, Gabriela Trigueiro maintained a lead in the race for District 1 city councilmember in Santa Cruz with 52.19% of the vote to David Tannaci’s 47.05%.
Wednesday, March 8, 2 a.m. —As of 2 a.m. Wednesday, with 2,494 ballots counted, Gabriela Trigueiro maintained a lead in the race for District 1 city councilmember in Santa Cruz with 52.7% of the vote to David Tannaci’s 46.49%.
District 1 is situated in northeast Santa Cruz, encompassing the DeLaveaga area and bounded by Water Street to the south and River Street to the west. The district features no incumbent, as at-large councilmember Martine Watkins will be termed out at the end of this year.
Trigueiro is the executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Santa Cruz County. She based her campaign on her experience working with nonprofits and emphasized her commitment to amplifying the voices of vulnerable communities. A single mom, she said she spends 60% of her income on rent and experienced homelessness while pregnant.
Tannaci is an engineer for the city’s water department with a background as a biologist and got campaign backing from the Service Employees International Union. He has said that his commitment to preserving the environment for future generations pushed him to run for office.
Both Trigueiro and Tannaci ran on a platform of supporting working families and underrepresented city residents and addressing the region’s affordability problems, but differed on one of the campaign’s most contentious issues: housing density.
Trigueiro told a Lookout campaign forum that she opposed Measure M, the citizen-led ballot measure to restrict the city from increasing the height and density of buildings beyond existing limits without first putting those decisions to a vote of the people. Tannaci initially declined to state how he would vote on Measure M.
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