Ami Chen Mills, running for mayor of Santa Cruz, pushes back against the assertion by her opponent, Ryan Coonerty, that she has taken a stance “too late” on the project proposed at Seabright and Soquel avenues. She presents the politics behind the Seabright project, criticizes Coonerty’s record on development and local control and explains her own evolving approach to the housing crisis. She argues for truly affordable housing, tenant protections, neighborhood-scale development and stronger local oversight.
Ami Chen Mills
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Is progressivism dying in Santa Cruz?
Santa Cruz is no longer a progressive city, writes resiliency educator and podcast host Ami Chen Mills … if it ever really was. The March 5 election seemed to close the case. But she still hopes Santa Cruz can find balance again.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
The political is personal: Teen mental health and why it feels like ‘the end of the world’
Ami Chen Mills is worried about our planet, our youth — including her own daughters — and our politicians and leaders, who she feels are not taking up the biggest issues of our day. “Where are our leaders,” she writes, “on the threat of rising fascism and loss of women’s rights, which are girls’ rights, loss of history and loss of rights and belonging for LGBTQ+ people and Black people across the country?” Chen Mills leans on Buddhist teaching and her experience as a wellness teacher to reframe what it means to be an activist today and to push us to express our fears about climate change and other pressing issues more openly.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Election Reaction: Ami Chen Mills says progressives need to get organized
Ami Chen Mills laments that progressive candidates did not fare better in elections on Nov. 8. The votes are still being tallied, but she finds it sad that Santa Cruzans “could not find it in their hearts” to elect Hector Marin, a young, progressive Latino. She also questions “the overwhelming firepower” of Santa Cruz Together and begs progressives to get better organized on the fundraising front.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Our mostly white and wealthy community should stop patting its own back for its ‘diversity’ and ‘liberalism’
Ami Chen Mills and Lynda Marín disagree with Lookout’s endorsements and insist we need more emphasis on diversity. They say the Santa Cruz community needs to do more to elevate progressive voices and openly discuss “issues of class, wealth, poverty and the forces of gentrification that create a homogenous, increasingly wealthy and, therefore, mostly white society.”
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Ami Chen Mills for 3rd District Supervisor: We need new ways of thinking and climate expertise
Ami Chen Mills wants to “bring climate and resiliency leadership” to Santa Cruz County. She is a climate advocate, mental health educator, social justice and pro-democracy radio show and podcast host, author of three books, journalist and mother of two. She says she can bring new forms of dialogue to our political processes.
