Former Santa Cruz mayor Chris Krohn argues that New York mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s insurgent progressive victory offers a blueprint for a new generation of political change in Santa Cruz. He urges voters to seize a “Mamdani moment” and build a movement proving that Santa Cruz is not for sale.
Chris Krohn
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Peter and Celia Scott: Two Santa Cruzans who danced on the brink of the world – always together
The community will celebrate the lives of Peter and Celia Scott, who helped shape Santa Cruz County land-use laws and preserve much public land – including Wilder Ranch and Lighthouse Field – as a greenbelt on Saturday at John R. Lewis College at UC Santa Cruz. Here, Chris Krohn offers a tribute to their life and his thoughts on their legacy.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
It’s time to name names in the Santa Cruz era of greed
Chris Krohn, a former Santa Cruz city councilmember and mayor, believes the city is moving from an era of progressive politics to one where greed and transactional relationships are the primary motivators. He sees comparisons between Donald Trump’s “drill baby drill” politics to the Santa Cruz developer practice of what he calls “build baby build.” Here, he names names and suggests a response to those who are buying and selling our community.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Is the end of the Santa Cruz progressive era upon us?
Chris Krohn, a former Santa Cruz mayor and city councilmember, sees a shift he doesn’t like in city politics. Gone, he believes, are the days of grassroots, progressive fights for social services, parks, a women’s commission, pedestrian amenities and the greenbelt. “Santa Cruz,” he writes, is beginning to buckle under the weight of the current for-profit credo of “build-baby-build,” which he insists is “the local flavor” of the Trump mantra “drill-baby-drill.” The current council, he writes, “has been rapidly selling off our city’s seed corn.”