Community activist and acclaimed yoga instructor Mark Stephens argues that the four candidates running against Ryan Coonerty in the Santa Cruz mayoral race appear less focused on offering a compelling vision than on forcing Coonerty, the front-runner, into a run-off. Stephens contends that the strategy weakens the opposition, confuses voters and risks appearing politically evasive rather than principled. Stephens argues that voters deserve a direct and transparent contest of ideas, not fragmented tactical maneuvering and political games.
Mark Stephens
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Let’s not call the new rail-trail plan a ‘peace deal’: Paving over rail for 20 years rejects voters’ will
Local activist and yoga instructor Mark Stephens argues that the Koenig–Keeley “peace deal” approved last week by the RTC is not a harmless compromise but a 20-year removal of rail service that effectively kills future commuter rail in Santa Cruz County. He notes that voters overwhelmingly rejected that idea in 2022, when 73% voted against Measure D’s trail-only vision. Stephens warns that paving over tracks would make restoring rail economically and politically impossible, despite claims of a temporary fix. He urges officials to honor the public mandate and take any plan that eliminates rail back to the ballot box.
