The race for three open seats on the Capitola City Council has taken an increasingly contentious turn in recent weeks, with a group of Santa Cruz County residents accusing candidate TJ Welch of anti-LGBTQ+ bigotry over comments he made in a 2022 letter to the city. Welch disputes how his remarks have been characterized and says the controversy has not been covered objectively.
The dispute has spilled into the final stretch of the campaign, with critics and supporters offering sharply different interpretations of Welch’s 2022 letter and subsequent comments. The renewed attention has also raised questions about why the letter is drawing scrutiny now, four years after it was sent.
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