Quick Take
Joe Thompson believes their role as a union organizer and experience working for Gail Pellerin when she ran for state Assembly in 2022 and state Sen. Aisha Wahab gives them the experience needed to make tough choices on the Santa Cruz City Council.
Editor’s note: Lookout editors wanted to give you a chance to hear from candidates directly. But we also did not want them to simply repeat their campaign slogans. So we asked them a single question: “How will you provide the sort of leadership our community needs and how are you prepared to meet the moment as it arises?”
We gave them 500 words to answer. We hope their answers will provide one more outlet of information as you decide who to vote for on March 5.
As we transition from at-large council members to district council members, I believe District 5 deserves a proven leader and champion.
Since I arrived in Santa Cruz in September 2021 to attend UCSC, I became an active member of the city’s community. The first picket line I attended was the UC-AFT picket in November 2021, where I represented a student organization I revived. Shortly after that, I started organizing my coworkers at the downtown Starbucks, located at the corner of Ocean and Water streets. At the time, our team was facing terrible working conditions, which included customers exposing themselves to baristas, low wages and short staffing.
I could have quit. I could have sued Starbucks. I could have chosen to just give in and do nothing.
Instead, I fought back and formed the first Starbucks union in all of California. This happened when we unionized with the other Santa Cruz Starbucks, on Mission and Dufour streets, on May 11, 2022.
Following that experience, I went on to work for Gail Pellerin on her state Assembly campaign, where I served as her field director, organizing labor walks and reaching voters across both Santa Cruz and Santa Clara counties. I loved working with Gail because she taught me what public service is really about. She showed me how to advocate for people and how to champion issues while building consensus. After the November 2022 election, I became close with newly elected state Sen. Aisha Wahab (Senate District 10), and worked in her district office in Fremont, where I learned more about state government and how to make it work for all Californians.
Later on, in 2023, I returned to my organizing roots, attaining my current role as a union organizer with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1021. I continue to organize Starbucks workers across Northern California and fight for workers on a daily basis. As a union organizer, I organize workers, build political power and ensure that Starbucks bargains with the union on workplace issues. I also currently serve our community on the Santa Cruz County Substance Use Disorder Commission, where I am a staunch advocate for fentanyl and xylazine awareness in our community.
On the Santa Cruz City Council, one big responsibility is to make local government more accessible, responsive and beneficial to all Santa Cruzans. I plan to be a leader on the council when it comes to housing, climate change and workers’ rights. I will fight for our seniors, students and all working families not only in my district, but throughout the city.
The Santa Cruz City Council needs boldness and leadership, not averageness and scandals. District 5 and the city of Santa Cruz deserve a champion, not a bystander. My years leading unions, advocating for vulnerable communities and fighting for workers prove I’m not afraid to tackle our tough challenges.
I bring a fresh voice and a new perspective.
That is what our community needs.
Joe Thompson’s campaign site is here.