Quick Take
Lookout is hosting three candidate forums, on Jan. 22, Feb. 5 and Feb. 8, focusing on county and city races along with Measure M. The forums are free and each will run from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Hotel Paradox.
We’re barely into 2024 and the year has already filled many with political anxiety. Our national politics are more polarized than any in memory. Here in Santa Cruz County, we watch warily and do what we individually feel right to meet the moment.
Democracy can be messy. That’s where Lookout fits in, bringing you the information you need to make informed choices at the ballot box and beyond.
To help keep you informed, Lookout is hosting three candidate forums on Jan. 22, Feb. 5 and Feb. 8 focusing on county and city races.
Jody K. Biehl, editor of our Community Voices opinion section, will again host and moderate the forums. This year, she’ll be joined by Christopher Neely, Lookout’s politics & policy correspondent.
The forums are free and each will run from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Hotel Paradox, our event partner, which we deeply appreciate for helping us bring these forums to you. The sessions are detailed below. You can sign up here to attend and participate.
For our first forum on Mon., Jan. 22, we’ll start with District 2 at 6 p.m., followed by District 5 at 7 p.m.
We will be streaming the forums live on our Facebook page. Tune in here. Have questions for the candidates? Send them to news@lookoutlocal.com with the subject “candidate question.”
Our election 2024 coverage – with our voter guide, campaign blog and ongoing coverage – has already hit the ground running, and you’ll see lots of it as we approach the March 5 primary elections.
Importantly, we are making our Lookout election coverage free throughout the campaign. We did this both during the November 2022 elections and in January of last year, as we provided critical around-the-clock coverage of our unprecedented flooding. We do this as a public service. We believe in democracy and know the importance of our place in it.
While our election coverage is free to access for now, Lookout costs lots of money to produce. Membership helps pay our great staff. So if you are not yet a member, become one today to support this crucial news gathering and now – and gaining full access to it all year.
About the candidate forums:
Join Lookout Santa Cruz at Hotel Paradox from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. for three lively panel discussions this primary election season.
Monday, Jan. 22 | 2nd and 5th District County Supervisor
Hear from the 2nd District county supervisor candidates Anthony Crane, Bruce Jaffe, David Schwartz, Kim De Serpa and Kristen Brown. They will be followed by the 5th District county supervisor candidates Christopher Bradford, Monica Martinez, Theresa Ann Bond and Tom Decker.
Monday, Feb. 5 | 1st District County Supervisor & Measure M
Hear from the 1st District County supervisor candidates Lani Faulkner and Manu Koenig. They will be followed by representatives for groups both in support of and opposition to Measure M, the ballot measure on the height of new projects in Santa Cruz. Currently planning to participate are Frank Barron with Housing for the People, the group that spearheaded the ballot measure, and Don Lane with the Affordable Housing Advocates Santa Cruz, the group opposed to the initiative.
Thursday, February 8 | Santa Cruz City Council Districts 1, 2, 3 and 5
Hear from Santa Cruz City Council candidates. City Council District 1 candidates Dave Tannaci and Gabriela Trigueiro will kick things off, followed by District 2 candidates Hector Marin and Sonja Brunner. Hear from District 3 candidates Joy Schendledecker and Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson, and then District 5 candidates Joe Thompson and Susie O’Hara will close out the event.
At Lookout, our team of 15 on both the newsroom and business side knows how important these in-person gatherings are. As one city council candidate told me in 2022, “You are the only ones that have offered us a place and time to have a reasonable discussion with our opponents.” We appreciate that.
In these forums, we aim to get the candidates talking to each other about the real issues and their own leadership abilities. We aim to let you know how they might best represent you.
We’ll take your questions at the forums. You can send them ahead of time to us at elections@lookoutlocal.com, subject line “candidate question.”
We’ll record the sessions and offer up the most useful segments after the event.
Please join as we decide our community’s future together.