On a crisp morning in early November, Santa Cruz Mayor Fred Keeley pulled up to the National Guard armory at the city overlook. The city had made much progress on homelessness during Keeley’s first year in office, and the active, publicly financed shelter played an important role in the city’s ability to clear encampments and connect people to services. An impromptu tour of the facility was due.
As if it were planned, an armory resident on his way to town on a large chopper motorcycle pulled up and killed his roaring engine as he approached Keeley.
“You’re the mayor!”
“Well, somebody has to be,” Keeley joked.
At age 73, Fred Keeley is wrapping up the first year of what will likely be the swan song in his nearly 30-year career in elected public office. Having served eight years on the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors, six years in the state Assembly and 10 years as county treasurer, Keeley agreed last fall to shepherd the city through its voter-directed transition into an entirely new system of political representation, one in which a full-time mayor plays a central role.
For decades, the city operated under what’s known as an at-large system of representation in which seven city councilmembers are elected through a citywide vote. Councilmembers would then, each year, choose the mayor among themselves.
Last year, residents overwhelmingly voted to restructure the city’ representation into something more direct and local. The city now operates under a district-based model, in which six city council districts elect their own representative.
The big change: For the first time in Santa Cruz history, voters, not the city council, choose the mayor for a full, four-year term.
Of Note
Political player on the move: Rachel Dann has been the sort of who’s who political aide for Santa Cruz County politicians ranging from Ryan Coonerty and Justin Cummings to Rep. Jimmy Panetta. Now, she moves onto a new gig as the Sempervirens Fund’s director of government relations, a new role for the redwood conservation nonprofit that calls itself California’s oldest and largest land trust. According to a news release, Dann will largely be working on the organization’s lobbying strategies.
Watsonville hospital nurses: The board that oversees Watsonville Community Hospital approved a new contract after months of tense labor negotiations. The hospital’s roughly 250 nurses will receive a 10% salary increase over three years, and the contract also calls for more part-time positions, a key demand from the nurses. The Pajaro Valley Health Care District unanimously approved the deal last Thursday. Read Hillary Ojeda’s story for more details on the contract.
This Week Ahead
Nothing to note here this week as local political bodies are off and governments work with skeleton crews between Christmas and the New Year. This newsletter will also be taking off for the next week. I will return to your inboxes on Jan. 8. Happy holidays!
Weekly News Diet
Local: The housing market has been in a cooling phase since the pandemic hot streak, but the latest November numbers were particularly slow in Santa Cruz County. As my colleague Max Chun reports, the cost of money has had a major impact.
Golden State: Take this stat into your holiday dinner conversations. A report by Waymo, the self-driving car company owned by Google parent Alphabet, reported that its San Francisco driverless cars had a crash rate 90% lower than human drivers in the city. The study accounted for the more than 7 million miles its cars have driven since October.
National: In September, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill that prohibited Californians from carrying firearms in most places, even if they have a concealed-carry permit. The bill played into Newsom’s effort to be tougher on guns. Now, that law, meant to go into effect next month, is on hold after a federal judge ruled it violated the Second Amendment.
Editor’s note: In the Public Interest will not publish Jan. 1. The next edition will be Jan. 8. Happy New Year!