Good morning, Santa Cruz County. It is Friday, Feb. 9, and a mostly sunny day is ahead with highs in the 50s, with more clear skies forecast through the weekend.
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Here’s Wallace Baine from inside the democratic process:
Six of eight candidates vying for district seats on the Santa Cruz City Council went before the voters Thursday evening at Hotel Paradox in the last of three Lookout candidate forums. Measure M, homelessness and affordable housing were the primary issues in the often lively debates, moderated by Lookout Community Voices Editor Jody K. Biehl and Politics and Policy Correspondent Christopher Neely. Incumbent Sonja Brunner was not able to attend, giving her opponent for the council seat representing District 2, Hector Marin, a solo spotlight on the stage. The same circumstance held in the District 5 debate when Joe Thompson, citing a family emergency, didn’t make it, ceding the stage to his opponent, Susie O’Hara.
In the District 1 debate, Dave Tannaci, running against Gabriela Trigueiro, was the only candidate of the night who declined to reveal a position on Measure M, the height-limit measure on the city ballot March 5. Perhaps the most contentious debate took place for the District 3 seat as incumbent Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson, a no on Measure M, sat down opposite her opponent, 2022 mayoral candidate Joy Schendledecker, who supports the ballot measure. Schendledecker’s affiliation with the Democratic Socialists of America was the subject of one exchange that prompted shouting from the otherwise respectful audience, which numbered about 115, with a few dozen more tuning in on Facebook.
The candidates revealed something of their own lives, most notably District 1’s Triguerio talking about her struggles as a single mom moving up from homelessness and District 2’s Marin mentioning his love for his undocumented mother. On the lighter side, we now all know that Schendledecker’s celebrity crush is Paul Rudd, and Hector Marin, evoking Gen Z energy, admitted to crushing on “Spider-Man” actor Zendaya.
Missed the event? Check out the video replay on Lookout’s Facebook page.
Read on for Max Chun’s recap of the forum, and be sure to keep our voter guide handy as you fill out that ballot, and find the latest on all the county’s races in On the Campaign Trail, our ongoing blog.
Election 2024 is also the focus in Lookout’s Community Voices opinion section. Politics columnist Mike Rotkin writes in favor of Measures K and L, which, respectively, aim to raise the sales tax in unincorporated areas of Santa Cruz County and in the city of Santa Cruz. Measure M, meanwhile, is the topic for city planning commissioner Pete Kennedy.
And ahead of her Eaters Digest newsletter, coming later Friday, Lily Belli gets a taste of the vegetarian fast-food fare Soquel-based Pretty Good Advice brings to downtown Santa Cruz with its new Pacific Avenue location.
The headlines also include Thursday’s arraignment in the case of a missing Capitola woman, coverage of Live Oak School District’s budget crunch and Wallace Baine’s weekend roadmap. Let’s take a look.
One city, four elections: Santa Cruz City Council Districts 1, 2, 3 and 5 candidates take forum stage
In Lookout’s third and final candidate forum before the March 5 primary election, Santa Cruz City Council candidates for Districts 1, 2, 3 and 5 discussed the city’s major issues including homelessness, the fate of West Cliff Drive and Measure M. Max Chun has coverage.
Pretty Good Advice brings farm-to-table vegetarian cuisine to downtown Santa Cruz
Soquel-based Pretty Good Advice opened a second location on Pacific Avenue on Feb. 1, bringing its seasonal, fast-food menu of breakfast sandwiches, burgers, salads and sides to downtown Santa Cruz. Here’s Lily Belli.
DAILY DIGEST
Lots to chew on, but you’ll want to stay tuned for more on tap from Lookout, including Lily Belli’s aforementioned Eaters Digest. That’s just one of our many newsletters (also ahead are Sunday Reads and, coming Monday, In the Public Interest, Christopher Neely’s look at Santa Cruz County politics and policy), and you can sign up for it all here. You can also follow Lookout on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Threads to stay current with local goings-on.
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Happy Friday, and have a good weekend.