On the Campaign Trail: Turnout tops 81% in county’s final vote tally

Welcome to On the Campaign Trail, our blog covering the 2024 election cycle as we move past Election Day, Nov. 5. We will update this page continuously with the latest news about any and all things election.

JUMP TO: D2 SUPERVISOR | D5 SUPERVISOR | CAPITOLA CITY COUNCIL | SCOTTS VALLEY CITY COUNCIL | WATSONVILLE CITY COUNCIL | BALLOT MEASURES | CAMPAIGN FINANCE

In final vote count, turnout tops 81%

Tuesday, Dec. 3, 5:00 p.m. – All the votes are in from the Santa Cruz County Elections Office and turnout topped 80% in the November general election.

There were ​​136,505 votes cast across the county, a turnout rate of 81.83%. That’s down from four years ago, when 86.13% of registered voters in the county cast ballots.

With every ballot now counted, Lookout can call the remaining few races. Measure O, Scotts Valley’s $85-million bond, has narrowly passed with 55.26% of the vote, just above the 55% threshold needed for victory. The bond would pay for new sports facilities, playgrounds and other improvements to the district’s schools.

In the race for Felton Fire Protection District Director, Doug Conrad finished ahead by 56 votes over Judy Anderson. 

In Boulder Creek, just 78 votes separate two contenders for a third spot as a director of the community’s fire district. David Scruggs appears to have won over Vince Cortinas Sr. Scruggs had 23.55% of the vote to Cortinas’ 22.83%.

Lookout has updated all the current numbers and stories to reflect the final, official, vote count. We’ve also updated our election charts, which you can find here.

Below, Lookout lays out who and what have won and lost.

Decided

• Scotts Valley Unified School District’s bond measure just barely cleared the 55% threshold needed to pass, with 55.26% of voters supporting the measure and 44.74% opposed.
• The city of Santa Cruz’s Measure Z, the sugary drink tax, has won. The yes vote received with 52% of the votes% against 48% for no.
• Challengers have ousted incumbents for three seats on the Pajaro Valley Unified School District’s governing board. In Area 3, Gabriel Medina has beaten Oscar Soto, 53.4% to 46.6% in a race that sees voters in both Santa Cruz and Monterey counties. In Area 2, Carol Turley has won over Georgia Acosta, 55% to 44%. In Area 6, Jessica Carrasco triumphed over Adam Bolaños Scow, 57% to 42%.
• Pajaro Valley Unified School District’s bond measure has passed with a combined 58.1% approval from voters in both Santa Cruz and Monterey counties.
• Kim De Serpa over Kristen Brown in the District 2 county supervisor race. De Serpa received 51% of the vote to Brown’s 48%.
• Soquel Elementary School District’s bond appears to have secured 56% of the vote, over the 55% threshold needed to pass.
• Monica Martinez over Christopher Bradford in the District 5 county supervisor race, 57% to 43%.
• Santa Cruz County’s Measure Q, to fund water and wildfire initiatives, winning 60% to 40%.
• Capitola’s Measure Y, its sales and use tax increase, with 67% of the vote.
• Scotts Valley’s Measure X, its business tax update, with 72% of the vote.
• Incumbent Donna Lind and newcomers Steve Clark and Krista Jett win three open seats on the Scotts Valley City Council.
• Incumbent Jimmy Dutra retains Watsonville’s District 6 city council seat over his opponent, Trina Coffman-Gomez, 55% to 45%.
• Gerry Jensen, with 34%, and Melinda Orbach, with 29%, will take two open seats on the Capitola City Council.
• Watsonville’s Measure V and W ahead, each with about 58% of the vote.
• The school bond measures have won in Bonny Doon Elementary School District, Aromas-San Juan School District and Lakeside Joint School District.
• Live Oak School District’s bond measure went down in defeat, with only 48% of voter support it.
• Incumbents U.S. Reps. Jimmy Panetta (71%) and Zoe Lofgren (65%), state Sen. John Laird (67%) and Assemblymembers Gail Pellerin (67%), Robert Rivas (66%) and Dawn Addis (64%) all have handily won reelection.
• In Santa Cruz County, Kamala Harris has won 75% of the vote to Donald Trump’s 21%. Adam Schiff won 76% of the vote to Steve Garvey’s 24%.

.  

Checking in on state ballot propositions

Monday, Nov. 11, 2024, 5 p.m. – With all 24,811 precincts partially reporting, here’s an snapshot via the California Secretary of State:

County clerk aims to add around 15,000 votes in Monday afternoon update

Monday, Nov. 11, 5:15 a.m. – With Santa Cruz County Elections Department workers having spent the weekend counting, County Clerk Tricia Webber told Lookout on Friday that she expected to add about 15,000 votes to the nearly 107,000 tabulated so far in an update around 4 p.m. Monday.

See below for where things stood after Friday’s vote dump, and subscribe here to Lookout’s breaking news alerts to keep up with our local coverage.

Martinez closing in on District 5 win, District 2 among races too close to call after Friday update

Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, 5 p.m. – The Santa Cruz County Elections Department has just reported the latest vote counts,106,763. With 63% of the county’s 168,248 registered voters’ ballots having been counted, expectations remain that the county will end up with a voter turnout slightly above 80%, as County Clerk Tricia Webber predicted last week. The clerk can continue receiving vote-by-mail ballots through Nov. 12, as long as the ballots were received and postmarked by the post office by Nov. 5 at 8 p.m. 

Webber told Lookout Friday that she expects an additional 15,000 votes to be reported Monday, around 4 p.m.

Friday’s count added 7,382 votes to the previous totals, or an additional 7%. Consequently, there has been little change in the trajectory of the races. Lookout is updating all the current numbers and stories to reflect the additional votes.

Decided

• Capitola’s Measure Y, its sales and use tax increase, with 69% of the vote, looks to have won.
• Scotts Valley’s Measure X, its business tax update, seems assured of passage with 73% of the vote.
• Incumbent Donna Lind and newcomers Steve Clark and Krista Jett appear to have an insurmountable lead for three open seats on the Scotts Valley City Council, with significant margins over the four other candidates.
• The school bond measures in Bonny Doon Elementary School District, Aromas-San Juan School District and Lakeside Joint School District have moved past the threshold for success.
• Live Oak School District’s bond measure looks headed for defeat, with only 45% of the vote in support.
• Incumbents U.S. Reps. Jimmy Panetta (70%) and Zoe Lofgren (64%), state Sen. John Laird (66%) and Assemblymembers Gail Pellerin (67%), Robert Rivas (65%) and Dawn Addis (64%) all have handily won reelection.
• In Santa Cruz County, Kamala Harris won 74% of the vote to Donald Trump’s 21%.

Almost decided

• Monica Martinez has built a strong lead over Christopher Bradford in the District 5 county supervisor race, 57% to 43%.
• Santa Cruz County’s Measure Q to fund water and wildfire initiatives looks likely to pass at 58% to 42%.
• Watsonville’s Measure V and W look poised to pass, ahead with 55% and 57% of the vote, respectively.
• Gerry Jensen and Melinda Orbach maintain their significant lead for the two open seats on the Capitola City Council.
• In races for the Pajaro Valley Unified School District governing board Area 2, Carol Turley maintains a lead over incumbent Georgia Acosta. Jessica Carrasco is leading incumbent Adam Scow in Area 6.

Trending

• Incumbent Jimmy Dutra leads Watsonville’s District 6 city council race over his opponent, Trina Coffman-Gomez, receiving 54% of the votes to Coffman-Gomez’s 45%.

Too close to call

• The school bond measures of Scotts Valley Unified, Soquel Unified and Pajaro Valley Unified school districts all hover around the 55% needed for passage.
• Kim De Serpa has increased her lead over Kristen Brown to 538 votes in the District 2 county supervisor race, 51% to 49%. 
• The city of Santa Cruz’s Measure Z, the sugary drink tax, is winning narrowly. The yes vote leads with 51% against 48% for no.
• It’s a neck-and-neck race for Pajaro Valley Unified School District governing board Area 3, with Gabriel Medina recently pushing into a narrow lead over Oscar Soto in a race that sees voters in both Santa Cruz and Monterey counties.

The next vote count will be released Monday around 4 p.m., and Lookout will report on the results as they come in.  

Little changes as another 2,895 ballots counted on Thursday

Nov. 7, 2024, 5:10 p.m. – In total, 99,381 votes have been cast in Santa Cruz County, or 59% of registered voters, according to County Clerk Tricia Webber’s office. At the end of the workday Thursday, only 2,895 countywide votes were added to the total that had been counted by Wednesday morning. 

Lookout will continue to report the vote as the county clerk’s office releases each new count. The next update is due at around 4 p.m. Friday, with a larger report due Monday afternoon, at the end of a weekend of counting. 

Consequently, the relative performance of candidates and measures has changed little, but is accurate to the moment, as Lookout is updating all the races.

Next vote update happening Thursday afternoon; here’s what we’re watching

Nov. 7, 2024, 12:10 p.m. – The Santa Cruz County Elections Department is set to update its vote-count total around 4 p.m. Thursday. As of Wednesday, 57.4% of the county’s 168,248 registered voters’ ballots had been counted, with around 36,000 left to be tallied as of Wednesday night. Santa Cruz County Clerk Tricia Webber said her “fingers are crossed” that the county ends up with a voter turnout in the mid-80s, as she predicted last week. Her office received 35,000 vote-by-mail ballots on Election Day, with about 1,000 more trickling in by midday Wednesday. The clerk can continue receiving vote-by-mail ballots through Nov. 12, as long as the ballots were received and postmarked by the post office by Nov. 5 at 8 p.m. 

Webber told Lookout’s Max Chun that she estimates between 3,000 and 5,000 to be added to the tally Thursday but that is “purely a guess.” She also said that Thursday’s update will be a bit smaller, with larger vote dumps coming Friday and Monday – particularly Monday, as workers will be counting ballots throughout the weekend.

Among the races Lookout might be able to call this evening: 

• District 5 Santa Cruz County supervisor, where Monica Martinez leads Christopher Bradford by 2,508 votes and 56.3%-43.5% margin.
• Santa Cruz County’s Measure Q, to fund water and wildfire initiatives, looks likely to pass at 58% to 42%, and the Yes on Q campaign declared victory Wednesday afternoon.
• Watsonville’s Measure V and W look poised to pass, ahead with 55% and 57% of the vote, respectively.
• Incumbent Donna Lind and newcomers Steve Clark and Krista Jett are leading for three open seats on the Scotts Valley City Council, with significant margins over the four other candidates.
• Gerry Jensen and Melinda Orbach maintain their significant lead for the two open seats on the Capitola City Council.

The race for the District 2 county supervisor seat, representing Mid-County from Capitola to Pajaro Dunes, remains a toss-up between Pajaro school district trustee Kim De Serpa and Capitola Mayor Kristen Brown.

Measure Z, the high-profile soda tax proposal in the city of Santa Cruz that attracted a monied opposition and more than $1.7 million in spending, held 51.6% support as of Wednesday, leading by only 668 votes. The city of Santa Cruz reported a 58.1% turnout of its 37,018 registered voters after initial tallies. If turnout were to reach 80% in the city, the Measure Z contest could expect another 7,778 votes, of which proponents would need 45.7% to win. 

In Watsonville, incumbent District 6 City Councilmember Jimmy Dutra held his lead over former councilmember Trina Coffman-Gomez, 54.1% to 45.4%. The lead by Dutra, who all but disappeared from the public eye after he was found liable in a sexual assault lawsuit in September, has surprised many. However, he leads by only 120 votes with more ballots to be counted. 

Read more analysis of the results so far and what to expect from Christopher Neely and Max Chun. 

Where things stand in Santa Cruz County after the Tuesday vote

Nov. 6, 2024, 1:35 a.m. – With a few more votes to trickle into the tally after midnight Tuesday, Lookout has updated all the numbers – and reports here on the likely results – through three vote counts on Tuesday. 

Through Tuesday evening, the Santa Cruz County clerk’s office had tallied 87,256 votes. That should represent about 60-65% of the total vote when it’s finally all counted in the coming days. County Clerk Tricia Webber tells Lookout that after a small additional tally in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, the next, more robust vote count will be released at the end of Thursday, with counts likely to follow into next week, before all the votes are tabulated.

In the coming days, we’ll follow two storylines. One, the apparent Donald Trump landslide and how Santa Cruz County makes sense of and reacts to it. Second, of course, the results of this local election.

So far, here’s what we know, which we’ll flesh out this week:

Decided

• Capitola’s Measure Y, its sales and use tax, with 69% of the vote, looks to have won.
• Scotts Valley’s Measure X, its business tax, with 73% of the vote seems assured of passage.
• The school bond measures in Bonny Doon Elementary School District, Aromas-San Juan School District and Lakeside Joint School District have moved past the threshold for success.
• Live Oak’s School bond measure looks headed for defeat, with only 45% of the vote.
• Incumbents U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta, state Sen. John Laird and Assemblymembers Gail Pellerin and Dawn Addis have handily won reelection, with 60% and more of the vote each.

Almost decided

• Monica Martinez has built a strong lead over Christopher Bradford in the District 5 county supervisor race, 57% to 42%.
• Santa Cruz County’s Measure Q, to fund water and wildfire initiatives, looks likely to pass at 58% to 42%.
• Watsonville’s Measure V and W look poised to pass, ahead with 55% and 57% of the vote, respectively.
• Incumbent Donna Lind and newcomers Steve Clark and Krista Jett are leading for three open seats on the Scotts Valley City Council, with significant margins over the four other candidates.
• Gerry Jensen and Melinda Orbach maintain their significant lead for the two open seats on the Capitola City Council.

Trending

• Incumbent Jimmy Dutra leads Watsonville’s District 6 city council race over his opponent, Trina Coffman-Gomez, receiving 52% of the votes to Coffman-Gomez’s 47.5%

Too close to call

• The school bond measures of Scotts Valley Unified, Soquel Unified and Pajaro Valley Unified school districts all hover around the 55% needed for passage.
• Kim De Serpa maintains a small 300-vote lead over Kristen Brown in the District 2 county supervisor race, 51% to 49%. 
• The city of Santa Cruz’s Measure Z, the “sugary drink tax,” is winning narrowly. The yes vote leads with 52% against 48% for no.

Where things stand in Santa Cruz County after second vote drop

Nov. 5, 2024, 11:15 p.m. – At 10 p.m., the Santa Cruz County clerk released the second vote totals of three this evening. 

That tally includes 83,050 votes, or 49% percent of the registered voter total.

Those full early totals here.

In those races, these are the current headlines:

County supervisor

• Kim De Serpa maintains a 300-vote lead over Kristen Brown in the District 2 race, 51% to 49%. 
• Monica Martinez has a strong lead over Christopher Bradford in the District 5 race, 57% to 42%, a 2,600-vote difference. 

Watsonville City Council

• Incumbent Jimmy Dutra maintains his lead for Watsonville’s District 6 city council race over his opponent, Trina Coffman-Gomez, receiving 52% of the votes to Coffman-Gomez’s 47.5%. In the uncontested District 1 and 2 city council races, Eduardo Montesino has received 97% of the votes and Vanessa Quiroz-Carter has received 91% of the votes. 

Measures

• Santa Cruz County’s Measure Q, to fund water and wildfire initiatives, is passing 58% to 42%.
• The city of Santa Cruz’s Measure Z, the “sugary drink tax,” is winning narrowly. The yes vote leads with 52% against 48% for no.
• Capitola’s Measure Y, its sales and use tax, is winning at 69%, or 1,000 votes.
• Scotts Valley’s Measure X, its business tax, is winning handily with 73% of the vote or 2,100 votes. 
• Watsonville’s Measure V and W look poised to pass, ahead with 55% and 57%  of the vote, respectively.

Scotts Valley City Council

Incumbent Donna Lind and newcomers Steve Clark and Krista Jett are leading for three open seats on the Scotts Valley City Council, with Corky Roberson, Mercedes Molloy, John Lewis and Dustin Lopez trailing, in that order.

Lind received 23% of the votes, Clark 19% and Jett 18%, as seven candidates competed for three seats on the five-member council.

Behind them, Roberson has received 12% of the votes, Molloy 10%, Lewis 10% and Lopez 8%.

Capitola City Council 

Gerry Jensen and Melinda Orbach maintain their lead for two open seats on the Capitola City Council, with Margaux Morgan and Enrique Dolmo Jr. trailing. Jensen has 35% of the votes, Orbach 28%, Morgan 20% and Dolmo 16%.

Pajaro Valley Unified School District board

Oscar Soto, Carol Turley and Jessica Carrasco are leading, while Gabriel Medina, Georgia Acosta and Adam Bolaños Scow are trailing for three open seats on the Pajaro Valley Unified School District governing board. 

For trustee Area 2, newcomer Turley, general manager of the Pajaro Dunes Association, has received 57% of the vote, while incumbent Acosta, 54, a Cal State University Monterey Bay adjunct professor, has 42% of votes. 

In the trustee Area 3 race, incumbent Soto received 53% of votes and newcomer Medina received 46% in Santa Cruz County. From Monterey County voters, Soto received 50% of votes, and Medina received 49%. Overall, Soto leads in the two-county election.

Trustee Area 6 voters have so far voted 52% in favor of newcomer Carrasco, while incumbent Scow has 47% of the votes.

“Stunned” and processing: Santa Cruz County leaders react to the Trump success

Nov. 5, 2024, 11 p.m. – As Santa Cruzans await local results, in a county that is going 77% for Kamala Harris to Donald Trump’s 20%, thoughts have turned profoundly to what appears to be a budding Trump victory. The New York Times now estimates that Trump has a 95% chance of winning the presidency. 

Some local Democratic leaders say they are “stunned” by the national results, and all are beginning to process what the victory might mean.

We’ve been gathering reaction this evening. 

Santa Cruz County Supervisor District 2 candidate Kristen Brown said she was forced to reckon with another experience in her past in public life. In 2016, Brown, now the outgoing mayor of Capitola, was running for the Capitola City Council for the first time. “Everyone was telling me, ‘Isn’t it cool you’re going to be elected the same time we have the first female president?’” she said Tuesday night. “So this would be the second time I’ve had to face that reality.”

Earlier this evening, the concern grew.

“I’m feeling really nervous and anxious, I don’t know any better way to describe that,” Santa Cruz City Councilmember Martine Watkins told Lookout.

Fellow Councilmember Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson added her own perspective: “I’m holding out hope. Being someone who comes from a country that was taken over by extremists, I’m holding out hope for this country.”

Retiring Scotts Valley Mayor Randy Johnson, a Republican, provided his take. “The whole national scene is kind of a little disheartening. I worry about the country a little bit, regardless of what happens,” he said. “We’ve always been resilient and that’s going to be tested right? So, we’ll see what happens. … This is where I say, ‘Let the people decide,’ and I think they’re going to do that tonight.”

Lookout will continue to cover local reaction this evening and in the days ahead.

Where things stand in Santa Cruz County after first vote drop

Nov. 5, 2024, 9:45 p.m. – At 8:30 p.m., the Santa Cruz County clerk released the first vote totals, the first of three this evening. 

That tally includes 8,075 votes or 48% percent of the registered voter total.

Those full early totals are here.

In those races, these are the early headlines:

County supervisor

• Kim DeSerpa narrowly leads Kristen Brown in the District 2 race, 51% to 49%, a 300-vote difference. 
• Monica Martinez has a strong lead over Christopher Bradford in the District 5 race, 57% to 41%, a 2,600-vote difference. 

Watsonville City Council

• Incumbent Jimmy Dutra leads Watsonville’s District 6 city council race over his opponent, Trina Coffman-Gomez, receiving 52% of the votes to Coffman-Gomez’s 47.5% of the votes. In the uncontested District 1 and 2 city council races, Eduardo Montesino has received 97% of the votes and Vanessa Quiroz-Carter has received 91% of the votes. 

Measures

• The city of Santa Cruz’s Measure Z, the “sugary drink tax,” is winning narrowly. The yes vote leads with 52% against 48% for no.
• Capitola’s Measure Y, its sales and use tax, is winning at 69%, or 1,000 votes.
• Scotts Valley’s Measure X, its business tax, is winning handily with 73% of the vote or 2,100 votes. 

Scotts Valley City Council

Incumbent Donna Lind and newcomers Steve Clark and Krista Jett leading for three open seats on the Scotts Valley City Council, with Corky Roberson, Mercedes Molloy, John Lewis and Dustin Lopez trailing, in that order.

Lind has received 23% of the votes, Clark received 18% and Jett 18%, as seven candidates competed for seats on the five-member council.

Behind them, Roberson has received 12.63% of the votes, Molloy 10.46%, Lewis 9.6% and Lopez 8.24%.

Capitola City Council 

Gerry Jensen and Melinda Orbach lead for two open seats on the Capitola City Council, with Margaux Morgan and Enrique Dolmo, Jr. trailing. Jensen has 35% of the votes, Orbach 28%, Morgan 20% and Dolmo 16%.

Pajaro Valley Unified School District board

Oscar Soto, Carol Turley and Jessica Carrasco are leading, while Gabriel Medina, Georgia Acosta and Adam Bolaños Scow are trailing for three open seats on the Pajaro Valley Unified School District governing board. 

For trustee Area 2, newcomer Turley, general manager of the Pajaro Dunes Association, has received 57% of the vote, while incumbent Acosta, 54, a Cal State University Monterey Bay adjunct professor, with 42% of votes. 

In the trustee Area 3 race, incumbent Soto received 54% of votes, newcomer Medina received 45% in Santa Cruz County. For Monterey County voters, Soto received 50% of votes, and Medina received 49%. Overall, Soto lead in the two-county election.

Trustee Area 6 voters have so far voted 52% in favor of newcomer Carrasco, while incumbent Scow has 47% of the votes. 

Santa Cruz County districts and neighboring school districts were locked in tight races, with some edging past thresholds for success, while others hovered just below the margin for passage. 

State races

We’ve seen the expected Democratic sweep in national and state offices, voted on by Santa Cruz residents. 

Statewide, U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff is set to move into the U.S. Senate, leading his opponent, Steve Garvey, 60% to 40%, with 56% of the precincts reporting.

Statewide, U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta is comfortably winning reelection with 72% of the vote against 28% Republican Jason Michael Anderson, with 53% of precincts reporting. 

In the 18th Congressional district, which encompasses parts of Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, Monterey and San Benito counties, U.S. Rep Zoe Lofgren, a Democrat, had captured 65.8% of the vote against Republican challenger Peter D. Hernandez, who had 34.2%. In Santa Cruz County, Lofgren had received almost 72% of the vote, while Hernandez had 28%.

State Sen. John Laird is handily winning reelection, 68% to 32%, with 46% of precincts reporting.  

Assemblymember Gail Pellerin looks likely to return for a second term, garnering 69% of the vote to Republican Liz Lawler’s 31%, with 70% of precincts reporting.

Assemblymember Dawn Addis looks likely to return for a second term, receiving 65% to opponent Republican Dalila Epperson’s 35%, with 43% precincts reporting.

California Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, who represents the 29th district that includes Santa Cruz, Monterey and parts of Santa Clara counties, was on track to prevail against Republican challenger J W Paine. Rivas had 66% of the vote to Paine’s 34%. In Santa Cruz County, Rivas was leading with almost 75% of the vote.

Checking in on state ballot propostions

Nov. 5, 2024, 10:15 p.m. – With 56.4% of precincts partially reporting, here’s an early snapshot via the California Secretary of State:

Local Dems ‘stunned’ with Trump appearing headed to victory

Nov. 5, 2024, 9:30 p.m. – As Santa Cruzans await local results, in a county that is going 77% for Kamala Harris to Donald Trump’s 20%, thoughts have turned profoundly to what appears to be a budding Trump victory. The New York Times now estimates that Trump has a 93% chance of winning the presidency, at this moment. 

Local Democratic leaders are “stunned” by the national results, and are beginning to process what it means.

Santa Cruz County Supervisor District 2 candidate Kristen Brown said she was forced to reckon with another experience in her past in public life. In 2016, Brown, now the outgoing mayor of Capitola, was running for the Capitola City Council for the first time. “Everyone was telling me, ‘Isn’t it cool you’re going to be elected the same time we have the first female president?'” she said Tuesday night. “So this would be the second time I’ve had to face that reality.”

Lookout will continue to cover local reaction this evening and in the days ahead.

Getting ready for the vote: Welcome to Lookout’s evening 2024 election coverage

Nov. 5, 2024, 7 p.m. – Welcome to Lookout’s Election Central, your hub for all things Santa Cruz County election-related, plus some pointers to what is happening in the wider world of California and the country overall.

We expect the first vote counts soon after 8 p.m. You can bookmark our election results page here so you can keep checking back. We’ll get the vote totals, vet them for consistency, and then dispatch to you as soon as practical. 

In the meantime, you can catch up on the day’s news, with Chris Neely’s take on the county’s mood this day, with Hillary Ojeda’s report on UCSC’s long voting lines in our On Campaign Trail blog.

We’ve been covering this election all day — and for months — and you can see today’s coverage below, as our team has reported on this, one of the most important election days in U.S. history. Know that we have the largest, most enterprising and careful team of journalists covering the election in Santa Cruz County. Lookout’s newsroom of 10 has been following this year’s candidates and measures since the new year, into the March primary and this fall, we energetically dived into coverage as the Nov. 5 ballot came into increasing focus. You can find all of that coverage here.

As we wait for the polls to close, our correspondents — Christopher Neely, Hillary Ojeda, Tania Ortiz, Wallace Baine and Kevin Painchaud  — are fanning out across the county. After talking with candidates through the day, they’ll report from the watch parties and gatherings, as this year, we will also be keeping at least one eye on the national results. Max Chun will be watching the vote-counting at County Clerk Tricia Webber’s office, as new result updates are promised each 90 minutes through the evening.

Our editing crew — Will McCahill, Tamsin McMahon, Jody K. Biehl, Matt DeRienzo and Ken Doctor — will be on the job, sorting through the stories and the storylines, as Ashley Harmon, Isabel Cordova and Tara Roshan extend our news on Instagram and other social media.

Three vote tallies tonight in Santa Cruz County

Nov. 5, 2024, 8:15 p.m. – The Santa Cruz County Clerk’s Office is expecting to release three vote tallies Tuesday night: The first around 8:15 p.m., the second around 10 p.m., and the last around midnight.

As of 8:27 p.m., the County Clerk’s office had not yet released the first batch of results.

Santa Cruz County Clerk Tricia Webber said that after tonight, there will be another vote tally by the end of the day on Thursday, another by the end of the day Friday. Webber said that because the votes are counted in batches, it is difficult to say how much of the vote from each city in the county will be in by the end of tonight.

Webber said that tonight, her office will count all of the in-person votes, as well as all of the mail-in ballots received through Sunday, and “maybe some from Monday.”

– Max Chun

How statewide ballot propositions are faring in early count

Nov. 5, 2024, 8:25 p.m. – With 10.3% of precincts partially reporting, here’s an early snapshot via the California Secretary of State:

Rio’s alternative “Nail-Biter” programming

Nov. 5, 2024, 8 p.m. – There was a place where locals who didn’t want to face the tension of election watching on Tuesday night. The free Rio’s “Nail-Biter” show featured a number of comedians and musicians, who all came together to help their audience get their mind off of the maddening election returns. 

Famed “Bubble Guy” Tom Noddy sat in the Rio’s tiny glassed-in ticket booth, easily the smallest room he’s ever performed in. In front of him on the sidewalk at Soquel and Seabright, a handful of mock protesters were carrying signs that made no sense, while a star-spangled old-fashioned “cigarette girl” sold candy from a tray suspended from her neck.

In the lobby, the theme of seeking relaxation from the tension took the form of mini-therapy sessions, back rubs, tarot reading and worry beads. The crowd of about 150 was sparse for the show, and emcee Sven Davis insisted that the show was “the opposite of a watch party.” Singing comic Richard Stockton opened the show, sharing that Davis has told him he was to do no political material, to which Stockton shook his head and bid the crowd “Thanks, y’all have been great” before walking off stage. 

Of course, he returned. The show must go on. 

– Wallace Baine

Martinez, Bradford say election marks turning point for District 5

Nov. 5, 2024, 6:35 p.m. – After three terms of Bruce McPherson, already an elder statesman of California politics when he took the seat 12 years ago, Santa Cruz County’s District 5 greets a new era with this year’s election. 

Monica Martinez, chief executive of Encompass Community Services, the county’s largest health and human services nonprofit, and Christopher Bradford, a community organizer and information technology professional at Joby Aviation, have each painted themselves as outsiders intent on breaking the status quo. 

“No matter what happens, things shift today, it’s an important milestone,” Martinez said. 

“Today marks the end of campaigning, but it’s also an inflection point on how we’re going to continue fighting for the community,” Bradford said. “Will my team continue fighting as community members, or as seated with the government? Going forward, things are going to be very different.” 

Martinez and Bradford said they’d continue working to help District 5 whether or not they win.

“I’m a resident of the fight district and of the San Lorenzo Valley. I’m deeply invested in making sure the community I live in thrives, no matter what seat I’m doing that in,” Martinez said. 

Bradford concurred, saying, “If we win the seat, then fantastic, but there’s a lot we can do as private citizens as well. We’re going to be keeping our eye on things.”

– Christopher Neely

Leader of No on Z campaign expects Santa Cruz’s soda tax will be “tight” 

Nov. 5, 2024, 6:16 p.m. – Steve Maviglio, the Sacramento consultant and leader of the ground campaign against Santa Cruz’s soda tax measure, spent Election Day on the back end of a week-long illness. No official election night parties for Maviglio or the No on Z camp, nor any sense of boastful confidence. 

“I think it’s going to be tight,” Maviglio said. “It’s always difficult fighting city hall, no matter how much money you have.” 

Measure Z opponents, backed by nearly $1.7 million in spending from the American Beverage Association, worked to paint the 2-cent-per-fluid-ounce tax on sugar-sweetened beverages as regressive and guaranteed only to pad the city’s tax revenue coffers. 

“People are sensitive to the prices of groceries, especially right now,” Maviglio said. The campaign spent time spreading its message to UC Santa Cruz students, which Maviglio said felt successful. 

“[This tax] doesn’t get tested in communities where there are a lot of middle-income and low-income people, only in elite cities where a lot of the people aren’t going to have to pay it,” Maviglio said. “I didn’t really appreciate the painting of this as a ‘David vs. Goliath’ thing. The [proponents] had a very sophisticated operation.” 

– Christopher Neely

Mood swings across party lines for Santa Cruz County voters

Nov. 5, 2024, 6 p.m. – From confident Trump supporters to anxious Democrats and those serving many undocumented Santa Cruz County residents at Watsonville Community Hospital, Election Day brought a mix of emotions around the county.

Read more here from Christopher Neely.

Long lines at UCSC polling station as students turn out in big numbers

Nov. 5, 2024, 5:40 p.m. – By around 4 p.m. Tuesday, more than 150 UC Santa Cruz students stood in a line that snaked around two different buildings. They were lining up to enter the single polling location on the UCSC main campus at the Stevenson Event Center. 

Polling station lead Tanni Marie Lucero said she expected there to be high turnout at the on-campus location but called the student’s enthusiasm for voting was “remarkable.”  

She thinks about 3,000 students will vote there in total, and so far about half of the ballots have already been cast. In her experience working at elections since 2016, she said the youth turnout is highest this election.

“The gravity of the situation is real,” she said. “The things that are happening are going to determine the future.”

She added that she’s seen more youth volunteers working the polling station than ever. 

The line for the on-campus polling station started to grow to more than 50 people around noon. With a high number of young, first-time voters, the polling station staff have to process a greater number of voter registrations than other polling stations in the city. That takes more time and causes the line to grow.

To help shorten the wait for students, two UCSC staff members began driving students in vans with 11 seats to another polling station in the city. Marie Lucero said they were taken to the Depot Park polling location.

She said she and the staff will be at the campus polling station as late as they have to be in order to process the votes. And no matter the length of the line, Marie Lucero said that as long as people are in line by 7:59 p.m. they’ll be able to vote.

Since the polling station opened on Saturday, Marie Lucero said she’s cried multiple times watching young, first-time voters cast their ballots. Some parents were present over the weekend and watched as their kids voted for the first time.

“It’s beautiful,” she said. “Democracy is real.”

— Hillary Ojeda

Kim De Serpa’s Election Day good fortune

Nov. 5, 2024, 3:45 p.m. – No one has ever called it the breakfast of champions, but when Kim De Serpa awoke on Tuesday, looking for a little Election Day magic, she chose to have a fortune cookie. The fortune that emerged from that cookie? “Your life will be happy and peaceful.” 

It’s not a message that necessarily points to a victory for De Serpa in her bid to become the next county supervisor representing District 2. After all, “peaceful” is not a word normally associated with the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors.

Still, “I took it as a sign,” said De Serpa who took the day off from her job at Salinas Valley Health Medical Center. Facing outgoing Capitola Mayor Kristen Brown in her bid for District 2’s supervisor seat, De Serpa planned to do some last-minute door-to-door canvassing on Tuesday afternoon and then “come home, curl my hair, and get ready” for her campaign’s election watch party at Seascape Golf Club in Rio Del Mar. 

Other than the fortune cookie, De Serpa had no special ritual to greet the day, but she did have some business to take care of. “I woke up and sent a lot of email and text messages to all the people who have supported me along the way. It was really nice for me just to thank people for all they have done.”

With results in the District 2 race not expected until late in the evening, and after the stress of an election season, it might be a good idea for De Serpa to take yet another sick day on Wednesday.

“No, I don’t think I can do that. I just have too much going on.”

– Wallace Baine

Yes on Q campaign ‘cautiously optimistic’

Nov. 5, 2024, 3 p.m. – Sarah Newkirk, the executive director of Land Trust Santa Cruz County and Yes on Q spokesperson, said that vibes are positive for those working on the campaign to support the measure to provide funding for climate resilience projects like protecting drinking water sources, preserving native wildlife and “reducing catastrophic wildfire risks.” She applauded the group effort to connect with the local community.

“We’re feeling good about the campaign. We connected with so many voters, organizations and influential figures,” she said, adding that she’s grateful for the high level of engagement throughout the county.

Given that, Newkirk said, she and the rest of the Yes on Q backers are “cautiously optimistic,” but obviously, know that it’s not over until all the votes are counted.

The campaign’s watch party will be a busy one, said Newkirk, as the entire group will be closely monitoring the local election results, but with a full separate screen with national election results that they will “watch anxiously.” 

She said that they also have their eyes on California’s Proposition 4, which would authorize $10 billion in bonds for water, wildfire prevention, and protection of communities and lands: “That strongly relates to Measure Q.”

— Max Chun

A juggle of an election

Nov. 5, 2024, 2:50 p.m. – Aptos resident Logan Mahler juggles outside of the polling location at the Episcopal Church of St. John, as captured through the lens of Lookout photojournalist Kevin Painchaud.

Candidates for Scotts Valley City Council are out ‘sign dancing’

Nov. 5, 2024, 2:50 p.m. – By midday, candidates for Scotts Valley City Council had been out holding signs in several locations, from Skypark Drive down to Scotts Valley Drive near Vine Hill Elementary School, and feeling a range of emotions. 

“I’m trying to be as Zen as possible,” said candidate Krista Jett. She said that after holding signs this morning on Scotts Valley Drive near Mount Hermon Road, she met up with a group of women supporters at a Cruz Coffee. 

“It was just really nice and just reminded me of why I’m so grateful that I did this,” she said. “Because I’ve had so many people turn out for my community to support me, and it’s just been really overwhelmingly positive.”

Part of the reason she ran was to ensure there was female representation on the ballot and on the city council. 

“Donna Lind has been the lone female for several years now on our council, and it felt really important to me that we have other female candidates,” she said. “Even if I’m not elected, I wanted to make sure that there were female options on the ballot.” 

Jett wasn’t the only candidate out on city corners Tuesday. 

By 2 p.m., John Lewis said he’d already gone “sign dancing” twice to get the community out to vote. 

“That was a good, fun time,” he said.

Lewis said he’s feeling good about the election and is excited that it’s finally here. 

“It’s been a long road to get here,” he said. “And as they say, ‘Tomorrow is closer than it’s ever been before.’ So I’m really excited that we’re almost across the finish line.” 

Steve Clark said he’s “humbled and grateful” for the support he’s received. 

“I’m excited about the possibility of serving our beautiful city,” he said. “No matter what the results are, I look forward to remaining active and engaged with our community.” 

Lookout sought comments from Corky Roberson, Mercedes Molloy, Donna Lind and Dustin Lopez; we’ll update this post if they get back to us. 

– Hillary Ojeda

Kristen Brown’s always-in-motion Election Day

Nov. 5, 2024, 2:30 p.m. – Kristen Brown doesn’t usually spend her Tuesday mornings standing on a freeway overpass watching the cars go by. But this was no ordinary Tuesday. Brown and a handful of her most stalwart supporters in her race for District 2 Santa Cruz County supervisor spent most of the day on the overpass straddling Highway 1 at State Park Drive in Aptos, waving Kristen Brown for Supervisor signs at the drivers zooming past in the southbound lane of Highway 1. 

The currency for this kind of activity is the honk, a quick beep-beep from passing drivers to acknowledge, and the sign-waving volunteers are hungry for that acknowledgement. One volunteer said that the responses have been “mostly positive,” though determining a positive response from a negative one in the severely limited vocabulary of the car honk is an art best left to individual interpretation. 

Brown herself is among the most enthusiastic sign-wavers. She admits that her sleep in the night before was “off and on,” and that in her awake moments, her mind kept drifting in the woulda-coulda lane, even though, she says, “We really did everything we could have done” in the race against Kim De Serpa. 

Brown shared Erik’s Deli sandwiches with her volunteers, which included a few from the local chapter of the SEIU labor union that supported her campaign. In the afternoon, Brown was off to an event at the Capitola Wharf and another meet-and-greet at Bargetto Winery in Soquel before planning to arrive at Britannia Arms in Capitola Village for an evening watch party. “It’s all good,” she said. “I gotta keep moving, otherwise I start to think too much.”

– Wallace Baine

For Monica Martinez, ‘today is about women power’ 

Nov. 5, 2024, 1:30 p.m. – Monica Martinez, a candidate for the District 5 Santa Cruz County supervisor seat, considers her daughter, Bella, “the OG Kamala T-shirt wearer fan.” Two years ago, as a third grader, Bella chose Vice President Harris as the subject for her role model biography project. 

Yesterday, when Martinez went to cast her vote, with Bella by her side, the mother and daughter took a moment to fully appreciate the site before them: Harris and Martinez, next to one another on the same ballot. 

“The idea that she saw Kamala’s and her mom’s names on the ballot, and got to see me vote, it’s a moment we’ll never forget,” Martinez said. 

Election Day marks the end of Martinez’s head-to-head battle with Christopher Bradford for the District 5 seat, the most prominent local elected position for much of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Martinez, who had a “little bit of a sleepless night,” began her day as she does most: a 6:30 a.m. rise to make her two children breakfast before driving to her favorite weekday venue — school drop-off. 

“I really love the atmosphere of school drop-off, but today, I was greeted by parents and a lot of children wishing me good luck,” Martinez said. “It was celebratory, a lot of encouragement and excitement.” 

Martinez is also hosting her parents, who drove up from Bakersfield for the big day. She and her mother went out to wave campaign signs after leaving the elementary school. She admitted some nerves over the national election, but the steady emotions of the day have been “excitement and gratitude.”

Despite the frenetic energy inherent of Election Day, Martinez said she’s looking forward to finding some quiet time this afternoon for reflection. Once she brings her children home from school and helps them with their homework, the party will begin. 

“We’ll start pumping it up later, get the girl power playlist going: Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Chappell Roan, am I saying that right? All the appropriate hits for a fourth and fifth grader,” said Martinez, who said her favorite artists, such as Waylon Jennings and Merle Haggard, would have to wait until tomorrow. “Today is about women power.”

– Christopher Neely

Coffman-Gomez’s biggest challenge for Election Day is keeping her phone charged

Nov. 5, 2024, 1 p.m. – Trina Coffman-Gomez, a candidate in Watsonville’s District 6 city council race, has been spending the final days of her campaign on a service trip, representing the Rotary Club of Freedom, providing medical and school supplies to rural towns in Jalisco, Mexico. 

Coffman-Gomez told Lookout this morning that she’s feeling “confident, but not overconfident,” and feels grateful for all the support she’s received from the community throughout her campaign. 

“I’m grateful for that and I’m just looking to anticipate the outcome. I think that’ll be great when we finally get to that point. I haven’t stopped short of working hard for the campaign, and I think all of us here are counting down the hours,” she said. 

She’s not completely alone. A few city councilmembers and former elected officials from Morgan Hill have been her support team while on the trip, said Coffman-Gomez. 

Coffman-Gomez spent her morning and early afternoon in Tlaquepaque, Jalisco, exploring the sights of the town after delivering medical and school supplies. She plans to end her day in Guadalajara. 

Her biggest challenge for today is making sure her phone is charged and that she has access to a charger if needed. Coffman-Gomez said she needs to preserve her phone’s battery life, considering that she’ll be out taking photos of the colorful sights and receiving updates from her family and friends throughout the day. 

— Tania Ortiz

PG&E wildfire risk shutoffs could affect 5 polling places

Nov. 5, 2024, 1 p.m. – The red flag warning that has Pacific Gas and Electric on high alert over wildfire risk across 17 California counties, including Santa Cruz, could affect five Election Day polling locations, including Lakeside Elementary School in Los Gatos.

“We recognize, Tuesday, Nov. 5th, is Election Day, and we will be doing everything we can to ensure a smooth election process,” PG&E regional Vice President Teresa Alvarado said in a release. “We started working with state and local election officials over a month ago to ensure reliability at polling locations and tabulation centers.”

The company warning of Public Safety Power Shutoffs that will affect 22,000 customers statewide, including 325 in Santa Cruz County, as a precaution to avoid power lines sparking fires amid the windy conditions expected this week. 

The earliest the Los Gatos polling location would be affected is 11 p.m. on Election Night, the company said, noting that it’s working to ensure backup generation is available there “out of an abundance of caution.” No regional voting tabulation centers, which already have backup power generation in place, are currently in the scope of the plan for shutoffs.

The National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning indicating critical fire weather conditions from Tuesday morning to Thursday morning for an area including Santa Cruz County.

Christopher Bradford looking forward to ‘powerful moment’ when he casts a vote for himself 

Nov. 5, 2024, 11:30 a.m. – Over a carnitas burrito from Boulder Creek’s Taqueria Los Gallos, District 5 Santa Cruz County Santa Cruz County supervisor candidate Christopher Bradford explained how upside down it feels to have his name on Election Day ballots. 

“It’s bizarre, I don’t feel like a politician, I feel like a person, but I am technically a politician, so I am going to have to change what that word means to me inside,” Bradford, who is running against Monica Martinez, said while on a lunch break. He plans to vote in person later this afternoon. “It’s going to be very strange to vote for myself, a very meaningful and powerful moment, for sure.” 

Bradford’s day began at 6:15 a.m., with a “delightful” NOS energy drink and a trip to his district’s main thoroughfares to wave campaign signs to morning commuters. The evening rush hour will mark another shift of sign-waving before a trip to Henflings Bar and Grill in Ben Lomond for his Election Night party.

“It’s been a trip to have people honking back and yelling ‘Go Bradford!’” he said. “I never anticipated the kind of support we have. I feel so blessed to have my team.” 

“Excitement” has been the overarching emotion throughout Bradford’s day; his nerves, he said, are reserved for the national election results. Bradford, who votes Democrat, has welcomed a range of political persuasions into his camp. He received an endorsement from the county’s Republican committee (Martinez earned the county Democrats’ endorsement) and has Donald Trump supporters and Kamala Harris backers alike waving his campaign signs. Bradford acknowledged this kind of collaboration might surprise those buried in national headlines about the country’s polarization. 

“These are folks, these are our neighbors, I’m not worried about the national election when it comes to what we do in the Fifth District,” Bradford said. “I see my neighbors as people first, not whatever character is painted by the opposing political party. We’re stuck here together, we’re only going to survive and thrive if we come together.” 

Bradford said his Election Day playlist includes Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Prince, Kendrick Lamar and Metallica, though he said he has some classical music on hand in case the national results require something more soothing.

– Christopher Neely

County Clerk’s office expects first vote tally at around 8:15 to 8:20 p.m.

Nov. 5, 2024, 5 a.m. – Santa Cruz County Clerk Tricia Webber said the first vote tallies will be published on the county’s elections page “between 8:15 and 8:30” Tuesday evening, shortly after polls close at 8 p.m. However, that time could vary slightly.

“We want the people to be finished voting, so if it happens a little later, it means that there are still people casting ballots,” she said. “If it happens a little earlier, that means people finished voting a little earlier.”

Webber said that after the initial tally, the office is aiming to release new figures about every 90 minutes. She added that she hopes to update the tally “three or four times” over the course of Election Night.

Webber also said that as of about 1:46 a.m. Monday morning, there was about a 42.62% voter turnout, and that number had reached around the mid-40s as of 3 p.m. on Monday. That’s about on par with past presidential elections, she said.

The 2008 presidential election between Barack Obama and John McCain remains the high-water mark for local voter participation, when 86.7% of registered Santa Cruz County voters cast ballots. The second-highest turnout, 86%, happened four years ago. Although Webber stopped short of predicting a record turnout, she told Lookout’s Christopher Neely last week that the participation rate could reach the mid-80s this year and challenge 2008. 

All vote-by-mail ballots that are postmarked on or before Tuesday and received by Nov. 12 will be considered timely.

– Max Chun 

Battleground get-out-the-vote efforts occupy local Democrats down the stretch – perhaps to Measure Z’s detriment

Nov. 4, 2024 – Deep blue Santa Cruz County has experienced a sort of political left brain drain this election cycle as many locals shifted their energy toward turning out battleground-state voters for Vice President Kamala Harris. Andrew Goldenkranz, chair of the local chapter of the Democratic Central Committee, recently spent four “intense” days in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, to help a ground-game campaign operation move the needle for Harris. Former Santa Cruz mayor Don Lane has been camped out in Flagstaff, Arizona, since September to assist a campaign operation focused on motivating Harris voters. The local DCC has also pitched in to fund a weekly, nine-bus caravan of Central Coast Democrats to Reno, Nevada, focused on the same thing. 

“The energy this year has been pretty distinctive from previous elections,” Goldenkranz said of the work of blue California’s election-time diaspora. “The transition of vanloads of people to now busloads of people [traveling to get the vote out in other states] is pretty new. We’re not worried about our congressional or state legislature elections, so we’re in a position to send resources out. There’s always been some of that, but they’ve really cranked it up this year.” 

However, this outsourcing of focus comes with trade-offs. In Santa Cruz, the Measure Z campaign pushing for a 2-cents-per-fluid-ounce tax on most sugar-sweetened drinks has largely failed to motivate donors. Outside of a $20,000 donation from the American Heart Association, the Campaign for a Healthier Santa Cruz had raised only about $19,800 as of Oct. 19, while racking up expenses of more than $43,000. By comparison, the Measure Z opponents, backed by the monied American Beverage Association, have spent $1.7 million in donations from four big U.S. soda companies, to defeat the measure. 

Santa Cruz City Councilmember Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson acknowledged the fundraising struggle, calling it “harder than I anticipated.” 

“People are focused on the national election, as they should be,” Kalantari-Johnson said. “That’s where they’re sending their resources.” 

– Christopher Neely

Prop 36 meets Santa Cruz progressivism

Nov. 4, 2024 – Proposition 36, the statewide ballot initiative that would increase penalties for theft and drug crimes that Prop 47 loosened 10 years ago, has divided state lawmakers and local officials. Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state’s top Democrats have come out strongly against the bill, arguing that a surgical legislative package is the solution for reform, not a blunt-force ballot initiative. 

Santa Cruz Mayor Fred Keeley believes that even in his city, where progressive politics are central to its sense of self, Prop 36 will comfortably pass despite its ethos as a law-and-order initiative. 

“The legislature failed the electorate on these issues,” Keeley said. “The body politic is clear that the current arc of the law is not doing enough to address certain crimes. This isn’t going to be close in the city of Santa Cruz.” 

If Santa Cruzans say yes to Prop 36, as he predicts, Keeley said it will mark not only a “big moment” in the city’s history, but also one for self-reflection on its progressive identity.

– Christopher Neely

Skeptical voters asking ‘different’ questions compared to previous elections, county clerk says

Nov. 4, 2024 – Less than 24 hours from Election Day, the seeds of electoral distrust sowed over the past four years by polemical rhetoric have reached peak bloom in many parts of the country. Election offices have installed bulletproof glass, poll workers are wearing panic buttons and law enforcement is standing at the ready. 

Yet, as Santa Cruz County Clerk Trisha Webber processed early ballots from her office Friday afternoon, against the steady background beat of an electronic counter tallying each vote, the local elections czar said her team has avoided much of the drama seen in other parts of the United States. 

“I really don’t see Election Night for us being different than how it usually is,” said Webber, who took over as county clerk in 2021, making this year’s presidential election Santa Cruz County’s first with her at the helm. “We’re not seeing the people come in to observe, nor are we getting the same kind of phone calls other areas of the country are experiencing. For us, it really feels like a regular election.” 

However, she admitted the election has felt different for her and her staff in other ways. Webber is hesitant to call what she has seen “mistrust,” instead saying that her office has encountered a lot of people who say they “don’t fully understand the process” of counting ballots and “don’t know what to believe.” The types of questions Webber’s office is fielding this cycle have reflected a multiplying sense of skepticism. She said she’s heard a lot of questions implying the incorrect belief that vote-by-mail ballots are counted only when the election is close, as well as concern over the time it takes to notify a voter their ballot has been counted.  

The questions this year, she said, “are just different.” 

Read more here from Christopher Neely.

Sick of campaign signs yet? Santa Cruz offers recycling

Nov. 4, 2024 – If you’re eager to take down campaign yard signs first thing Wednesday morning, the City of Santa Cruz is reminding residents that they do not belong in blue recycling bins.

The city is offering a recycling service specifically for yard signs, which are typically made of mixed materials incompatible with the normal recycling process.

Get the details here.

Video: When Halloween and Election 2024 collide

Nov. 1, 2024 – As Santa Cruz County and America approach an anxious weekend before Tuesday’s election, Lookout’s Kevin Painchaud polled Halloween celebrators on Pacific Avenue about their thoughts on the week ahead.

After a year of drama, Felton Fire District hopes a competitive election means a fresh start

Nov. 1, 2024 – Among the more competitive races in Santa Cruz County this fall is the competition for three open board of director seats for the Felton Fire Protection District, which has struggled with budget shortfalls, staff and volunteer shortages, leadership questions and ethics violations. 

Seven candidates have filed to fill the three openings on the five-person board, responsible for the district’s finances and holding the fire chief, which it hires, accountable. The Felton Fire Protection District serves roughly 6,000 residents, with a $1.7 million budget.

Felton finds itself facing the same dire resource constraints as many rural fire departments throughout California and in Santa Cruz County. The district is funded primarily through a parcel tax formula that hasn’t been updated in decades, while hollowed volunteer ranks — the bread and butter of its force — have left it relying more on outside help to meet its call volume. 

Read more here from Christopher Neely.

In state’s Prop 5, advocates see a path to better funding for affordable housing, roads and more

Oct. 31, 2024 – In 2018, Santa Cruz County asked voters to pass a countywide affordable housing bond on the November ballot. It ended up receiving 55% of the vote — a clear majority. However, infrastructure and affordable housing bonds in California require a supermajority of two-thirds support, or 66.67% of votes cast in favor. As a result, the measure — which would have authorized the county to issue up to $140 million in bonds to fund the creation of affordable housing for veterans, seniors, people with disabilities, substance use and mental health disorders and others — failed.

Proposition 5 on the Nov. 5 state ballot seeks to make this funding easier to secure. It proposes lowering the voter approval threshold for affordable housing and public infrastructure bonds to 55%. If it passes, the change would apply to questions simultaneously appearing on local ballots this year. In Santa Cruz County, two fire district bond measures — Central Fire’s Measure R and Scotts Valley’s Measure S — would only need 55% voter approval to pass.

Proposition 5 itself only requires a simple majority of votes cast, or 50% plus one vote, to pass.

Elaine Johnson, executive director of Housing Santa Cruz County, who recently wrote an op-ed for Lookout in support of Prop 5, said the end goal is not to be able to “throw bonds at the community,” but to give more affordable housing funding a chance in Santa Cruz County, where she said the likelihood of passing a countywide campaign is “next to nil” with the higher threshold. Johnson said she understands the concern some voters have of bond measures potentially causing higher taxes, but said there are few other options for creating new affordable housing.

Read more here from Max Chun.

It’s hard to vote in California when you’re homeless. Why it matters when their voices are silenced

Oct. 31, 2024 – Homelessness is arguably the biggest problem facing California today, it’s a top concern for voters and it’s on the ballot, either directly or indirectly, in nearly every city. 

But all too often, what homeless Californians, themselves, have to say about the issue isn’t getting heard. 

That’s because while eligible voters can still cast ballots if they are experiencing homelessness, they face a mountain of obstacles, according to elections officials, service providers and potential voters who live on the street. 

California’s homeless population has ballooned to nearly 186,000 people this year, so that means one part of the electorate is potentially not taking part in democracy this election. Experts say that’s cause for concern, as many contests — statewide rent control and criminal justice reform propositions, local mayoral races and more — could directly affect unhoused residents.

Read more from our partners at CalMatters.

Can a $10 billion climate bond address California’s water contamination problem?

Oct. 31, 2024 – Tucked in a $10 billion climate bond on the November ballot is an earmark to improve drinking water quality in communities across. Proposition 4 would allocate $610 million for clean, safe and reliable drinking water and require at least 40% be spent on projects that benefit vulnerable populations or disadvantaged communities. But it’s a fraction of what the state says is needed.

While most Californians have access to safe water, roughly 750,000 people as of late October are served by 383 failing water systems, many clustered in remote and sparsely populated areas. A June assessment by the California State Water Resources Control Board pegged the cost of repairing failing and at-risk public water systems at about $11.5 billion.

Read more from our partners at KFF Health News.

De Serpa, Martinez widen money advantage in supervisor races

Oct. 28, 2024 – In the race for two seats on the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors this fall, District 2 candidate Kim De Serpa and District 5 candidate Monica Martinez reported raising more money than their respective opponents in campaign finance reports that were due Thursday.

De Serpa, a longtime Pajaro Valley Unified School District board member, reported donations totaling $11,246 from Sept. 22 to Oct. 19, bringing her total to $114,878 so far. She reported spending $22,539 in the same period and $72,356 on the campaign to date.

Capitola Mayor Kristen Brown reported donations of $8,220 in the most recent period, for a total of $82,842 to date. She spent $20,529 in the same period, for a total of $75,464.

In the District 5 race, Martinez, CEO of the social service agency Encompass, has a more pronounced fundraising advantage over Christopher Bradford, a software engineer at Joby Aviation.

Martinez reported donations of $6,428 between Sept. 22 and Oct. 19, for a campaign total of $107,334. In the same period, she spent $4,666 on her campaign, bringing the total to date to $88,375.

Bradford raised $5,822 in the same period, and has brought in $35,910 to date. He reported spending $10,025 in the most recent filing period, and $35,556 on the campaign to date.

Get more numbers here.

Soda industry has spent more than $1.2 million to defeat Santa Cruz sugary drink tax

Oct. 28, 2024 – Some of the biggest soft drink companies in the country have spent more than $1.2 million to defeat Measure Z, a proposed City of Santa Cruz sugary drink tax on the Nov. 5 ballot. The Campaign for an Affordable Santa Cruz, sponsored by the American Beverage Association and funded by Dr Pepper, Red Bull, Pepsi and Coke, has outspent supporters of the tax by a scale of more than 38 to 1.

In campaign finance reports that were due Thursday, the Campaign for an Affordable Santa Cruz reported receiving an additional $385,000 in donations from those four companies and spending an additional $922,792 in the period between Sept. 22 and Oct. 19:

• Keurig Dr Pepper, based in Plano, Texas, kicked in another $65,758, bringing its total donations to defeat the tax to $210,938.
• Pepsico Inc., based in Purchase, New York, donated an additional $135,327.50, bringing its total to $434,102.50.
• Red Bull North America, based in Santa Monica, gave an additional $6,429.50, for a total of $20,624.50.
• And The Coca-Cola Company, based in Atlanta, donated another $177,485 to bring its total commitment to defeating the tax to $569,335.  

Meanwhile, the Committee for a Healthier Santa Cruz, which is campaigning for a “yes” vote on Measure Z and is led by City Councilmember Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson, reported receiving only $3,640 in donations between Sept. 22 and Oct. 19. That included $1,000 from the Democratic Women’s Club of Santa Cruz County and $1,000 from Santa Cruz Mayor Fred Keeley.

But the American Heart Association in a separate filing reported donating $20,000 to the campaign, which would more than double the total amount the committee has raised since forming.

Read more here.

Election like pulling teeth? Soquel dentist has signs for the times

Oct. 24, 2024 – With less than two weeks before the Nov. 5 election, we’re all a little overwhelmed and maybe a bit numbed by the sea of political signs crowding Santa Cruz County lawns and intersections. 

That’s why the political signs in front of the Seal Rock Dental Care office on Soquel Drive are generating some double-takes and a lot of laughs.

Tired at the end of a workday recently, and ready for the political circus to be over, Dr. Josh Sanchez decided to have some fun. 

The result was political campaign-style signs with a dental health message. Mimicking the style of political signs, Sanchez put up lawn signs with messages including: 

“Vote No on Plaque and Tartar. Keep Your Teeth Strong”

“Re-Elect Tooth Brush for Dental Routine”

“Vote for Brush and Floss Daily”

A picture of the signs quickly had 5,000 views on Nextdoor, and Sanchez said he’s been hearing from patients and passersby who found it to be a joyful respite from the barrage of political messages.

“It has received a lot of laughs and some much-needed humor given our elections coming up,” he said.

Reminded that the city of Santa Cruz has a controversial tax on sugary beverages on the ballot that dentists might have some opinions about, Sanchez said his signs about dental health aren’t connected.

“This is no statement,” he said. “This is a look at how ridiculous we’re acting with the whole political process kind of statement.”

Nor is it a scold-y attack on the other major event this time of year — Halloween and the avalanche of candy that comes with it.

“I eat candy too, just like everyone else. I’ve had plenty of fillings in my life. Obviously, I advocate for brushing and flossing,” Sanchez said. “Just do what the sign says. It’s a platform everyone can get behind.”

In unopposed Cabrillo College trustee races, name change is on back burner

Oct. 24, 2024 – Four out of the seven seats on the Cabrillo College governing board are up for election this year, but there won’t be any contested races for the board in this year’s election. Only one candidate filed for each seat and all are unopposed. 

Incumbents Christina Cuevas, Steve Trujillo and Manuel Bersamin and newcomer Ken Wagman will all be appointed to their seats rather than appear on the ballot.

While Cuevas and Trujillo have been on the board since 2014 and 2020, respectively, Bersamin was appointed to the board in September to replace Martha Vega, who resigned with a few months left on her term in July. Bersamin faced no opposition in his bid to run for a full term in the position.

The lack of competition for the seats is disappointing to some community members, and to the candidates themselves. But as some trustees told Lookout, it’s also not surprising after years of intense debate and criticism directed at board members locally and nationally. After the Cabrillo board explored changing the name of the college and voted to change it two years ago, members endured months of contentious meetings, emails and letters. 

Read more here from Hillary Ojeda.

City council, county supervisor candidates discuss roads and homelessness at Watsonville forum

Oct. 22, 2024 – With the Nov. 5 election just two weeks away, candidates for Watsonville City Council and District 2 Santa Cruz County supervisor shared their views on various issues, including roads, housing and homelessness, at a candidate forum organized Monday night by Santa Cruz Voice and the Pajaro Valley Chamber of Commerce. 

Watsonville residents heard from Watsonville City Council candidates Eduardo Montesino, Trina Coffman-Gomez and District 2 Santa Cruz County supervisor candidate Kristen Brown. 

Tania Ortiz reports on the forum.

California crime measure Prop 36 could increase deportations, advocates warn

Oct. 22, 2024 – A tough-on-crime ballot measure that appears destined to pass could lead to more Californians being deported, immigrant advocates warn. 

Proposition 36 would reclassify certain misdemeanor drug and theft offenses as felonies, which means immigrants convicted of those crimes are more likely to face deportation if they have a case before an immigration court, the advocates said.

“It is not an understatement to say that if Prop 36 passes, more Californians, including green-card holders, including refugees, will be deported,” said Grisel Ruiz, a supervising attorney with the Immigrant Legal Resource Center. “The impacts will be pretty disastrous.”

Read more here from CalMatters.

How will Santa Cruz County school districts be affected, if at all, if Proposition 2 passes?

Oct. 21, 2024 – In the Nov. 5 election, California voters will be asked if they support a $10 billion bond for construction projects for K-12 schools and community colleges and, depending on where you live, you may also be asked if you support a local school district’s bond measure.

California’s public school facilities are aging and, at the same time, facing rising demands as climate change heats up classrooms – many without air conditioning – and brings more severe rain events that worsen leaky roofs. 

The state bond measure, known as Proposition 2, would provide matching funds to school districts and community colleges who issue local bonds — $8.5 billion for K-12 school districts and $1.5 billion for community colleges.

More here on what Hillary Ojeda heard from local educators about Prop 2.

County fire district measures seek to secure much-needed funding

Oct. 16, 2024 – Fire departments across California and Santa Cruz County — especially those in smaller jurisdictions — have faced severe funding issues in recent years, leaving many running skeleton crews while still having an obligation to serve the same geographic area and population. Even larger fire protection districts face concerns about aging facilities that slow down response times and are not adequately prepared for unforeseen disasters, including earthquakes.

This year, three Santa Cruz County fire protection districts have put before voters bond and tax measures that seek to raise what they say is badly needed funding for purposes that range from replacing emergency vehicles to constructing brand new stations.

If approved, Central Fire District’s Measure R, Scotts Valley Fire Protection District’s Measure S and Zayante Fire Protection District’s Measure T would require that districts follow certain guidelines for spending and transparency. They’ll be required to use funds raised by the measures only for the specific purposes and projects described on the ballot; deposit the revenue into a dedicated account; have fire chiefs and/or an independent financial auditor file annual reports about the revenue collected and spent; and establish a board of directors-approved citizen oversight committee to advise on spending decisions. 

Read Max Chun’s overview here.

California ballot measure promises ‘mass treatment’ for drug crimes. Can counties provide it?

Oct. 16, 2024 – Proposition 36, the tough-on-crime ballot measure that would increase punishment for certain drug and theft offenses, appears likely to pass with polls showing voter support by large margins.

Its momentum has behavioral health leaders across California trying to figure out how they’d actually implement a part of the measure that pledges “a new era of mass treatment for those who need it the most.” 

As far as they can tell, California counties don’t have the resources to provide what Prop 36 envisions: behavioral health treatment for people convicted for a third-time drug offense. 

Our partners at CalMatters dig into Prop 36.

Vote 2024: Your guide to the Santa Cruz County general election

Oct. 15, 2024 – Ballots are in the hands of Santa Cruz County voters and early voting is happening. Get caught up on what’s on those ballots, from who to send to Washington and Sacramento to county supervisor, local city councils and school boards and all those ballot measures. You’ll also find locations and times for in-person voting and much more in our Election 2024 voter guide.

Check it out here.

Former U.S. labor secretary on what pulled him into soda tax fight a decade ago

Oct. 14, 2024 – With just over three before Election Day, it’s already been a busy campaign season, particularly in the city of Santa Cruz, where a ballot measure to tax the distribution of sugar-sweetened beverages has set the stage for a David vs. Goliath battle between the perhaps dangerously lean and volunteer-led campaign to pass Measure Z, and the monied, soda industry-backed effort to kill it. 

The campaign has been a blur of ad blitzes, door knocking, narrative shaping and, perhaps most confusing for voters, citations of competing studies about a soda tax’s ability to improve public health. 

Late last week, after Lookout’s Christopher Neely published a deep dive into the measure, he received an email from former U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich. Neely had reached out to Reich after he caught wind of Reich’s rallying role in Berkeley’s 2014 Measure D campaign, the nation’s first successful soda tax ballot measure. 

Here’s what Reich had to say.

At critical time, San Lorenzo Valley Water District will vote on trustees, new fee structure

Oct. 14, 2024 – Two seats are up for election this fall on the five-member San Lorenzo Valley Water District board of directors. In normal times, the board sets policy and budget priorities for the district’s 8,000 water customers. However, the district has been operating without a permanent general manager or finance director for over a year, and an interim general manager’s contract expired in August. Board members’ responsibilities have broadened beyond the typical job description – at a critical time, too. The district is still working on recovery from the 2020 CZU wildfire, and $50 million in infrastructure damages it must figure out how to pay for. 

Voters will also decide Measure U, a citizen-initiated ballot question that asks customers to overhaul the district’s fee structure so that it leans more heavily on water rate increases instead of hikes to flat-rate charges to raise revenue for operations and maintenance. 

Here’s an overview from Christopher Neely.

Raw sewage and bursting pipes: Why California community colleges are asking voters for repairs

The sewer systems at two Los Angeles community colleges are about to fail — “catastrophically.” Nearby, in Torrance, a community college shut down multiple buildings, some for weeks at a time, because the heating and cooling system is so old it broke. 

Seismic engineers delivered a dire prediction to a Sacramento community college last year: a central building on campus might collapse. 

Come Nov. 5, California voters will have a chance to help repair these ailing community college facilities. A “yes” vote on Proposition 2 will allow the state to borrow $10 billion to construct new buildings or fix ailing ones at community colleges, public K-12 schools, and charter schools. While most of the money would favor K-12 districts, especially those in communities with high property values, 15%, or $1.5 billion, would help community colleges. 

Voting no would prevent the state from taking on more debt. California currently owes about $80 billion through bonds it has issued over the past 30 years, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office. Every year, the state pays off a piece of that debt, plus interest payments. Opponents to the bond, such as Assemblymember Bill Essayli, a Corona Republican, say lawmakers should have prioritized education in the annual budget rather than rely on interest payments that saddle future generations with debt.

Our partners at CalMatters have more here about Prop 2.

‘Not a normal campaign’: Santa Cruz’s Measure Z soda tax tests the limits of grassroots vs. industry titans

Oct. 11, 2024 – In the recent history of Santa Cruz’s major ballot measure fights, from rent control and empty home tax initiatives, to those seeking caps on building height, the latest chapter has been something of a different magnitude. 

Placed on the Nov. 5 ballot by the Santa Cruz City Council, Measure Z proposes a 2-cents-per-fluid-ounce tax on the distribution of most sugar-sweetened beverages. Money is the stated primary motivation: The city believes it could bring in an additional $1.3 million per year for the city’s general fund. Backers of similar proposals throughout the country have argued that these taxes, by making it more expensive to buy products that are bad for you, can help cut down on consumption and improve public health. Opposition campaigns, funded by the soda industry, have cited studies showing the taxes do not influence a person’s decision to purchase, and unfairly burden low- and middle-income earners. 

Money is also the factor pushing Measure Z into a league of its own. The soft drink industry’s chief interest group, the American Beverage Association, has stepped in to try and kill the measure. The most recent campaign finance filings show that $850,000 has been donated to the “No” campaign from just four donors: the parent companies of Coke, Pepsi, Dr Pepper and Red Bull. The local group supporting Measure Z has brought in less than $16,000.

Treating sugary drinks similarly to cigarettes, long targeted by what many have referred to as a “sin tax,” is hardly a novel idea for local and state governments. Arkansas has imposed an excise tax on soft drinks since 1992. The Obama administration floated the idea in 2009. Berkeley passed the nation’s first tax aimed specifically at sugar-sweetened beverages with its Measure D in 2014 after similar campaigns failed in New York state. Since Berkeley’s success, San Francisco, Oakland, Albany, Seattle, Philadelphia and Boulder, Colorado, have all passed local sugar-sweetened beverage taxes.

Read more from Christopher Neely on the ballot measure before voters in the city of Santa Cruz.

Garvey, Schiff clash on abortion, guns and Trump in only one-on-one debate

Oct. 8, 2024 – In their only TV faceoff before Election Day, Steve Garvey and Adam Schiff also tussled over immigration and other issues as they vie for California’s open U.S. Senate seat.

Garvey, a Palm Desert Republican, portrayed Schiff as a “career politician” who has done little to serve California residents during his tenure. “This man hasn’t done anything over the last 24 years on any of these things that have given us any consistency in life,” Garvey said.

Schiff, a Burbank Democrat who has served in Congress since 2001, in turn depicted Garvey as a supporter of former President Donald Trump who has experience in professional sports, not politics. “While Mr. Garvey was signing baseballs for the last 37 days, I was seeing presidents of both parties and governors of both parties sign my bills into law,” Schiff said.

Read more on Tuesday’s debate from our partners at CalMatters.

This California ballot measure promises money for health care. Its critics warn it could backfire

Oct. 8, 2024 – Proposition 35, one of 10 ballot measures before California voters this fall, would dedicate tax revenue to pay doctors more if they see low-income patients with Medi-Cal insurance. Its critics worry the plan could run afoul of the federal government.

Our partners at CalMatters examine the proposition.

County supervisors’ response to CZU recovery investigation ‘does not align’ with reality, District 5 candidates say

Oct. 7, 2024 – The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors is deflecting criticism from a civil grand jury report accusing the county of mishandling recovery from the 2020 CZU wildfire. The two candidates running in this November’s election for an open District 5 supervisor seat — Christopher Bradford, a fire victim, and Monica Martinez — criticized the board’s response this week and called for more accountability and expedited rebuilding.

Read more here from Christopher Neely.

Six compete for three seats on Scotts Valley Unified School District board

Oct. 7, 2024 – Scotts Valley Unified School District’s five-member governing board has three seats up for election this November. Six candidates are competing to fill those seats. Two are incumbents – Michael Schulman and Mitali Weiglein – and four are newcomers: Stephanie Espinola, Tuka Gafari, Gary Redenbacher and Erica Turzak. Trustee Jane McElrone is not running for reelection this November, and terms for trustees Roger Synder and Lucia Rocha-Nestler expire in November 2026. 

Here’s what they told Hillary Ojeda about their goals and why they think they’re the right candidates. 

Familiar names highlight state races in 2024 general election

Oct. 7, 2024 – As the campaign trail stretches on toward November, there are a number of state and federal races on the ballot for Santa Cruz County residents, including three state Assembly seats, a state Senate seat and two U.S. congressional seats. In each of those races, there are familiar faces and big names looking to retain their seats.

Read Max Chun’s overview here.

Fresh off court case, Dutra faces ex-member Coffman-Gomez for Watsonville City Council seat

Oct. 4, 2024 – Incumbent Jimmy Dutra and former city councilmember Trina Coffman-Gomez are competing for the District 6 seat on the Watsonville City Council on the Nov. 5 ballot, only weeks after a jury found Dutra liable for sexual abuse of a minor in a civil lawsuit. It’s the only one of three council seats up for election this cycle that’s being contested.

Tania Ortiz has more on the District 6 race.

Under the specter of housing growth and coastal resilience, four candidates face off for Capitola City Council

Oct. 2, 2024 – Two seats are open on the Capitola City Council this fall. Incumbent Margaux Morgan is seeking reelection, Gerry Jensen and Enrique Dolmo Jr. return to the ballot after narrow losses in 2022 and Melinda Orbach, the lone political newcomer, enters the race with a vision for the city’s west side and 41st Avenue corridor.

Read Christopher Neely’s overview here.

Seniors will rally against Live Oak school bond issue

Representatives from local seniors organizations are rallying Thursday afternoon in Live Oak against a school district bond measure that would fund the development of workforce housing. They fear it will displace senior services.

Live Oak School District is asking voters to approve the $45 million bond measure – Measure N – so it can develop 14 to 25 units of housing for district staff. 

For years, the district publicly discussed its plans to demolish buildings at the 1777 Capitola Rd. property it owns to develop the project there. The two buildings, known as the Live Oak Senior Center, have been leased to Community Bridges and Senior Network Services for decades. Community Bridges operates its Meals on Wheels program there. 

After years of eviction notices and tense negotiations between the district and the organizations, the school district finalized a two-year lease agreement with Community Bridges last month.

Live Oak Superintendent Pat Sánchez told Lookout the district thinks demolishing the 1777 Capitola Road property to build new housing is too expensive. Rather, he said the district is looking into finding a different location to develop, including on its own school sites where there’s undeveloped land. He said there are no specific plans yet, as the bond measure has not been passed and they have not settled on a location. 

Clay Kempf, executive director of the Seniors Council, is a leading organizer of the rally. He said representatives from the council and Senior Network Services are organizing efforts against Measure N. 

The Seniors Council doesn’t have office space there, but Kempf said Community Bridges and Senior Network Services are key agencies the council contracts with to provide services to local seniors. Kempf said the council allocates state and federal funds to both organizations. 

“We want to support schools and school employees,” Kempf told Lookout, but added that the conversations about developing a multi-use space with the senior organizations haven’t become reality. 

Kempf said the rally will take place at 2 p.m. at the Live Oak Senior Center property at 1777 Capitola Rd. 

As longtime leaders retire, crowded Scotts Valley City Council race focuses on housing, Town Center project

Oct. 1, 2024 – Seven people, including one incumbent, are running for three seats on the Scotts Valley City Council this fall. They’ll take over for two longtime leaders who chose not to run again, and be charged with managing state mandates for a dramatic increase in affordable housing, along with kickstarting the city’s long-discussed Town Center project, which calls for the construction of a new downtown with housing and commercial uses.

Christopher Neely talked to incumbent Donna Lind and candidates Steve Clark, Krista Jett, John Lewis, Dustin Lopez, Mercedes Molloy and Corky Roberson – read his overview of the race here.

Watsonville asks voters to allow service on city boards regardless of immigration status

Oct. 1, 2024 – If Measures V and W are passed in November, Watsonville’s city charter will be updated to eliminate gendered references and other outdated language, and residents who aren’t U.S. citizens will be able to serve on city boards and commissions.

Read more here from Tania Ortiz.

For Pajaro Valley district’s Area 2 seat, incumbent faces challenger who led recall bid against her

Oct. 1, 2024 – Incumbent Georgia Acosta will face the woman who led an unsuccessful recall campaign against her, homeowners association general manager Carol Turley, in November’s race for the Area 2 trustee seat on the Pajaro Valley Unified School District board. In interviews with Lookout, they discussed what their goals are and why they feel they’re the right candidate.

Find Hillary Ojeda’s coverage of all three PVUSD trustee races here.

In the Public Interest: How are Santa Cruz County supervisor candidates spending their money?

Sept. 30, 2024 – In his weekly newsletter, Christopher Neely dug deeper into campaign finance reports released last week, going beyond the top-line numbers into what candidates for Santa Cruz County supervisor have spent their money on. Among what he found:

Between July 1 and Sept. 21, De Serpa spent $1,076 on Facebook ads, while Brown split her digital ad spending of $759 between Meta (Facebook’s parent company) and Google. De Serpa spent $5,684 on campaign signs, $684 on texting campaigns and $137 on hiring a social media manager. Brown appears to be leaning more heavily on direct mail, spending over $900 on mailing and postage services. She also dropped $1,700 on her campaign kickoff party: $1,200 for catering, $500 for the band. The candidates have spent similarly on print advertisements in local newspapers, though De Serpa used her $2,600 all on ads in the Aptos Times, while Brown split her budget between the Aptos Times ($1,590) and Santa Cruz Good Times ($650). 

In the District 5 race, Monica Martinez has outraised her opponent, Christopher Bradford, 3 to 1 and has outspent him by even more. Martinez has spent $83,709 to Bradford’s $25,541 since their campaigns launched last summer. In the most recent campaign finance report, which covers July 1 to Sept. 21, Martinez spent roughly $11,000, and major expenses included $3,000 on her campaign manager, Rachel Wells, and $5,200 on printing campaign materials. She also put $320 to Costco for fundraising, and $60 on Felton Donuts and Pastries. 

Bradford’s $9,170 budget over that same period includes $500 on audio production for live streaming and video recordings and $2,048 on postcard printing as his major expenses. He also spent $306 on phone banking and texting, something Martinez did not do, $42 at Dollar Tree for candy to bring to a Fourth of July parade and $219 on Team Bradford T-shirts. 

Check out In the Public Interest here.

U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta endorses ‘yes’ on Measure Q climate impact tax

Sept. 30, 2024 – Santa Cruz County’s Measure Q, the Water and Wildfire Protection Initiative, got another high-profile backer with Rep. Jimmy Panetta, whose District 19 includes much of Santa Cruz County, announcing his support for the measure. He joins a number of high-profile politicians that have endorsed the proposed $87 annual parcel tax, including state Sen. John Laird, Assemblymembers Gail Pellerin and Dawn Addis, Santa Cruz Mayor Fred Keeley and all five of the county supervisors.

Read more here.

California voters consider tough love for repeat drug offenders with Prop 36

Sept. 30, 2024 – Proposition 36, on the November ballot, would unwind portions of a 2014 initiative that reduced most shoplifting and drug possession offenses to misdemeanors that rarely carried jail time. The ballot measure comes as concerns about mass incarceration give way to public anger over property crime and a fentanyl crisis that has plagued the state since the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

Read more here from our partners at KFF Health News, and find Lookout’s coverage of local and state ballot measures here.

Measure Q: Water and wildfire protection tax has one surprising opponent — county fire chiefs

Sept. 27, 2024 – The Water and Wildfire Protection Initiative, on the ballot in Santa Cruz County this November as Measure Q, would introduce a parcel tax of $87 to be collected annually and distributed across the county for a wide range of projects from managing public lands and reducing wildfire risks to protecting drinking water sources.

The only group to register official opposition to the tax is the Santa Cruz County Fire Chiefs Association. It believes that the measure does not offer enough specifics on how it will reduce wildfire risk and does not adequately fund fire districts.

Read more here.

Las Lomas filmmaker faces incumbent for Pajaro Valley Unified School District trustee Area 3 seat

Sept. 27, 2024 – Filmmaker Gabriel Medina and incumbent Oscar Soto are competing for the Area 3 trustee seat on the Pajaro Valley Unified School District board. In interviews with Lookout, they discussed what their goals are and why each feels they’re the right candidate.

Find all our coverage of the PVUSD trustee races here.

Coke, Pepsi and Red Bull spend big to defeat Santa Cruz’s soda tax

Sept. 26, 2024 – A key pre-election campaign finance reporting deadline on Thursday revealed that the biggest players in America’s soft drink industry, including the parent companies of Coke, Pepsi, Dr Pepper and Red Bull, have donated nearly $1 million to defeat a city of Santa Cruz ballot measure this fall that would enact a special tax on sugary drinks.

Read our chart-packed analysis of filings for Measure Z, the two county supervisor seats, three city council races and water-and-wildfire Measure Q here.

Incumbent and former teacher compete for Pajaro Valley Unified School District trustee Area 6 seat

Sept. 26, 2024 – Former teacher Jessica Carrasco and incumbent Adam Bolaños Scow are competing for the trustee Area 6 seat on the Pajaro Valley Unified School District board. In interviews with Lookout, they discussed what their goals are and why they’re the right candidate.

Go inside the Area 6 race here.

Capitola, Scotts Valley ballot measures in focus

Sept. 26, 2024 – Lookout’s coverage of local and state ballot measures before Santa Cruz County voters this fall continues with stories on Capitola’s Measure Y and Scotts Valley’s Measure X:

• Capitola’s Measure Y would up sales tax, raising $2.2 million a year
• Measure X: Scotts Valley business license tax measure explained

Health care workers name Pellerin ‘Assemblymember of the Year’

Sept. 25, 2024 – Santa Cruz Democrat Gail Pellerin has been named “Assemblymember of the Year” by the National Union of Healthcare Workers for her work fighting for parity in how mental health is treated compared to other health conditions.

Pellerin is the author of Assembly Bill 3221, which is awaiting Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature. It would help the Department of Managed Health Care better enforce state law by removing roadblocks that have made it difficult for the agency to conduct effective investigations. The law includes provisions that would require health plans to respond to information requests from the agency with digitally searchable data instead of reams of paper files that delay state enforcement investigations.

Here’s more on praise for the District 28 assemblymember.

Roads, rail trail, managed retreat emerge as flashpoints as District 2 candidates Kristen Brown, Kim De Serpa spar at forum

Sept. 24, 2024 – District 2 Santa Cruz County supervisor candidates Kristen Brown and Kim De Serpa have spent years in elected office and public service, and seek to bring that experience to the board of supervisors come 2025. The two discussed everything from roads and managed retreat to the tight county budget and the divisive Coastal Rail Trail project Monday evening at a Lookout candidate forum.

Read our coverage and watch video of the event here.

Read our profiles of District 2 county supervisor candidates Kristen Brown and Kim De Serpa

Sept. 23, 2024 – With a Lookout candidate forum set for Monday evening at Cabrillo College in Aptos featuring Kristen Brown and Kim De Serpa, the candidates vying to replace the retiring Zach Friend as District 2 Santa Cruz County supervisor, you can get to know them better with a pair of Lookout profiles:

• Kristen Brown’s work ethic propelled her young political ascent. Can it carry her to the board of supervisors?, by Christopher Neely
• For Kim De Serpa, District 2 supervisor run is next step in life’s work as a “community caretaker,” by Wallace Baine

The forum begins at 6:30 p.m. at Cabrillo’s Horticulture Building and will be moderated by Lookout correspondent Christopher Neely; it’s free, and you can reserve your spot here.

Food workers union opposes Measure Z’s sugary drink tax

Sept. 23, 2024 – The United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 5 announced Monday that it opposes the city of Santa Cruz’s Measure Z, which proposes a 2-cent-per-fluid-ounce tax on distributors of certain sugar-sweetened beverages. In a media release sent out by the Campaign for an Affordable Santa Cruz — Measure Z’s opposition campaign — UFCW representative Efrain Aguilera criticized Measure Z for proposing a regressive tax that would disproportionately be paid by lower-income families.

According to the Yes on Z website, while several health organizations and the Democratic Central Committee have endorsed the measure, it has not received any union support. 

District 2 supervisor hopefuls De Serpa, Brown take stage Monday in Lookout candidate forum

Sept. 20, 2024 – The second Lookout candidate forum of this general-election season takes place Monday, Sept. 23, at Cabrillo College in Aptos. District 2 county supervisor hopefuls Kristen Brown and Kim De Serpa will be on stage at the Horticulture Building from 6:30 to 8 p.m. as they vie to replace the retiring Zach Friend. The discussion will be moderated by Lookout’s Christopher Neely; click here to RSVP for the free event.

Brown, the mayor of Capitola, and De Serpa, a longtime trustee of Pajaro Valley Unified School District, were the top two vote-getters in a five-person field in March’s primary, setting them up in this fall’s run-off to represent a district that includes Aptos, La Selva Beach, Seacliff and Rio Del Mar, along with the communities of Corralitos and Freedom plus portions of the cities of Capitola and Watsonville.

Monday’s forum follows a Lookout event this week in Felton focusing on the candidates for District 5 county supervisor, Christopher Bradford and Monica Martinez – find coverage of that forum below.

California ballot asks voters to invest in climate solutions

Following yet another year of brutal heatwaves and devastating wildfires, Californians have the chance to tell elected officials they support urgent climate action by voting for a $10 billion climate resilience bond on the November ballot.

During an unprecedented budget surplus two years ago, California earmarked $54 billion to forge “an oil-free future” and protect residents from the extreme effects of climate change. That surplus morphed into a multibillion-dollar deficit within a year, after rosy projections of rising revenues from income taxes failed to materialize, forcing Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers to cut and defer billions from their ambitious climate spending plans.

California’s budget problems will likely continue, analysts say, as will the climate change-fueled disasters that have battered the state. To provide a stable source of funding for urgently needed climate action, legislators passed a bill in July that seeks voters’ approval to authorize the state to borrow $10 billion to underwrite climate resiliency projects. Newsom signed it the same day. 

Now scientists, policymakers, climate experts and environmental justice advocates are among those urging voters to support the Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness and Clean Air Bond Act of 2024, on the ballot as Proposition 4. 

Read more on Prop 4 from our partners at Inside Climate News.

Despite different backgrounds, Monica Martinez and Christopher Bradford aim to ‘fight the status quo’ in District 5

Sept. 19, 2024 – Around 150 people turned out at Felton Community Hall on Wednesday night as Christopher Bradford and Monica Martinez, candidates to replace Bruce McPherson as District 5 Santa Cruz County supervisor, took the stage in a forum moderated by Lookout correspondent Christopher Neely.

As Max Chun reports, both view themselves as outsiders looking to shake up the status quo, and they said either one of them will be a divergence from the District 5 representatives in years past.

Read our coverage here.

California Medicaid ballot measure is popular, well funded — and perilous, opponents warn

Sept. 19, 2024 – The proponents of Proposition 35, a November ballot initiative that would create a dedicated stream of funding to provide health care for California’s low-income residents, have assembled an impressive coalition: doctors, hospitals, community clinics, dentists, ambulance companies, several county governments, numerous advocacy groups, big business, and both major political parties.

The Yes on Prop 35 campaign has raised over $48 million as of Sept. 9, according to campaign filings with the secretary of state. The measure would use money from a tax on managed-care health plans mainly to hike the pay of physicians, hospitals, community clinics, and other providers in Medi-Cal, the state’s version of Medicaid.

For many months, there was no organized opposition. But shortly after Labor Day, a small group of community advocates, including the League of Women Voters of California, California Pan-Ethnic Health Network and The Children’s Partnership, announced they were united against it.

More here from our partners at KFF Health News.

Read our profiles of District 5 county supervisor candidates Christopher Bradford and Monica Martinez

Sept. 16, 2024 – With a Lookout candidate forum set for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Felton Community Hall featuring Christopher Bradford and Monica Martinez (RSVP for the free event here), the candidates vying to replace Bruce McPherson as District 5 Santa Cruz County supervisor, you can get to know them better with a pair of Lookout profiles:

• CZU convinced Christopher Bradford that county government needs fundamental change, by Wallace Baine
• ‘We’re only here for a moment’: The urgency behind Monica Martinez’s bid for Santa Cruz County supervisor, by Christopher Neely

Lookout county supervisor candidate forums kick off next week

Sept. 13, 2024 – Friday marks 24 days until the Santa Cruz County clerk can begin mailing out ballots and 53 days until Election Day, Nov. 5 – and just five days before the first Lookout forum of this election season. On Wednesday, Sept. 18, you can hear from the two candidates running for District 5 county supervisor, with Christopher Bradford and Monica Martinez vying to replace the retiring Bruce McPherson. The panel discussion at Felton Community Hall will be hosted and moderated by Lookout’s Christopher Neely, and you can RSVP here to save your seat for the free event, which will run from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

The following Monday, Sept. 23, District 2 county supervisor candidates Kristen Brown and Kim De Serpa will be on stage at the Horticulture Building at Cabrillo College in Aptos as they vie to replace the retiring Zach Friend. The panel discussion from 6:30 to 8 p.m. will be moderated by Lookout’s Christopher Neely; click here to RSVP for the free event.

As Santa Cruz considers local tax, state targets danger of sugary drinks

Sept. 12, 204 – As Santa Cruz city officials gear up for an expensive fight against the American soft drink industry over a proposed local tax on sugary beverages this November, the state is launching its own campaign raising alarm about the negative impact of Big Gulps and Slurpees.

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) announced this week that it’s working with local health departments and nonprofits to promote “Rethink Your Drink 2024,” a campaign urging Californians to drink less of them. It complements the agency’s recent “Not So Sweet Side” campaign, which has included digital, radio, video and billboard advertising.

Measure Z on Santa Cruz’s November ballot would enact a 2-cent-per-fluid-ounce tax on many sugar-sweetened beverages. In addition to raising revenue to support city services — an estimated $1.3 million per year in this case — the model for this kind of “sin tax” aligns with the state’s new campaign, in that such a tax can lead to lower sales of something that harms people’s health. City officials have predicted that the soft drink industry will spend millions of dollars to defeat the measure and possibly sue the city if it does pass. The industry is funding a campaign against Measure Z calling itself “Campaign for an Affordable Santa Cruz.” 

“Research shows that sugary drinks are one of the leading contributors to chronic health conditions, such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and tooth decay,” said Dr. Tomás J. Aragón, CDPH director and state public health officer. “Through Rethink Your Drink, we empower families to reduce their sugar intake and choose water as a primary beverage.”

The state is citing studies that show consuming sugar-sweetened beverages can increase the risk of both obesity and developing type 2 diabetes; that sugary beverages contribute to heart disease; and that children with poor oral health and tooth decay tend to miss more school and get lower grades.

CDPH said that “Rethink Your Drink” will be a year-round effort, but the department is putting a particular focus on September, working to bring together local health departments, health educators, community organizations and others together to raise awareness about healthier beverage choices and the health risks of consuming too much sugar.

Project 2025 to California: Report abortion data or lose billions in Medicaid

Sept. 12, 2024 – California is one of only three states that do not report abortion data to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but Project 2025, the 900-page conservative playbook for the next Republican president, has an ultimatum for the Golden State: track and report abortion data to the federal government or risk losing billions in Medicaid funding for reproductive health. 

Project 2025’s proposed federal mandate directly conflicts with the state’s strong protections for patient privacy and could dismantle the legal and ethical foundations that have made California a refuge for those seeking reproductive care.

Read more here from our partners at CalMatters.

‘Steam engine’ or cautionary tale? Experts weigh in on AI role in California elections

Sept. 12, 204 – Will artificial intelligence be the doom of political integrity? Or will it help promote election law compliance in California?

Depends on who you ask, according to a panel of tech and campaign finance experts – including Santa Cruz Assemblymember Gail Pellerin – who spoke Wednesday at the state Fair Political Practices Commission’s 50th anniversary event in Sacramento.

One of the panels — moderated by commission Chairperson Adam Silver — discussed the role of AI in elections. While the proliferation of deep fakes concerns him, the technology could help bolster the agency’s enforcement efforts on campaign finance violations and educate officials on compliance, Silver said.

Scott Morris, a senior strategic client executive at Microsoft, deemed the technology “the steam engine of the fourth industrial revolution.” 

Pellerin, who ran Santa Cruz County elections for nearly three decades, said AI could also help answer voter questions, monitor cybersecurity threats, optimize voting locations and even redraw districts.

Read more here from our partners at CalMatters.

‘Millions’ expected to pour into campaigns over Santa Cruz’s sugary drink tax

Sept. 9, 2024 – Last Thursday, as the “yes” side formally launched its campaign for Measure Z, a proposed city of Santa Cruz tax on sugar-sweetened drinks, Mayor Fred Keeley warned supporters that the coming fight won’t be typical of a local ballot question.

“If someone thinks this is going to be your normal type of campaign where we send out some mail, get some endorsements, make some arguments, well, that’s not what this is,” Keeley later told Lookout. “The soda industry has so much political power in Sacramento. It’s important to know going into it that this is David vs. Goliath, and we need to buy some rocks.”

The day before the Measure Z support camp kicked off its effort, Sacramento political strategist Steven Maviglio, of Forza Communications, launched “Campaign for an Affordable Santa Cruz,” opposing Measure Z. The hiring of Maviglio, whom Keeley called a “big-swinging deal” in Sacramento, is the opening salvo to what he expects to be an expensive battle. 

Measure Z proposes a 2-cent-per-fluid-ounce tax on many sugar-sweetened beverages. The tax, which excludes products like milk, milk alternatives and beverages with less than 40 calories per 12 ounces, would be levied on distributors of the beverages, not directly on consumers. It is expected to raise $1.3 million per year in general tax revenue for the city. 

Read more here.

Democratic Women’s Club of Santa Cruz County makes endorsements in supervisor, city council races

Sept. 9, 2024 – In a weekend forum, the Democratic Women’s Club of Santa Cruz County announced whom it was supporting in races for county supervisor, giving the nod to Kristen Brown in District 2 and Monica Martinez in District 5. The group also endorsed candidates in city council races in Capitola, Watsonville and Scotts Valley and took positions on ballot measures across the county.

Read more here.

For Jimmy Dutra, reelection bid and a civil sex-abuse trial coincide

Sept. 4, 2024 – Nearly two years after Watsonville District 6 City Councilmember Jimmy Dutra was accused of sexual abuse of a minor in a civil filing in Santa Cruz Superior Court, the case is finally approaching trial — at the same time that local elections begin to heat up and Dutra is seeking reelection.

Jury selection began on Tuesday and will continue Wednesday. Trial proceedings are expected to begin next week, as presiding Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Timothy Schmal will be out of town for the rest of this week starting Thursday. The trial is anticipated to last about one week.

Read more here.

Dozens of elected offices won’t go before voters this fall

Sept. 3, 2024 – What’s not on the ballot this fall in Santa Cruz County could end up holding as much sway over local school and government policy as the candidates competing for local school board and fire district seats.

As Lookout has previously reported, dozens of elected seats on local boards and commissions will be uncontested this fall, and for some, no candidate at all stepped forward to run. Many board members were originally appointed, not elected, to their positions, and then face no opposition when seeking a full term.

With about two months before the November elections, we can add another local vacancy to that list. On Tuesday, Pajaro Valley Unified School District announced that Jennifer Holm, Area 7 school board trustee and a former board president, is resigning and the board will appoint someone to fill the remaining two years of her term. 

Last month, Santa Cruz County Sheriff Jim Hart resigned two years into a special six-year term, meaning that his chosen successor, Chris Clark, recently appointed by supervisors, will serve for four years in the job before facing voters.

Santa Cruz County Democrats endorse Kristen Brown

Sept. 3, 2024 – The Santa Cruz County Democratic Central Committee has endorsed Kristen Brown for District 2 county supervisor over her opponent, Kim De Serpa.

According to committee chair Andrew Goldenkranz, the decision in a virtual meeting on Thursday came after a brief Q&A that touched on the county’s rail-trail project, private beach access and coastal erosion.

The committee is also endorsing a “yes” vote on Measure Q (an $87 tax on each parcel of land in the county, with some exceptions, that would fund about $7 million a year in water quality and wildfire resiliency work), Measure Z (Santa Cruz’s 2-cent-per-ounce tax on the sale of sugar-sweetened drinks), Measure Y (Capitola’s sales tax rate increase to 9.25%) and Watsonville’s proposed charter amendments, which include removing a citizenship requirement to serve on the city’s boards and commissions. The committee is recommending a “no” vote on Measure U, a San Lorenzo Valley Water District proposal that would cap regular service charge increases to 2% per year until 2049. 

Read more here.

Catch up on Lookout’s recent election coverage

Sept. 3, 2024 – Labor Day traditionally marks the start of the homestretch of the election campaign, so get up to date on with our voter guide and coverage from around Santa Cruz County and beyond.

• Vote 2024: Your guide to the Santa Cruz County general election
• Santa Cruz County school districts will ask voters to borrow millions for repairs, workforce housing
• Labor union council backs Santa Cruz County’s Measure Q
• Postcards from the Left Coast: How voters in blue Santa Cruz aim to swing the country Democratic
• Judge won’t block Santa Cruz soda tax ballot language former candidate says is misleading
• Seven open seats in Santa Cruz County have no candidates. What happens now?
• Scotts Valley Mayor Randy Johnson, Councilmember Jack Dilles not seeking reelection
• Santa Cruz County 2024 elections: What we know at the filing deadline about who is running
• The cost to inform California voters? $118,000 a page for official guide
• ‘Earth-shattering’: In deep blue Santa Cruz County, politicians react to Biden bowing out

---