Quick Take
Check out video from Thursday's Lookout election forum to hear the Santa Cruz City Council candidates speak to the biggest issues facing their prospective constituents.
Candidates for Santa Cruz City Council Districts 1, 2, 3 and 5 discussed the major city issues like homelessness, coastal erosion, affordable housing and Measure M during Thursday night’s Lookout election forum. Here are the ways candidates agreed and disagreed on those hallmark topics.
Click on the links for video of the candidates’ discussions.
Highlights from Thursday’s Santa Cruz City Council District 1 forum
David Tannaci and Gabriela Trigueiro explain why they want the job in the first place
Being on the city council can be a difficult and thankless job, but both candidates said they feel that they belong in public service.
How will they vote on Measure M?
Tannaci said he had not yet decided on how he will vote for Measure M, while Trigueiro said she intends to vote “no.”
Child care availability is severely lacking in Santa Cruz
Tannaci and Trigueiro talk about how to improve access to child care, including securing stable funding and introducing more mentoring programs.
Highlights from Thursday’s Santa Cruz City Council District 2 forum
Editor’s note: Incumbent Sonja Brunner declined Lookout’s invitation to participate.
Didn’t Hector Marin run for the District 4 seat in 2022?
He did, actually, and he explains why he’s now living in a different district and how that has motivated his second city council campaign.
Marin said he thinks that Measure M’s plan to mandate 25% affordable housing in new buildings with 30 or more units is a good idea because there are too many market-rate units in planning and construction.
Marin says the city needs to do more to address homelessness
Though Marin said last year’s drop in the number of unhoused people living in Santa Cruz is a good sign, the city could fund more homelessness response services and be more transparent with its budget.
Highlights from Thursday’s Santa Cruz City Council District 3 forum
What to do about West Cliff Drive?
Challenger Joy Schendledecker and incumbent Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson both acknowledged that many want to see a one-way West Cliff Drive, and Kalantari-Johnson said she’s preparing for the city council to take action on the future of West Cliff this spring.
The candidates split on Measure M
Schendledecker said she supports Measure M, as she thinks developers are choosing not to build as much housing as they can because of high interest rates rather than concerns about projects not “penciling out” due to of height restrictions and affordable-housing requirements. Kalantari-Johnson plans to vote “no” because she thinks the ballot initiative will slow down housing development.
How is the city’s homelessness response?
Schendledecker said the city deserves some credit for its safe-parking program, which allows residents living in vehicles to park on city-owned lots overnight. But she thinks the response needs to be more robust overall. Kalantari-Johnson said that while the city does need to do more, it’s ahead of most other cities in the state.
Highlights from Thursday’s Santa Cruz City Council District 5 forum
Editor’s note: Candidate Joe Thompson was unable to attend due to a family emergency.
Why does Susie O’Hara want to run for city council after a falling-out with the city?
O’Hara, a former city employee, said that her public whistleblower complaint against the city has made her a stronger candidate for the council, because it shows that she is not afraid to speak out against injustice.
Like many others opposed to Measure M, O’Hara said she believes the measure has the potential to slow down housing development the city badly needs.
Could desalination make a comeback?
As global warming creates more severe changes in the environment, O’Hara said she thinks desalination could be a good choice for the community to diversify its water resources, despite a failed project in 2014.
Have something to say? Lookout welcomes letters to the editor, within our policies, from readers. Guidelines here.