Quick Take
Three new candidates have entered the race for Santa Cruz mayor — Ami Chen Mills, Joy Schendledecker and Chris Krohn — all of whom have either previously held or run for office or have been politically active outside of elected office. They join Ryan Coonerty and Gillian Greensite in vying to replace Fred Keeley.
Three new candidates joined the race for mayor of Santa Cruz this week. All three are familiar names who’ve held local elected office in the past or are politically active.
Ami Chen Mills, Joy Schendledecker and Chris Krohn joined former mayor, councilmember and District 3 county supervisor Ryan Coonerty and environmental activist Gillian Greensite in vying to replace Fred Keeley.
Chen Mills said she is keeping a close eye on the local impacts of federal actions, and wants to defend the city from “fascist creep.” She said surveillance is “the tip of the authoritarian spear,” which is why she stands against the use of Flock Safety cameras. She also said she feels that a political machine has taken hold in local politics and hopes to break that mold.
“I think we need all voices. We need to get things done together and we need a lot of perspectives,” she said.
Chen Mills also said having a Chinese American woman in the position of mayor would be special. She said she’s willing to engage in dialogue with anyone, regardless of their political affiliation, and will refrain from getting caught up in social media discussions about her or her campaign, which she said was a distraction during her previous campaign.
Chen Mills ran for District 3 county supervisor in 2022 against current Santa Cruz City Councilmember Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson and current Supervisor Justin Cummings, who ultimately won the race. She is a resiliency educator, a co-leader of Get The Flock Out, which opposes the use of automated license-plate readers in the county, and the host of the podcast “Moment of Truth with Ami Chen Mills.”
Schendledecker told Lookout her reasons for running largely mirror those of her past two campaigns – for mayor and city council – and that she wants to work on issues like affordability and fairness.
“I believe in participatory democracy, transparency and accountability,” she said. “I think voters need choices, and we need to be having conversations publicly so that voters can get engaged.”
Schendledecker said her past runs have shown her how much there is to discuss in a campaign, and she vowed to stay focused on core issues in order to campaign efficiently and avoid burnout for her and her team.
“I’m honored to have community support again, and I’ll certainly need it over the next few months,” she said. “I’m really looking forward to being part of these public conversations and engaging our community.”
Schendledecker has run for office in both of the past two election cycles. In 2022, she ran in the city’s first four-year mayoral election, ultimately losing to Keeley. She then ran in 2023 to represent District 3 on the Santa Cruz City Council, losing to Kalantari-Johnson. Schendledecker is an organizer, having co-founded community group Santa Cruz Cares, and is a member of the Santa Cruz chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America.
Krohn said he’s running because he believes the current leadership is “selling off” the city. He criticized the new housing developments on Pacific Avenue and Front Street, adding that the majority are not affordable and not built for locals. He said he hopes to bring “political joy back to Santa Cruz.”
“My campaign is about affordable housing, environmental preservation, and giving a voice to neighborhoods that now feel disenfranchised by City Hall,” he said via text message.
Krohn previously served on the Santa Cruz City Council from 1998 through 2002 and again from 2016 to 2020, but did not complete his second term due to a voter recall in March 2020 after he was accused of mistreating city staff and his fellow councilmembers. He served as mayor in 2001.
The primary election is on June 2; the candidate filing period ends Friday. If one candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, they will win the mayoral seat outright. If all candidates fail to reach that threshold, the general election on Nov. 3 will serve as a run-off between the top two vote-getters.
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