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To the editor:
We are challenging the comments of outgoing Supervisor Ryan Coonerty and Lookout’s Nov. 22 article, “A progressive won the District 3 supervisor race after trailing for nearly two weeks. How?”
Justin Cummings won. Period. We are proud of voters who chose him in the face of the well-funded campaign of Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson, which papered the city and UC Santa Cruz with full-color mailers, billboards and flyers. We, the majority, elected Justin Cummings as the most qualified candidate.
Lookout framed this victory by questioning how Councilmember Cummings was able to win and gave prominence to conjectures by Coonerty that “later voters also tend to be lower-information voters” and Cummings won because of “name recognition.” We would say, rather, Councilmember Cummings won because he served as an effective leader during critical times.
Coonerty and Lookout fail to see the changing political landscape. More people are becoming politically engaged, informed and able to make astute choices as they vote, particularly young voters who showed up to save democracy in the midterms. We are the most diverse generation in history and we join together with all who are ready to stop questioning the qualifications of people of color. Please do not underestimate us or the candidates we choose.
Karina Gutierrez on behalf of the Student Organization Leadership Council at UC Santa Cruz