Sunday Reads: Santa Cruz’s new mayor experiment and op-eds for the election homestretch

As the parade of Santa Cruz annual mayors comes to a stop, how strong will the new four-year pioneer be?

(Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz)

There are too many ex-Santa Cruz mayors to count, and they’ve served in times of celebration and horror. Mike Rotkin served five one-year terms as mayor, Cynthia Mathews four and Don Lane three. Now, as the city of Santa Cruz adopts a more traditional four-year mayor position — with a newly districted system of city council — a new civic experiment begins. Read Wallace Baine’s Sunday column.

➤ ELECTION 2022: All of Lookout’s coverage in one spot ahead of Tuesday’s vote

Vote yes on Measure N: The tax probably won’t apply to you, but the benefits will

(Will McCahill / Lookout Santa Cruz)

Housing is a fundamental human right, writes UC Santa Cruz student and union organizer Joe Thompson. Measure N takes a bite out of the whale that is the affordable housing crisis. Click here for their full Community Voices opinion piece.

➤ BACKGROUND: Measure N’s empty home tax: Is new tool aiming to boost affordability handy or flawed? (Lookout)

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Pajaro Valley Health Care District needs solid, continued leadership of Pimentel and Nájera

(Via Facebook)

The fledgling Pajaro Valley Health Care District — cobbled together to protect the bankrupt Watsonville Community Hospital from closing — still has a momentous task ahead to reach stability for our community and its staff. A group of 10 well-respected public service professionals argue for the election of two current health care board representatives. Marcus Pimentel and Jasmine Nájera, both appointed by the board of supervisors to the jobs last year, are pivotal to the district’s future success, they write. Read their Community Voices op-ed here.

➤ MORE: Pajaro Valley Health Care District voters to decide who will lead hospital out of financial uncertainty, build relationships (Lookout)