Morning Lookout: Historian talks Cabrillo name change, voter turnout lags and local GOP blues

Hello hello! It is Monday, Nov. 28, and a mostly sunny day is ahead for Santa Cruz County, though temps won’t rise much past 60 as we enter a stretch where patchy frost is possible overnight — and rain is looking likely for later in the week.

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With the renaming of Cabrillo College remaining a hot topic — and one you can weigh in on here — Hillary Ojeda spoke with local historian Sandy Lydon for the latest in our series of Lookout Q&As. “I think a very courageous thing could have been to leave the name and explain the complexity,” Lydon says.

Meanwhile, voter turnout was down across California in Election 2022 after big numbers in 2018 and 2020 — though not as much in Santa Cruz County as in its neighbors. “I don’t think it’s shocking but it is disappointing,” one observer tells Christopher Neely.

Local politics is also on Wallace Baine’s mind, and more specifically the balance of power in heavily Democratic Santa Cruz County. “For local Republicans, blue is the color of ice,” Wallace writes, “and they’re trapped in a deep freeze.”

And while outgoing county supervisor Ryan Coonerty isn’t tuning out politics altogether, he writes in our Community Voices opinion section, he’d be fine if we didn’t see any more expensive, divisive propositions on our ballots for a while.

All that and more is among the Monday headlines, so let’s take a look, shall we?

Cabrillo College historian on how the school got its name and why some are opposed to changing it

(Via Sandy Lydon)

Local historian and longtime Cabrillo College instructor Sandy Lydon started working at the college 10 years after it was founded. He saw the college establish its reputation, and tells Lookout what the name Cabrillo means to him. Lydon wouldn’t name the college after Cabrillo today if he had the chance, but now that the school has voted to change its name, he hopes people won’t forget all it has accomplished. Read his Q&A with Hillary Ojeda.

➤ MORE: With name change, Cabrillo College faces a reckoning over issues of history and identity (Lookout)

Voter turnout fell by 10 points in Santa Cruz County — and more in surrounding counties

(Blaire Hobbs / Lookout Santa Cruz)

The predictions that voter turnout highs in 2018 and 2020 would carry into the 2022 midterm election didn’t play out in California or Santa Cruz County. Christopher Neely crunches the numbers, with charts from Blaire Hobbs.

➤ MORE: Election 2022: Vote count nears finish line in Santa Cruz County (Lookout)

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Here’s hoping that helps you shake off any cobwebs still remaining from the Thanksgiving break. There’s always more coming from Lookout, of course, so follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to stay current on Santa Cruz County news. You can also get breaking news alerts and all of our other newsletters delivered right to you by clicking here.

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Have a great Monday!

Will McCahill
Lookout Santa Cruz