Kim De Serpa and Monica Martinez widened their fundraising advantage over Kristen Brown and Christopher Bradford, respectively, in their campaigns for the District 2 and District 5 seats on the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors, according to campaign finance reports that were due Thursday. In the District 2 race, De Serpa has cash on hand, while Brown reported spending slightly more money than she has brought in. In the District 5 race, Martinez has a nearly 3-to-1 fundraising advantage over Bradford.
Election 2024
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Soda industry has spent more than $1.2 million to defeat Santa Cruz sugary drink tax
A campaign funded by some of the country’s biggest soft drink companies to defeat Measure Z, a proposed sugary drink tax in the City of Santa Cruz, has spent more than $1.2 million so far, according to campaign finance reports filed this week. With less than two weeks before the Nov. 5 election, supporters of the measure had reported spending only $43,000.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
A Lookout View: Trina Coffman-Gomez for Watsonville City Council – she brings experience and housing knowledge
The Lookout Editorial Board endorses Trina Coffman-Gomez for Watsonville City Council. She has already served two terms from 2012 to 2020 and understands the city and its needs. Her opponent, incumbent and former mayor Jimmy Dutra, is too mired in controversy over a recent civil trial to effectively serve. Dutra did not respond to Lookout’s requests for an editorial board meeting.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
A Lookout View: Yes on V – let’s add diversity and untapped community voices to Watsonville boards and commissions
The Lookout Editorial Board endorses Measure V, which would expand eligibility to serve on commissions and boards to all Watsonville residents, regardless of voting status. The board sees this as a vote for diversity, inclusion and part of the wave of the future for California cities and counties.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
How inflation concerns could doom California’s proposition to increase minimum wage
Opponents of Proposition 32 to increase the statewide minimum wage to $18 an hour are running ads focused on the cost of living. Proponents are not reaching out to voters very much. And polls show declining support.
Posted inEducation
In unopposed Cabrillo College trustee races, name change is on back burner
Cabrillo College’s governing board will have four trustees starting new four-year terms once they’re sworn in this December. All four ran unopposed.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
A Lookout View: Yes on Z – let’s stand up for community health
Measure Z, the “sugary drink tax,” has raised high emotion and big money in the city of Santa Cruz and is a potential litmus test for the state’s 2018 Keep Groceries Affordable Act. The Lookout Editorial Board endorses a yes vote. We think it’s good for overall community health and for the city’s needy coffers.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
No on Prop 36: It is misleading and would take us back to mass incarceration
California’s Proposition 36 would undo all the good diversion and anti-recidivism work that has happened in communities since 2014’s Prop 47, argue community activists Angelee Dion, Julia Gratton and Pam Sexton. It would, they say, cost taxpayers tens of billions of dollars for prisons, court costs and local jails and slash millions from anti-recidivism, school-based prevention programs and services for survivors of crime. They urge a no vote.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Yes on Prop 36: Let’s help make our community safe from drugs, theft and crime
California’s Proposition 36 will help undo ineffective attempts at diversion put in place by Prop 47 in 2014, argue Renee Golder, vice mayor of Santa Cruz, and Bernie Escalante, chief of the Santa Cruz Police Department. “Over the past decade, Santa Cruz has faced a significant rise in large encampments, drug overdoses, and retail theft,” they write. “The Ross Camp and Benchlands illustrate the city’s struggles with homelessness and public safety.” It’s time, they say, for a reboot.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
A Lookout View: Gerry Jensen and Melinda Orbach for Capitola City Council
The Lookout Editorial Board endorses Gerry Jensen and Melinda Orbach for Capitola City Council. Jensen’s proven commitment to the community and Orbach’s emphasis on resiliency and city services stand out among the four candidates for two open seats.