Incumbent Santa Cruz City Councilmember Renée Golder faces challenger Gabriella Noack, a UC Santa Cruz student, in the race for the Westside’s District 6 seat. The contest highlights contrasting approaches to homeless services and surveillance technology.
Election 2026: Santa Cruz City Council District 6
Lookout news and Community Voices opinion coverage of the contest for the Santa Cruz City Council District 6 seat, covering the lower Westside, the westernmost part of the upper Westside and part of the UC Santa Cruz campus.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
A look at local candidates’ first pre-election campaign finance disclosures of 2026
Thursday was the deadline for candidates in the Santa Cruz mayoral and city council races as well as the District 4 county supervisor and superior court judge seats to file their first pre-election campaign finance disclosures of the election cycle. Here’s what they show.
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Democratic Women’s Club endorses Coonerty, Golder and Newsome for SC city races; no endorsement for District 4 county supervisor race
Following a candidate forum on Saturday, the Democratic Women’s Club of Santa Cruz County endorsed Ryan Coonerty for Santa Cruz mayor and incumbents Scott Newsome and Renee Golder for city council Districts 4 and 6, respectively. The group did not make an endorsement for the District 4 county supervisor race.
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El Club de Mujeres Demócratas respalda a Coonerty, Golder y Newsome para las contiendas municipales de SC; sin respaldo para la contienda de supervisor del condado del Distrito 4
El Club de Mujeres Demócratas del Condado de Santa Cruz respaldó a Ryan Coonerty para alcalde de Santa Cruz y a Scott Newsome y Renee Golder para el concejo municipal de los Distritos 4 y 6, respectivamente, durante el fin de semana tras un foro de candidatos en Capitola.
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Santa Cruz candidates mostly unfazed at lack of Democratic Central Committee endorsements
The Democratic Central Committee could not come to a consensus on which Santa Cruz City Council and mayoral candidates to endorse, so it will not endorse anyone ahead of the June 2 primary. However, many on the campaign trail say it doesn’t make a difference to them — and might even be a good thing.
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Democratic Central Committee endorses Cummings, Hernandez for supervisor, but fails to reach consensus on SC city races
Following a candidate forum on Tuesday evening, Santa Cruz County’s Democratic Central Committee endorsed incumbents Justin Cummings and Felipe Hernandez for District 3 and 4 county supervisor, respectively. Members couldn’t agree on races for Santa Cruz mayor and city council Districts 4 and 6, meaning the committee will not endorse anyone in those contests.
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Most local races set for June primary election; Santa Cruz mayoral filing period ends Wednesday
The candidate field for the June primary is nearly set, now that all filing deadlines for offices up for election have passed (except for the Santa Cruz mayor’s race, which closes on Wednesday). Here’s how it shakes out.