Embattled District 4 Santa Cruz County Supervisor candidate Jimmy Dutra didn’t shy away from highlighting what he feels…
Local elections
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Vote yes on O to renovate our library where it is and stop the city’s misguided project
Measure O allows us to fully renovate our library at our civic core and dedicate eight publicly owned lots in downtown Santa Cruz to affordable housing, members of Our Downtown, Our Future write. It also secures the best permanent home for the farmers market and prevents debt for a new, environmentally regressive parking garage data shows we don’t even need. Most important, they say, it stops the City of Santa Cruz’s misguided plan to build a new library and parking garage downtown.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Measure O deserves a no; it’s deceptive and will destroy our best shot at a dynamic new library and housing downtown
Measure O is deceptive and its proponents have peddled in untruths to gain community support, write Janis O’Driscoll, Edward Estrada and Matt Farrell. They laud the City of Santa Cruz’s new library/housing project and insist Measure O, if passed, would torpedo the community’s chance to get a cutting-edge library and 124 affordable housing units in the heart of downtown. They unpack what they consider Measure O’s untruths here and explain why no is the best vote.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Westside divide: In District 6, Renée Golder and Sean Maxwell differ in tactics to solve the day’s problems
As Santa Cruz’s Westside gets its own city council seat, a carpenter and a school principal square off. “If we had to move tomorrow, I don’t know if we would be able to live here,” says Sean Maxwell, a planning commissioner who pushes for more affordability. Renée Golder sees public safety as her foundational issue. “If you’re not safe, you can’t really do anything else. Everybody deserves to live and thrive wherever they are,” she says. Their race mirrors much of our local politics today.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Greg, Hector and Scott for District 4: A new face for a quickly changing district
Santa Cruz City Council’s new District 4 will greet a novice officeholder after November’s election. Greg Hyver, Hector Marin and Scott Newsome bring varying levels of knowledge on the issues, and bring both commonly held and unusual solutions to the table. They will debate as part of Lookout’s next candidate forum, slated for Monday at 6 p.m.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Vote yes on N if you care about our community: It’s our ticket to affordable housing in Santa Cruz
Measure N will help fund affordable housing by taxing those who don’t use their homes more than eight months a year, argues Cyndi Dawson, chair of the City of Santa Cruz Planning Commission and campaign manager for Measure N. At a minimum, she writes, the city estimates taxing empty homes will generate $2.5-$4 million to support housing for the community and help keep our teachers, child care, health care and service workers from moving away. Santa Cruz has a history of supporting tax measures and Dawson thinks residents need to step up and support this measure.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Measure N offers empty promises and invasive oversight: It’s not Santa Cruz’s answer to affordable housing
Measure N, the empty homes tax, is a cruel empty promise, argues Lynn Renshaw, a founder of Santa Cruz Together. She writes that Measure N is not the answer we seek for affordable housing in our community. It creates what she calls “an unelected and intrusive bureaucracy” that requires residents to report how often they live in their homes or face criminal penalties and fines. It distracts from more practical solutions to our real housing challenges. It’s unworkable and wrong, she says, insisting, “we should be able to come and go freely from our property without city government monitoring or control.” Santa Cruz, she believes, deserves better.
Posted inK-12 Education
The five biggest issues confronting public education in Santa Cruz County
As voters head to the polls to decide on school board candidates and school bonds, what are the concerns those in the school system — students, teachers, administrators and parents — have? We talked to more than two dozen of them.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Shebreh brings work ethic to focus on homelessness, youth and mental health
Lookout asked the two candidates running for 3rd District Santa Cruz County Supervisor to write up to 800 words to help voters differentiate between them. We asked them two specific questions, with strict word counts. Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson’s answers are here.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Justin is a renter, an independent thinker and cares about people, equity and the environment
Lookout asked the two candidates running for 3rd District Santa Cruz County Supervisor to write up to 800 words to help voters differentiate between them. We asked them two specific questions, with strict word counts. Justin Cummings’ answers are here.
