Lookout endorses Manu Koenig for District 1 Santa Cruz County supervisor. We think he has the experience, record, judgment and is the right leader for the moment.
March 5 primary 2024
Coverage of the March 5, 2024, primary election.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
A Lookout View: No on Measure M — we don’t want new barriers to much-needed housing
Measure M has clearly hit a nerve in our community and has become the most contentious initiative on the March 5 ballot. While we applaud efforts to bring more transparency to the often-confusing process of approving affordable units – and believe Santa Cruz owes its voters that – we believe M would likely just further slow the construction of badly needed housing in one of the least affordable markets in the country.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Candidates filed their final pre-election campaign finance disclosures of 2024. This is what they show.
A look at the financial disclosures from candidates for Santa Cruz County supervisor and Santa Cruz City Council and for proponents and opponents of Santa Cruz ballot initiative Measure M.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Potholes, housing and a crumbling coast: District 2’s next supervisor will confront Santa Cruz County’s biggest issues
Santa Cruz County’s District 2 lays claim to manifold identities: Behind eroding bluffs and expensive beachfront properties sits the more suburban Aptos and its main corridor of Soquel Drive. Those who trek farther inland are greeted by rural tracts of apple orchards and berry farms. The district’s geographic and economic diversity has also placed it at the forefront of some of the county’s most pressing challenges. All this awaits a new county supervisor, with five candidates on the March ballot to replace Zach Friend.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
California’s U.S. Senate contenders make their final debate arguments
It was their last chance to critique each other on live television, but some of California’s four top U.S. Senate candidates took more advantage than others Tuesday night.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Vote yes on N for a healthier, more equitable Pajaro Valley and support for Watsonville Community Hospital
Pajaro Valley community leaders explain the benefits of Measure N, which would increase property taxes modestly to raise $116 million for Watsonville Community Hospital.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Letter to the editor: We deserve more from Lookout political reporting
I’m quite dismayed at the way Chris Neely characterized the District 1 County Supervisor’s race in his February 12 article. He said: “Exactly where the candidates in the District 1 county supervisor race disagree on policy issues is less obvious than the fact that incumbent Manu Koenig and challenger Lani Faulkner clearly just don’t like one another.” […]
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Letter to the editor: Measure M is needed to keep the ‘Amen Chorus’ in check
Some of the op-eds in Lookout have been deceitful in their opposition to Measure M. One author complains about this measure being penned by the usual suspects and in secret. We’ve heard this before. Let me clearly define the kind of person behind this measure. He is a fellow Veterans For Peace member, and his post-traumatic […]
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Letter to the editor: Measure M would hamstring democracy
In our representative democracy, we elect leaders who we believe will broadly support our wishes and values, and then let those elected representatives make the multitude of individual choices on our behalf. Approving projects, changing zoning and making updates to the City of Santa Cruz’s general plan can only work effectively when done through regular […]
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Letter to the editor: Let’s not add new taxes — no on K and L
I have to disagree with Mike Rotkin’s view that raising sales taxes in both the city and county of Santa Cruz is “the right thing to do” and “makes sense.” It absolutely is not and does not. The reasoning for the tax hikes are to fund the “fight against homeless” and to have funds to […]