Made up of seven locally elected representatives, the Santa Cruz City Council is the official legislative and policy-making body in town. City on a Hill Press asked the council members about the questions and concerns facing Santa Cruz residents, both in the city and on campus, and their goals being part of the council. Here’s what they had to say:
Mayor Donna Meyers
2018 – Present
Occupation: Executive Director/General Manager of the Salinas Valley Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency.
CHP: Discuss the housing issues in Santa Cruz. What should students know about the Santa Cruz housing situation that may help them in the future?
DM: Santa Cruz has both a housing shortage and a housing affordability issue. We have to, and are, actively pursuing building additional housing in Downtown but that will be a ways off. I think this is a joint dilemma facing both students and residents, and an issue that so many people struggle with here in Santa Cruz. Unfortunately, this issue will take a long time to make progress.
CHP: It’s been almost a year and a half since many returning students last stepped foot on campus and numerous incoming students will get their first taste of life in Santa Cruz. How can they make the most of it?
DM: Students should take advantage of what a fun town Santa Cruz is. There is a lot of music and art here, great local stores to explore, beautiful open spaces, the beach and ocean, and lots of fun events throughout the year. Hopefully, students can find some places they enjoy while they are here in Santa Cruz!
Vice Mayor Sonja Brunner
2020 – Present
Occupation: Director of Operations of the Downtown Association of Santa Cruz
Vice Mayor Brunner was not available for comment at the time of publication. For more on Brunner’s goals on City Council, you can watch CHPNow’s interview with her when she was a candidate.
Sandy Brown
2016 – Present
Occupation: Professor at San Jose State University
CHP: What policies/initiatives are you advocating for as a council member that benefit the UCSC population?
SB: Getting affordable housing actually built. It’s horrible what students are facing in this insane housing market. We lived in overcrowded units, garages, and attics. We should be partnering with UCSC to help deliver truly affordable housing. I sit on the ActOnUCGrowth City-County Task Force that’s working to make UCSC commit to providing the infrastructure and resources for students need to thrive in their academic and personal lives. I hope to use this as an opportunity to push the conversation about the lack of affordability, in addition to the limited supply, of on-campus housing. Lastly, and most importantly, I want to hear from students about how the city can better support their interests within the context of city government.
Justin Cummings
2018 – Present
Occupation(s): Environmental Sensor Technician and Drone Operator. Previously, co-founder and founding program director of the UCSC Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program
CHP: What policies/initiatives are you advocating for as a council member that benefit the UCSC population?
JC: I have advocated for and championed working with law enforcement and the community to bring forward 24 changes to police policy to reduce the use of force and increase accountability, like banning the use of predictive policing and facial recognition. I also worked to increase the affordable housing percentage requirement in development to 20 percent, worked to help get resources to struggling families during the pandemic — such as eviction protections for commercial and residential tenants — and worked with the community and the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band to remove the El Camino Real Mission Bells throughout the City of Santa Cruz. Currently, I am working on bringing forward an item to help address parking issues in the Beach Flats Community and an item that would impose a fee that would help fund affordable housing on commercial projects built in Santa Cruz.
Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson
2020 – Present
Occupation(s): Grant Writer, Social Consultant
CHP: What motivated you to get involved with local government? What are your goals on City Council?
SKJ: I’ve been working on issues that impact our community’s well-being for the last 15 years — youth substance use prevention, immigration rights, juvenile justice reform, — just to name a few. When COVID devastated our community, I wanted to step in and bring my public health skills and my ability to build consensus into our city governance. I knew that new opportunities would present themselves and I wanted to be in a space where I can contribute most. There are many issues that I care about that I have and will continue to work on, so I won’t name them all here. But a couple of them include our city’s response to individuals who are unhoused, youth leadership and green workforce development, and racial equity internally and externally, and COVID recovery.
Renee Golder
2020 – Present
Occupation: Elementary School Principal
CHP: Discuss the housing issues in Santa Cruz. What should students know about the Santa Cruz housing situation that may help them in the future?
RG: I hope students understand before moving here that Santa Cruz is a very expensive place to live, so they have realistic expectations in looking for homes. Unfortunately, due to lack of development, years of drought, and the high cost to build here, the cost of homes and rent are high. We are working as a council to address affordable housing for low and very low-income populations but waitlists are very long and the current supply is pretty low. Students should research market-rate housing and expect to have to pay that during their years living in Santa Cruz.
Martine Watkins
2016 – Present
Occupation: Education Community Organizer
CHP: What is the most important and urgent issue that the Santa Cruz community faces? How are you and the council working to address this issue?
MW: Certainly the impact of the pandemic, fires and other environmental threats, housing and homelessness, and maintaining our critical infrastructure with limited financial resources. Also, continuing to advance policies using equity, health, and sustainability as a lens for decision-making. We successfully lobbied the state to get direct funding ($14 million) for homeless infrastructure, working to bring more affordable housing online and building recovery efforts rooted in equity, health, and resilience. In general, I believe that we as a council share a commitment to be in action — learning and continuously refining our approach for continuous improvement.
