On March 3, voters in Santa Cruz County District 1 will decide who will represent them on the Board of Supervisors. Incumbent John Leopold faces a challenge from Benjamin Cogan, Mark Esquibel, Donald Kase Kreutz, Manu Koenig and Betsy Riker.
Times Publishing Group, Inc. asked each candidate one question: Leopold, Cogan, Koenig, Esquibel and Riker responded by the deadline; Kreutz did not.
If you are re-elected/elected, what will the next four years look like in terms of change?
Benjamin Cogan
Once I am elected county supervisor, the next four years will be transformational for the people of Santa Cruz.
Benjamin Cogan
The main priority is to address the housing needs of Santa Cruz. The Regional Housing Needs Allocation program has a plan and agenda for more affordable housing with government-funded and subsidized stack-and-pack buildings. While looking at this and providing oversight, I feel this housing won’t be affordable and the rent money may not stay in Santa Cruz. I will work to lover planning department fees and regulations on housing to provide more housing and living accommodations while protecting our property rights. Additionally I would like to reinstate the Citizens Appeals Board to check and balance the Planning Department. This will keep the money and power with the homeowners to strengthen Santa Cruz commerce.
I will work on establishing places for homeless to get on their feet. Possible examples are community gardens, housing camps with work exchange for living, designated RV or camping spots with supervision, restrictions removed for parking RVs or tents on one’s property, supporting volunteers and any new possibilities.
The 5G cellular network has been implemented without thorough health research or our consent. There is also more to it to discover and learn. I will work to inform the public of this new potentially dangerous technology and thwart this rollout.
The next four years, I will be working to bring more community involvement into our democratic process. I will create community by holding monthly dances, information nights, video interviews and informing the public on what will be voted on at each upcoming meeting. I would implement evening supervisor meeting or hearings so feedback can be given at off work hours to promote more community participation.
I am committed to being honest, transparent, fun, with integrity. I stand for clean air, clean water, our freedom, this planet and consent. I see Santa Cruz as a possibility of freedom; being a beacon of light to inspire while protecting our individuality.
Please reach out to me at coganforsuper [email protected] or call 831-200-4022 to connect.
Manu Koenig
You are going to see a steady decrease in the number of people suffering from homelessness on our streets and a reduction in crime and addiction along with it. This change will start slow but accelerate. We will perfect the process for outreach, identification and placement of people who are homeless.
Manu Koenig
By the end of my first term, you will rarely see someone suffering from homelessness on the street and if you do, there will be a county health worker talking to them or you will know how to contact county health to connect with them.
As we find places for people who are ready for help, we will have more law enforcement resources to focus on those that refuse it. Using the Rhode Island model, we will increase “medically assisted treatment” for people in jail with addiction problems and the transition process for them when they are released. We will make sure that the needle exchange program is truly 1:1 and that patients who do receive needles see a healthcare professional so that we can improve their health outcomes. These changes will end Santa Cruz’s reputation as a permissive drug culture.
On housing, we will make the Planning Department customer friendly. You will see a lot more people improving their homes with an ADU, adding a tiny house, or just investing in a new roof and solar panels. You will have friends who are moving into a tiny house somewhere in the county.
There will be several new sustainable community centers with green walls and roofs already constructed or in the works. They will anchor walkable neighborhoods at places like the County Building, Ledyard shipping near 17th and Brommer and Soquel Research Park by 41st and Soquel. They will be places for local employment, housing, and community.
You will see lots more protected bike lanes and people riding e-bikes to get around. My goal is to create 20 miles of new protected bike lanes in my first term. Within four years, a popular initiative to rail bank will have passed and you will finally be able to bike across the Capitola trestle and from the Boardwalk, under East Cliff Drive to Seabright Brewery and across the harbor trestle. You will notice the bus because of its fun new colors. Traffic will be moving better on the highway because of new auxiliary lanes and roundabouts at key intersections.
John Leopold
Over the next four years I will use the experience I have gained as we face some complex challenges and great opportunities.
John Leopold
I will continue listening to the community about developing more affordable housing through the enactment of the Sustainable Santa Cruz County Plan to allow for new housing types and to support increases in residential density along our transit corridors. As we have seen with the recently approved affordable housing and health care project on Captiola Road and the Pleasure Point Plaza project, we can create projects that enhance our neighborhoods. We are already using county-owned land to build housing and we created policies to make it easier for people to build ADUs. When the Plan is fully enacted, it will allow for tiny homes, new mixed-use development and a diversity of housing stock for our community.
To address homelessness, I will expand our efforts to provide subsidies to help people stay in their homes and avoid becoming homeless. Nearly 70% of our homeless population is from Santa Cruz so this will be a critical effort. This year we expanded shelter capacity by over 30% and we will expand these efforts through the creation of new navigation centers in Santa Cruz and Watsonville that can shelter and provide treatment services and day services for hundreds of people. I will partner with school districts and churches that have land to build affordable housing for their staff and others in our community.
Building on the success of Monterey Bay Community Power, I will work with the new County Climate Action Manager, a position that I helped create, to prepare adaption strategies to address the effects of the changing climate, so we are ready for sea level rise and increased fire danger. The Governor has said that there will be a major Resiliency Bond on next November’s ballot, and we are well-positioned to secure new funding to strengthen our infrastructure.
I will continue to work to build programs that increase opportunities for all families. The success of Leo’s Haven at Chanticleer Park, the first fully inclusive park where children of all abilities can play together has highlighted the importance of recreational facilities for all our children. I will work to complete the new Library Annex to meet the educational needs of youth in the mid-county. I will also work to expand the successful Cradle-to-Career program into more schools.
Betsy Riker
I am not running with backing of special interest groups so I will not be beholden to big money but will be representing all of District 1 equally. This has not been the current state of affairs.
Betsy Riker
I will increase affordable housing and improve the ease of use of the Planning Department and I will reduce fees for new housing and “granny units.”
I will make it a priority to bring transportation options for our community into the rail corridor soon and without hefty taxes to our community.
I will promote reduced cost of the Metro tickets and resolve (with consensus) the highway expansion issue.
We have $11 million from the state for the homeless issue that should be spent on addiction/mental illness/homelessness. We should give higher priority to local residents who are having these problems- not transients that have moved here due to Santa Cruz generous services and leniency in law enforcement.
There should be no growth at UC Santa Cruz until housing and water issues have been resolved.
I would like to help change this community so it is always safe around neighborhood and parks. I would like to have bike riders be able to lock their bikes and not have to constantly worry about bike thefts.
Theft, break ins and crime in general have surged in the county over last 10 years and I feel no one is addressing this. I would like to make our community safer for everyone.
We live in an amazing area on Monterey Bay and we should continue to promote our environmental, recycling and education programs and consider entering the Blue Zone Project.
Mark Esquibel
If I’m elected I will address Hwy 1 gridlock and the lack of resources for infrastructure and roads. My second priority is public health and safety which would be addressing the Needle Exchange Program and the threat it poses to our community on a daily basis.
Mark Esquibel
Homelessness and the mental health crisis that is apparent everywhere from veterans, like my dad who is a Decorated Vietnam Veteran, to the individuals that need a hand up due to rising costs of housing and taxes.
Including drugs and drug addicts who are taking advantage of the system and lessening the moral fabric of our society. I fully oppose Measure R and the 30-year tax bond that will be imposed on homeowners, affecting our seniors and anyone on a fixed income as well as affecting the rental prices in our community. We need a more comprehensive and conservative approach to our budget and the pension of our First Responders and county workers.
The fact that we are discussing a fiscal budget crisis and possible lack of funding for pensions is irresponsible and unacceptable to me, a true local who was born and raised in this community and has attended every school in the District. Everybody agrees that we need more affordable housing but no one is talking about the water and power infrastructure needed for these homes or the associated cost.
We need to have a comprehensive plan that addresses these three options:
- Size of Loch Lomond
- Recovering our water
- Desal or waste water treatment
I fully oppose the Rail/Trail option and I am for Trail only. We are an active community that does not need a railroad log jamming the beach community when we already have a log jam on our highways. I lived here when the train used to lock up every intersection from the boardwalk to Aptos. If you think getting your children to school now, wait until you have a train blocking you for half an hour.