SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—As the June 7 election day draws near, voters are filling out their mail-in ballots, or are planning to make their selections via one of the several ways the Santa Cruz County Clerk has set up.
This includes possibly keeping incumbent Gov. Gavin Newsom in office—or replacing him with one of the 13 Republicans, two Green Party candidates, two Democrats and seven listed as Independent.
Voters will also decide on various measures, including increases to the county’s Transient Occupancy Tax and ways to split the fee for disposable cups.
And then there is Measure D, which could reshape the county’s plans for its rail line, and which has divided the county along ideological lines, between those who want only a bicycle and pedestrian path and those who hope for a passenger rail in the future.
Also up for grabs are seats on the 29th and 30th Assembly districts, and on the Third and Fourth districts on the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors.
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Assembly, 29th District
Includes Monterey, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties.
Republican Stephanie Castro taught elementary and high school students beginning in 2014, a career she says ended when the pandemic began in 2020.
She organized the March for Freedom Rally in Hollister in December 2020, and gathered signatures for efforts to recall Newsom. She also started the San Benito Patriots group.
Democrat Robert Rivas has held the position since he was elected in 2018.
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Assembly, 30th District
Covers Monterey, Santa Cruz, Santa Clara and San Benito counties.
Democrats Jon Wizard, John Drake and Dawn Addis, along with Republican Vicki Nohrden, and moderate Zoë Carter, are vying to fill the seat in this district, which was reshaped after the redistricting that followed the 2020 Census. Mark Stone, who serves the district currently, is not running for reelection.
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Measure B — Transient Occupancy Tax increase
If approved, this measure would increase the Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) hotels and vacation rentals in unincorporated areas of the county charge their guests from 12% to 14%.
County officials say the increase would raise an estimated $2.3 million annually, and help fill a $301 million budget gap for unfunded projects, as well as $29 million from recent storm response and roughly $44 million for homeless services programs.
The revenue also funds wildfire prevention and response, street repair and public health services.
The last increase was in 2012, when the TOT increased from 9.5 to 11%.
Measure C — Changes to disposable cup fee revenue
When the 25-cent fee for disposable cups at food establishments in the unincorporated parts of the county was approved in 2019, the businesses were slated to receive the entire amount.
The Board of Supervisors heeded calls by environmentalists to help reduce waste and plastic pollution, and to encourage consumers to use reusable cups.
If this passes, the fee would be split evenly between the businesses and the county, which stands to gain an estimated $700,000 annually.
That revenue would fund areas such as water quality, public health, marine life, in addition to public education and other general services.
Measure D — Rail-Trail vs. Trail only
Also called the “Santa Cruz County Greenway Initiative,” this measure would change the county’s General Plan to include the development of a multi-use bicycle and pedestrian trail between the San Lorenzo Bridge in Santa Cruz and Lee Road in Watsonville. It would also include the removal of the existing rail tracks, and possibly “railbanking” the existing rail line for future use.
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Supervisor, Fourth District
Covers much of unincorporated Watsonville, and parts of the Santa Cruz Mountains
Ed Acosta, Jimmy Dutra and Felipe Hernandez are running for the seat–currently occupied by Greg Caput.
Hernandez served on the Watsonville City Council for nine years, including a stint as mayor. He now sits on the Cabrillo College Board of Trustees.
Acosta holds a seat on the Santa Cruz County Office of Education Board of Trustees, and on the Watsonville Planning Commission.
Dutra sits on the Watsonville City Council, and served as mayor last year. He is also a teacher with the after-school program at Lakeview Middle School.
