Justin Cummings defeated Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson in a race for District 3 Santa Cruz County supervisor on the Nov. 8 ballot. (Contributed photos by J. Guevara and Devi Pride Photography)

Santa Cruz County Supervisor, District 3 (vote for 1)

Candidate Total
JUSTIN CUMMINGS 10359 (51.08%)
SHEBREH KALANTARI-JOHNSON 9754 (48.1%)

SANTA CRUZ >> District 3 Santa Cruz County supervisor candidate Justin Cummings defeated Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson in official election results posted Dec. 6.

The District 3 supervisor is elected by voters on the North Coast and most of Santa Cruz. The seat is currently held by Ryan Coonerty. Learn more about the supervisor’s role.

Kalantari-Johnson and Cummings serve on the Santa Cruz City Council.

Where the candidates stand

Santa Cruz Local interviewed and surveyed more than 100 North Coast and Santa Cruz residents this year about what issues they want the District 3 supervisor candidates to address.

Voters’ top priorities were:

  • A need for affordable housing.
  • A need for help with rent.
  • Solutions to homelessness.

Here is where the top vote getters stand on the issues, based on our interviews with the candidates this spring and fall.

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Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson

  • Kalantari-Johnson wants to build housing throughout Santa Cruz County. “I think the City of Santa Cruz and the City of Watsonville really have taken the load of building housing and affordable housing,” she said. Kalantari-Johnson wants to streamline building of accessory dwelling units, also known as in-law units. She mentioned tiny homes as part of her plan. She also said she wants to reform the county planning department so that “we’re making building the right kinds of projects in our community easier.”
  • Kalantari-Johnson said she would prioritize county funding for local rent assistance programs.
  • Kalantari-Johnson supports the county’s three-year plan to address homelessness and the City of Santa Cruz’s homelessness response plan.
  • On the Santa Cruz City Council, Kalantari-Johnson voted in favor of homeless camp limits. In June 2021, the council approved a new law that limits where and when homeless people can camp in the city. The law can be enforced only after a storage center is opened and 150 new safe sleeping spaces are established. Kalantari-Johnson twice voted in favor of the law.
  • Read more about Kalantari-Johnson in Santa Cruz Local’s Election Guide.

Justin Cummings

  • Cummings wants to increase the inclusionary rate for unincorporated Santa Cruz County from 15% to 20%. An inclusionary rate sets the number of affordable housing units that developers are required to build. An inclusionary rate of 20% means that in a new housing complex, 20% of the units must be offered at affordable rents or prices to people with lower incomes.
  • Cummings said he would advocate for state leaders to give the county more money for rent assistance. He would also push for more county money to be spent on rent assistance.
  • Cummings said his first priority to address homelessness would be to aggressively seek state and federal funds for permanent supportive housing.
  • On the Santa Cruz City Council, Cummings voted against homeless camp limits. In June 2021, the council approved a new law that limits where and when homeless people can camp in the city. The law can be enforced only after a storage center is opened and 150 new safe sleeping spaces are established. Cummings twice voted against the law. Cummings said that he voted against it “just based on the fact that this had not been — that there was no transparency around the process and that there hadn’t been a broad community discussion. I was absolutely not going to support it.”
  • Read more about Cummings in Santa Cruz Local’s Election Guide.

Read more about early results:

Measure O

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Kara Meyberg Guzman is the CEO and co-founder of Santa Cruz Local. ​Prior to Santa Cruz Local, she served as the Santa Cruz Sentinel’s managing editor. She has a biology degree from Stanford University and lives in Santa Cruz.