Three seats on the Santa Cruz City Council and mayor are up for reelection this year. (Marcello Hutchinson-Trujillo — Santa Cruz Local file)

Schendledecker, Chen Mills and Krohn all have progressive political backgrounds that diverge from Coonerty’s focus on boosting local businesses, beautifying the city and removing homeless camps.

“When he says that he wants to focus on the middle class because they’re forgotten about, I hear echoes of trickle-down economics,” Schendledecker said. Diverting focus from the concerns of lower-income working class people “does not make our communities on the whole safer, more secure, more stable, better for a business, any of that,” she said.

Chen Mills said she wants to re-introduce more progressive voices into the council chambers, which she said have been largely absent since the 2020 recalls of Krohn and former council member Drew Glover.

“I feel like a machine has sort of been created, a political machine, since the recalls,” she said.

Although she shares beliefs with some of the sitting members of the council, she said she feels the current council lacks representation for a large part of Santa Cruz’s political spectrum. 

“It’s not a good idea to shut out 40% of the community, and that’s what I feel has happened,” she said. “And I think we need to come together and share ideas.”

That process of debate can happen without the kind of interpersonal discord that led to the 2020 recalls, she said, pointing to the recent compromise from city council members to end the city’s contract with Flock Security. “We need people working together from all sides, especially now in the face of this administration,” she said.

Chris Krohn, left, and Drew Glover were recalled from the Santa Cruz City Council in 2020. (Kara Meyberg Guzman — Santa Cruz Local file)

Though filing for most seats ends March 6, prospective candidates for Santa Cruz mayor may file until March 11 because the incumbent, Mayor Fred Keeley, is not running.

Other election updates

• Two races could be determined by Friday, if no candidates emerge to challenge the incumbents: Santa Cruz City Councilmember Renée Golder, who represents lower Westside and part of the UC Santa Cruz campus, and District 3 Santa Cruz County Supervisor Justin Cummings, who represents much of Santa Cruz and the North Coast.
• Community organizer Hector Marin has joined the race for District 4 of the city council, joining incumbent Scott Newsome and challenger Gregory Hyver. The three last faced off for the seat in 2022. In 2024, Marin ran to represent District 2 of the city, and lost to incumbent Sonja Brunner.

In the coming months, Santa Cruz Local will conduct in-depth interviews about incumbents’ records and candidates’ positions. Our voting guides are based on the Peoples Agenda – a list of local issues residents most want candidates to address.

Tell us what we should ask candidates using the form below, or email us at [email protected].

Note: This article was edited to include more information about Chris Krohn’s political background.

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