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Three candidates are running for District 4 Santa Cruz County supervisor in the June 2 election. (Nik Altenberg — Santa Cruz Local file)

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY >> The June 2 primary election includes races that will impact how local governments in Santa Cruz County spend money and address top issues like housing, homelessness and road safety.

Santa Cruz Local’s voter guide has details about how and when to vote, plus candidates’ views. Read on for a brief overview.

Santa Cruz Mayor

What it is: Along with city council members, the mayor makes decisions about city spending, homelessness and housing policies, plus other issues. The mayor works with city staff to determine if and when the council addresses certain issues. The seat can also serve as a “bully pulpit” for leaders to advocate for policies to county or state officials.

Who’s running: There are five mayoral candidates:

Ami Chen Mills, UC Santa Cruz educator and anti-surveillance activist.
Ryan Coonerty, former Santa Cruz mayor and former Santa Cruz County Supervisor, advisor to San José mayor.
Gillian Greensite, environmental activist and retired UC Santa Cruz educator.
Chris Krohn, former Santa Cruz mayor and city council member, UC Santa Cruz internship manager.
Joy Schendledecker, community organizer and homeless shelter worker.

If no candidate earns more than 50% of the vote on June 2, the top two will face a runoff in the November general election.

What they think: Read the full guide for more details on candidates’ positions, plus views on road safety, civic engagement and racial equity.

santa-cruz-mayor-comparison-june-2-2026-election

Santa Cruz City Council, District 4

What it is: The city council makes decisions about city spending, homelessness and housing policies and other issues. This seat represents Downtown and Beach Flats.

Who’s running: Incumbent City Councilmember Scott Newsome is running for reelection, challenged by community organizer Hector Marin.

What they think: Read the full guide for more details on candidates’ positions.

Issue	Scott Newsome	Hector Marin
What would you do to address the housing affordability crisis?	Ensure buildings with expiring rent restrictions stay affordable. Direct money to eviction protection programs.	Reduce the annual allowable rent hike. Create a city office to mediate conflicts between renters and landlords.
What would you do to address the acceleration of housing developments?	Change local housing policies to accommodate neighbor feedback, within limits of the law. Continue affordable housing development.	Hold more community town halls with developers and neighbors. Protect downtown venues with historic value.
What policies would you try to enact in regard to homelessness?	Increase shelter capacity. Ensure access to homeless day services.	Replace homeless day services and create a year-round warming center. Consider new business taxes to pay for homelessness services. Increase enforcement of camping ban.
How would you address road safety?	Focus transportation funding on improvements for bikes and pedestrians. Create a dedicated fund for street safety improvements.	Advocate for expanded and improved roads throughout District 4, particularly in Beach Flats. Create a pilot program to close Pacific Avenue to cars on Saturday nights.
What would you do to spur more public engagement?	Continue responding to constituent emails and calls. Hold town halls if residents request them.	Hold regular town halls and community events like block parties.
How would you address racial equity and inclusion?	Continue routing federal money towards a community center in Beach Flats. Continue encouraging diverse applicants to city advisory boards.	Advocate for a fund to combat disinvestment in the Beach Flats neighborhood. Connect with Spanish-speaking constituents.

Santa Cruz City Council, District 6

What it is: The city council makes decisions about city spending, homelessness and housing policies and other issues. This seat represents much of Westside and part of the UC Santa Cruz campus.

Who’s running: Incumbent City Councilmember Renee Golder is running for reelection, challenged by graduating UC Santa Cruz student Gabriella Noack.

What they think: Read the full guide for more details on candidates’ positions.

Issue	Renee Golder	Gabriella Noack
What would you do to address the housing affordability crisis?	Encourage owners of apartment buildings to convert units into condominiums. Maintain the current level of support already available for renters.	Establish an elected rent board to enforce tenant protections. Grant people undergoing eviction the right to legal counsel. Consider tax initiatives to fund housing subsidies.
What would you do to address the acceleration of housing developments?	Urge the state to pause changes to building codes. Build denser housing downtown while preserving single-family neighborhoods.	Open single-family lots to duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes. Tax breaks for affordable housing. Encourage fewer large market-rate buildings.
What policies would you try to enact in regard to homelessness?	Offer “a carrot and a stick” approach, offering shelter to those who need it and enforcing consequences for those who refuse. Mandate treatment for people with substance use disorder or serious mental illness.	Stop encampment sweeps. Open more shelters. Incentivize a higher minimum wage.
How would you address road safety?	Continue progress on creating more bike lanes and other street improvements. Consider long-term plans for traffic circles on Soquel Avenue.	Pay wheelchair users, cyclists and pedestrians to identify safety concerns. Create distributed, rather than dense, housing development.
What would you do to spur more public engagement?	Continue holding town halls and responding to emails and phone calls.	Use open source technology for more residents to share opinions and ideas.
How would you address racial equity and inclusion?	Continue ensuring equity in city recreation programs.	Partner with organizations led by people of color like Barrios Unidos.

Santa Cruz County Supervisor, District 4

What it is: The five-member Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors controls county spending and makes policy for county-wide programs like health clinics and disaster response. In areas outside of cities, they also oversee municipal affairs like road repairs and housing development.

Who’s running: Incumbent Felipe Hernandez is running for reelection, challenged by community organizer Elias Gonzales and nonprofit professional Tony Nuñez.

If no candidate earns more than 50% of the vote, the top two will face a runoff in the November general election.

What they think: Read the full guide for more details on candidates’ positions.

How would you...	Gonzales	Hernandez	Nuñez
Improve economic development and expand public assistance?	Allocate more money for rental and utility assistance. Make applying for public assistance easier. Provide outreach in Spanish and Indigenous languages. Audit county contracts with local nonprofits.	Share South County sales taxes with Watsonville for downtown development. Create areas for business tax breaks in Watsonville. Continue to support tenant legal assistance.	Allow people to get help from nonprofit and county programs simultaneously. Offer loans to local small businesses to open shops. Try to site a future UC Santa Cruz medical school in Pajaro Valley.
Address wage theft from farmworkers?	Fund nonprofits for outreach and legal assistance Build relationships with growers and state regulators.	Encourage the county’s agricultural commissioner to work more closely with state regulators. Ban contracts with companies with a history of wage theft.	Expand support for legal aid. Uplift employers who follow regulations. Consider a pilot program to help train more legal aid providers.
Increase affordable housing?	Build affordable housing on county land. Find ways to reduce construction costs and give incentives to affordable housing developers.	Prioritize locals for affordable housing. Streamline affordable and workforce housing. Encourage for-sale homes and condos.	Build affordable housing on county land. Encourage medium-density and farmworker housing. Find partners to jointly fund affordable housing.
Address high rents and prevent displacement?	Prevent investors from buying up houses. Strengthen rent stabilization and eviction protections. Give tenants the right to legal counsel.	Give more funding for rental assistance using money from a proposed sales tax hike.	Help families free up money for rent by expanding access to free or low-cost child care.
Expand health care access?	Expand clinic capacity and reduce costs. Focus on access to preventative care to prevent more costly care.	Use a proposed sales tax hike to fund more county health care. Partner with clinics and hospitals to encourage sign ups for MediCruz.	Use a proposed sales tax hike to fund more county health care. Ensure those eligible keep Medi-Cal. Partner with private health care providers.
Increase youth recreation options?	Fund programs like apprenticeships and art classes. Pay schools for public access to fields. Improve beach access.	Plan a new community center and pool. Share sales tax money with Watsonville to bring new youth-serving businesses.	Incentivize schools to open fields to the public. Give youth-serving small startup loans.
Cut the county budget, if needed?	Audit city spending. Reallocate some Sheriff money. Put off non-essential construction projects.	Require department heads to identify cuts. Raise money with economic development and a higher hotel tax.	Put off deep cuts, even if it requires drawing down reserves. Create a multi-year plan to fill budget gaps.

Editor’s note: This story was updated to correct the name of the incumbent in the District 4 Santa Cruz County Supervisor race.

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