Election Guide, Nov. 8, 2022: Capitola City Council

Meet the candidates

On the Nov. 8 ballot, Capitola residents will vote for three of five candidates. Read Santa Cruz Local’s Election Guide for each candidate:

Santa Cruz Local produced a podcast episode about the Capitola City Council race. The episode includes candidate interviews and an explanation of the council’s role.

Background on the Capitola City Council

The Capitola City Council is a five-member elected body that creates city laws, sets the city’s budget and oversees city functions.

The council has the power to:

• Decide where and how much housing gets built in the city’s General Plan.
• Reject or approve programs.
• Allocate money to projects, departments and programs.
• Hire and fire the city manager.
• Propose taxes.

Qualifications

Desirable qualifications for candidates include:

• A willingness to work with other council members to craft policies.
• An ability to understand complex budgets.
• Broad interests: The council’s oversight includes contracts with city employee unions, the police department, planning for growth, and public buildings and parks.

What we heard from voters

In August, Santa Cruz Local talked to about a dozen Capitola residents in interviews and received comments from others in an online survey. Their most common questions and issues were taken to the candidates.

Several Capitola voters said they wanted:

• Safer streets for cycling.
• Better traffic flow around the village and 41st Avenue.
• Candidates’ stances on the rail-trail project through Capitola.
• Candidates’ stances on a potential empty home tax.

In light of state housing-production mandates, Santa Cruz Local also asked candidates where they support denser housing in Capitola and what zoning changes they support.

Read more about Capitola voters’ needs.

—Stephen Baxter and Kara Meyberg Guzman