Santa Cruz Local’s guide to the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors election
In the March 5 election, voters will choose from Santa Cruz County supervisor candidates in Districts 1, 2 and 5. Find nonpartisan information about the candidates below.
District 1 Santa Cruz County supervisor candidates
The District 1 Santa Cruz County supervisor seat is up for election. District 1 includes Live Oak, Soquel and parts of Capitola. Read more about District 1.
District 1 voters will choose between Lani Faulkner and incumbent Manu Koenig. Read about how the candidates differ on key issues.
Read Santa Cruz Local’s guide for each candidate:
District 2 Santa Cruz County supervisor candidates
The District 2 Santa Cruz County supervisor seat is up for election. District 2 includes Aptos, Freedom, Corralitos and parts of Watsonville and Capitola. Read more about District 2.
District 2 voters will choose between Kristen Brown, Anthony Crane, Kim De Serpa, Bruce Jaffe and David Schwartz. Read about how the candidates differ on key issues.
Read Santa Cruz Local’s guide for each candidate:
District 5 Santa Cruz County supervisor candidates
The District 5 supervisor seat is up for election. District 5 straddles Highway 9 and includes Boulder Creek, Brookdale, Ben Lomond, Felton, Scotts Valley, part of Santa Cruz and some areas near Summit Road.
District 5 voters will choose between Theresa Ann Bond, Christopher Bradford, Tom Decker and Monica Martinez. Read about how the candidates differ on key issues.
Read Santa Cruz Local’s guide for each candidate:
Background on the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors
The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors includes five members. The board create laws for unincorporated county areas, sets the county budget and oversees many state functions. Supervisors serve four-year terms with an annual salary of $143,328 excluding benefits.
The supervisors oversee:
- County roads.
- County fire protection.
- Public health.
- County law enforcement: Sheriff’s Office, jails, probation.
- District Attorney’s office, public defender.
- Handles most federal, state money to county.
- Building and environmental services.
- County parks.
- Assistance with food, shelter.
The board typically makes policies for the unincorporated areas of the county. However, they can coordinate with cities for countywide policies such as for homelessness. Roles include:
- Planning for new construction and land use in unincorporated county areas.
- Advocate and plan for parks and recreation facilities.
- Response to emergencies.
- Homeless services.
- Housing policies including vacation rentals, affordable housing.
- Parking permits.
Map of supervisor districts in Santa Cruz County
The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors is composed of five supervisors representing five districts. You can find high-resolution maps of each district on the county’s website. You can also look up which district you live in by your address.
