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Tony Crane, candidate for District 2

Tony Crane is one of five candidates running for the District 2 Santa Cruz County supervisor seat in the March 5, 2024 election. The district includes Aptos, Freedom, Corralitos and parts of Watsonville and Capitola. Read our guides on all the candidates running for District 2.

Tony Crane

Tony Crane (Allison Garcia — Contributed)

Meet Tony Crane

Age: 61.

Residence: In Aptos near Cabrillo College.

Occupation: Mortgage loan officer and general contractor.

Experience: “My most relevant quality is that, until an egregious abuse of power was foisted upon my community, I had no political aspirations.”

Read about Tony Crane’s positions:

Crane on improving roads

Many District 2 residents said county road conditions are bad. How can you get more money for road improvements in District 2? What county roads are your top priorities to fix during your four-year term? 

The county should use money more efficiently and not rely on state or federal grants to improve road conditions, Crane said. “No matter what we do, how we advocate for it, if we don’t use the money efficiently, then we’re not going to manage the problems that we have,” he said.

Many District 2 residents told us they want traffic relief. What can the county supervisors do to reduce traffic and facilitate cycling and walking for District 2 residents? 

“I don’t have any solutions. I don’t know that I have the metrics to understand how we would do it,” Crane said. He recommended limits on market-rate housing development to stem population growth and traffic demands. Crane said the county should not pursue electric passenger rail service.

How can the county supervisors help fund and facilitate more affordable housing? Where in your district would you support more density?

  • The county should reduce the cost of new housing construction, Crane said.
  • A planned housing project at Cabrillo College should have used a more complete environmental review process, he said.

Should the county supervisors help current residents with rent stabilization or rent help? If so, how?

“I don’t know what programs are available, and I don’t know how we can leverage more to help people,” Crane said.

Some District 2 residents said people should have better access to addiction services. How could the county improve its response to people struggling with addiction? 

Crane did not say how the county could improve services for people with addictions. 

Crane alleged that county staff and Encompass Services, a nonprofit that operates Second Story Peer Respite, improperly accepted money from a state grant in 2017 that required the facility to expand to eight beds from six in his Aptos neighborhood. Second Story residents stay for up to two weeks and receive mental health support from peer counselors. 

The expansion would have required a license, a permit request and a public hearing. “They took money that they knew that they couldn’t use and then lied to the public about it to avoid legal scrutiny,” Crane said.

Encompass and county leaders did think they would be able to eventually expand Second Story to eight beds to fulfill the requirements of the grant, said Encompass CEO Monica Martinez. But in 2018, amid community pushback and county budget cuts, Encompass decided not to expand the program and was slated to end it entirely. An anonymous donor then gave Encompass more than $2 million, enabling Encompass to pay back the state grant and continue operating the facility with six beds.

Martinez is a candidate for county supervisor in District 5. She denied allegations of wrongdoing. “Encompass is the most heavily audited nonprofit in the county, given our multiple dozens of public health contracts and dozens of regulatory agencies that we report to,” Martinez said. 

Read about why Tony Crane is running for county supervisor

What local issues affect you that make you want to run for this office?

Crane said his campaign aims to publicize his allegations of illegal and unethical activity by operators of Second Story Peer Respite. The six-bed respite facility is on Estates Drive in Aptos, in the same neighborhood as Crane. “I’m not here tonight to ask for your vote,” Crane said at a Jan. 10 candidate forum. “My goal is to get that information out to the voting public,” he said.

What is your dream for your district?

“Through an ethical and transparent administration, we can establish reasonable growth expectations that will keep our water sustainable, our environment clean and ensure the safety and security of our residents.”

Campaign finances

See campaign contributions to Tony Crane and all local candidates.

Endorsements

Tony Crane’s campaign website does not include endorsements.

Read more about District 2 supervisor candidates

In the March 5 election, voters will choose between Tony Crane and four other candidates for District 2 county supervisor. Read Santa Cruz Local’s Election Guide for the other candidates:

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