County Supervisor is a candidate for city manager
SANTA CRUZ >> Santa Cruz County District 3 Supervisor Ryan Coonerty confirmed his candidacy for the open city manager position in Santa Cruz after his interest in the position leaked earlier this month.
Coonerty plans to finish his eightyear tenure as a county supervisor next year. He announced in April his intention to not run for a third supervisor term after his current term expires in November 2022.
However, his desire to leave the upcoming county supervisor bid to a successor was not originally in pursuit of the city manager position, he said. Instead, community leaders, which Coonerty chose to leave anonymous, urged him to apply for the position.
“This was not on my radar and was a surprise to me and my family that this potential opportunity came up,” he said. “This all happened like a month or two after I announced (not running for reelection.)”
Coonerty has more than 20 years of local government experience. He served eight years on city council and even two terms as the mayor of Santa Cruz. He has also spent the last seven years as the city’s representative on the county board of supervisors.
“The primary thing is this is such a critical moment in the city. There are a number of big decisions and opportunities and challenges,” Coonerty said. “I know the issues and I know the community. I understand what the city needs to do to partner with county and state government. That’s the experience I bring if the council chooses to go with me.”
The city manager position became available after the former city manager Martín Bernal announced his retirement in late February. His final day in the position was Aug. 31 and Water Director Rosemary Menard has filled his absence as the interim city manager.
The search for Bernal’s permanent replacement continued Monday night, during a closed special session of the Santa Cruz City Council. Even if the council had made the decision Monday night, the decision is not expected to be made public until later as there are several administrational steps such as background and
reference checks, according to City Spokesperson Elizabeth Smith.
The final decision on who will fill the position is more than likely to happen
before Coonerty ends his tenure as a county supervisor. If that is the case, Coonerty would have to step down from his supervisor role early.
“Once you are the city manager, you are in an obligation to not engage in partisan politics,” he said.
Gov. Gavin Newsom
would then be in charge of appointing an interim supervisor to fill the seat until the 2022 election. However, Coonerty stated planning ahead like that is still premature. The council still needs to make its decision and the timing for his transition won’t be figured out until that decision is made.
For now, he said he is just thankful for the opportunity.
“I’m honored to be considered for the job. It’s ultimately up to the city council what they think is the best interest of the community,” Coonerty said. “I’m OK with whatever decision they make.”