Time to take a look back, a look ahead
This will be my last column as mayor of Santa Cruz, and I find myself quite conflicted in how to sum up a busy yet complex year. At the start of my term, our community found itself in the depths of COVID-19 waiting for vaccines to be brought online and learning each day how deadly the virus could be.
My immediate support system became my fellow mayors in the county. Together, we learned from our public health experts how to keep our community safe and worked to get our residents vaccinated. We evaluated mask mandates and turned our attention to economic recovery for local families and businesses.
Even while COVID raged, we began to lead our city forward and address the needs that have been persistent for years, including housing, homelessness, climate change, and prosperity for as many residents as possible. I have been proud to serve with colleagues who dived into these challenges and thoughtfully developed policies addressing some of the most intractable issues facing Santa Cruz.
This year we passed, and then our voters passed, the first dedicated Children’s Fund to increase access to our parks and recreation programs and assist families with child care resources. We started our 2030 Climate Change Action Plan and have developed a green jobs approach to economic recovery, and we adopted an adaptation plan for our beaches and West Cliff Drive.
We maintained outdoor eating areas throughout town and listened when our local businesses asked for these to be made permanent. We also made the decision to invest in our water system, knowing climate change and droughts are our new future. Finally we recognized that neighborhood Fire Wise groups provide a key role in the future of keeping neighborhoods safe from wildfire.
During this year, we also passed a new law to address the growing impacts of unmanaged homeless camps in our public spaces. We also recently completed an oversized vehicle law that prohibits use of city streets for long-term stays and
addresses illegal dumping and environmental issues, such as water quality.
These laws were supported by more than a thousand residents who took the time to share their support with the council. Simultaneous with these new laws, five members of the council supported investing in designated safe sleeping sites and case management to assist homeless individuals and families in finding housing. City staff worked with Caltrans to remove the Highways 1 & 9 encampment and have kept that area clear from any encampments.
Homelessness, in my opinion, continues to be the most pressing problem facing the city. This year, our advocacy resulted in a significant award of $14 million from the state to help with homelessness. We will use this funding to get more shelter in place and address impacts of large encampments.
However, true change on homelessness is hampered by many factors outside of the council’s purview. A persistent and litigious set of advocates challenge every attempt to establish meaningful policy that maintains public spaces for everyone and provides services for the most vulnerable in our community. Declining investments in mental health and behavioral health in the the past 50 years nationwide, along with voterbacked changes like Prop 47, have led to the rise of new and complex social issues in towns throughout California.
Big city mayors dealing with tens of thousands of homeless in their cities continue to search for answers from the state, and some have begun to push for legislative reform that focuses on the obligation to shelter those who refuse services and shelter.
Underlying the homeless issue in Santa Cruz is a growing meth, fentanyl and heroin problem that shows itself daily. We have lost many people to these drugs in the past several months. Acting on this very real problem is stymied by California law, decriminalization if you will, but without the proper resources to treat these significant addiction issues.
COVID-19 has reduced the capacity of the jail, and our local judicial system is primarily focused on the most serious crimes. The limited jail space and court time is saved for these serious crimes, and while I do not disagree, we are left with limited options for stemming the tide of the drastic substance abuse issues in Santa Cruz.
Things are not going well here in Santa Cruz, and we need to make change. The recent “bike jacking” of a young Bay View Elementary School student on her way to school should be a wakeup call to our whole community. The man charged with the theft and the bike were found at the large encampment near the river. The 25 parents who showed up in court the following week want change now — they want their kids to be safe. That is not too much to ask of all our local leaders. I will keep working for change in the town I love. Thank you Santa Cruz for letting me serve as your mayor this year.