Our choices on candidates
On Monday, we presented our recommendations on local ballot measures. Today, our choices on local and regional candidates:
Santa Cruz County Supervisor, Third District: Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson.
The likely choice from a majority of voters will be either Justin Cummings or Kalantari-Johnson, as both have high recognition by already serving on the Santa Cruz City Council. Local advocate Ami Chen Mills is a third candidate on the ballot. The eventual winner will replace retiring incumbent Ryan Coonerty on the board; Coonerty has endorsed Kalantari-Johnson, and for good reason. Her track record on the City Council, while relatively short, shows a willingness to take on tough issues with an independent and moderate approach needed for 2022 issues such as homelessness and getting more housing on line. Her experience in public health and human services also would prove valuable on the Board of Supervisors, where funding and delivering these services has become a primary function. With three candidates in the race, this could go to a top-two runoff in November.
Santa Cruz County Supervisor, Fourth District: Jimmy Dutra.
Dutra's communication skills, his performance as a mayor and council member and his growth as a candidate all make him the most viable of the three candidates (former Councilmember Felipe Hernandez and Ag Manager Ed Acosta are also on the ballot) to replace retiring incumbent Greg Caput. And his vow that Watsonville and the Pajaro Valley will have a greater voice in supervisorial decisions and policies is not just empty rhetoric, as evidenced by his strong advocacy for the region during his years on the council.
District 28 Assembly: Gail Pellerin.
In this newly drawn district that stretches into Santa Clara County, former Santa Cruz County Clerk Pellerin, a Democrat, stands out among the four candidates, with an impressive record as an impartial and independent leader in voting rights, the state's mental health crisis, gender equity, along with experience working with state organizations and agencies. She's also endorsed by retiring Assemblyman Mark Stone.
District 29 Assembly: Robert Rivas.
A strong advocate for agriculture, farmworker rights and environmental reforms, Rivas, a Democrat, has said on social media he is in line to become the next state Assembly speaker.
District 30 Assembly: Jon Wizard.
In this newly drawn district that includes Mid- and South County coastal areas, none of the candidates lives or has much of a track record in Santa Cruz County. Our reluctant choice is Seaside City Councilman Wizard, a Democrat, who has a proven record dealing with thorny regional housing issues, although some voters may be turned off that in 2020, during post-George Floyd Black Lives Matters protests, he called for cutting the Seaside Police Department's budget. Morro Bay City Councilmember Dawn Addis has considerable support from the Democratic party and is also an acceptable choice.
Congress, 19th District: Jimmy Panetta.
Panetta, D-Monterey, has been an effective congressman, and has consistently showed up on local issues and been available to local constituents.
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As we noted previously in this space, we are not making recommendations in state races. Many of these have incumbents running either unopposed or against token opposition — including the governor's race, where Gov. Gavin Newsom essentially won reelection resoundingly when an attempt to recall him from office failed miserably at the ballot box last fall.
But the campaign for one state office bears watching — Attorney General. While we are not making a recommendation, we share the concern of many Californians that the pendulum has shifted too far in one direction toward so-called “progressive” criminal justice policies. Concerns about rising crime are behind the recall election of San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin and the ongoing effort to recall Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón.
These concerns could prove problematic for current Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat, who is opposed in the June 7 primary by Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert, a longtime Republican who re-registered as an independent in 2018, and vows to be tougher on crime. Dozens of law enforcement and corrections organizations are backing her, along with the majority of California's 58 district attorneys. But with Republican Nathan Hochman also on the ballot, this could be a race for second place to face off against Bonta in November.