2020 Primary Election: Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz County Voter Guide

SANTA CRUZ, CA — With some 160,000 Santa Cruz County voters registered ahead of the 2020 Presidential Primary Election Day on Tuesday, March 3, Santa Cruz voters are poised to decide on a recall of two city councilmembers, vote for school bond measures, and vote for candidates running in county, state and federal races.

Much of the county will have already received their vote by mail ballots. Nearly seven in ten Santa Cruz County voters were signed up to vote by mail last week, county records showed.

Still need to drop off your absentee ballot? A list of Santa Cruz ballot drop-off locations can be found here.

Voting the old-fashioned way, in person at a polling place? A list of Santa Cruz precincts can be found here.

Still have questions about Election Day protocol? Call county elections staff at 831-454-2060 and get more information about candidates, precincts, ballots and more at its website.

Here's a look at what Santa Cruz voters can expect to see on their ballots, from most to least local:

Measure R

Measure R seeks to authorize $274.1 million in bonds for upgrades and modernization at Cabrillo Community College. Money would go toward techology and job training too.

It would result in a $19 tax per $100,000 of assessed value for property owners.

Read more here from San Benito County, which is also part of the Cabrillo Community College District.

Measure T

Measure T would renew the expiring $110 per parcel annual tax to benefit various Santa Cruz City High School District programs such as career technical education, athletic programs and counseling to provide an annual $3.7 million in annual local school funding, according to Ballotpedia.

Read more here.

Measure U

Measure U seeks to renew the expiring Santa Cruz City Elementary School/Santa Cruz City High School District's expiring $208 per parcel annual tax, to provide $3.2 million in annual local school funding, according to Ballotpedia.

Read more here.

Measure W

Measure W would change how the city is allowed to pursue public construction projects. The city currently contracts with different companies to design a project and move forward with construction. The lowest bidders are selected.

Measure W seeks to allow the city to use a so-called best value approach to award one contract for all steps based on the best value, which could include price, anticipated project completion time, according to an analysis from the city attorney's office.

Read more here.

Measure X

Measure X would ensure that the Santa Cruz City Schools District Board of Trustees are elected by district.

The change was in response to a lawsuit against the district under the California Voting Rights Act, the city attorney wrote in an analysis. The lawsuit argued that the city's at-large system had resulted in inadequate minority representation. The city settled.

Read more here.

Santa Cruz City Council Recall Effort

Recall petitions for Councilmembers Drew Glover and Christopher Krohn were filed in June and both are up for recall this election. Petitioners took issue with their efforts to keep open the Ross Camp, create permanent homeless encampments in residential areas and more.

If voters decide to recall Glover, Tim Fitzmaurice and Renée Golder are in the running to replace him.

If voters decide to recall Krohn, Done Lane and Katherine Beibers are in the running to replace him.

Santa Cruz County Supervisor, District 1

Incumbent John Leopold will fend off five challengers seeking to represent the district encompassing a small portion of the northern stretches of Santa Cruz, plus Live Oak, Soquel and rural regions to the north.

Betsy Riker, Benjamin Cogan, Mark Esquibel, Donald "Kase" Kreutz and Manu Koenig are also seeking to represent the region.

Santa Cruz County Supervisor, District 5

Bruce McPherson is the lone candidate running to represent the district encompassing a small portion of Santa Cruz, most of Scotts Valley and the San Lorenzo Valley.

Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge

Annrae Angel, Nancy De La Peña and Jack Gordon are vying for a seat on the Santa Cruz County Superior Court bench.

California State Assembly, District 29

Incumbent and Democrat Mark Stone, and Republican challenger Shomir Banerjee are the only candidates vying to represent the district that includes much of coastal Santa Cruz and Monterey counties.

California State Senate, District 17

Four candidates are running to represent the district that includes all of Santa Cruz and San Luis Obispo counties, plus parts of Monterey and Santa Clara counties.

Incumbent Sen. Bill Monning did not file for re-election, but Democrats John Laird, Maria Cadenas and John M. Nevill will compete in the primary. Republican Vicki Nohrden is also running to represent the seat.

Proposition 13

This $15 billion state bond issue seeks to raise money for infrastructural projects at schools, community colleges and universities, and limit districts' abilities to impose developer fees.

Bond costs are estimated at a total of $740 million per year for the next 35 years, for a total of $25.6 billion.

Read the text of Prop 13 here. Read a summary from the Legislative Analyst's Office here.

U.S. Representative, District 20

Three candidates are running to represent the district that covers part of Santa Cruz County, part of Santa Clara County, and all of Monterey and San Benito Counties. District 20 includes most of urban Santa Cruz County and excludes much of the Santa Cruz Mountains and communities such as Davenport, part of Scotts Valley, Boulder Creek and Ben Lomond.

Incumbent and Democrat Jimmy Panetta is facing off against fellow Democrat Adam Bolaños Scow. Republican Jeff Gorman is also vying for the seat.

Stay tuned to Patch as Election Day votes are counted in Santa Cruz County and throughout California.