A City Divided

With logical, legal, emotional and even personal appeals, Scotts Valley residents and city officials threw all they had against the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors to prevent redistricting from dividing Scotts Valley between two supervisorial districts.

But the result was a unanimous vote Tuesday afternoon in favor of doing just that, when supervisors approved a plan that divides Scotts Valley between District Five and District One, with Highway 17 as the dividing line.

“It is disappointing but not surprising,” Scotts Valley Mayor Dene Bustichi said of Tuesday's decision.

Prior to the vote, Scotts Valley City Councilman Jim Reed used a sports analogy to describe the effort to keep Scotts Valley united in a single district, regardless of the outcome.

“We know we left everything on the field,” Reed said.

But Reed and other city officials did not sound content to let the game end with Tuesday’s vote. At Wednesday night’s City Council meeting, Scotts Valley will consider available options to challenge redistricting, including filing a lawsuit or a referendum—a much more radical tactic.

“It would blow up all the districts,” Bustichi said.  

While the Scotts Valley City Council explores its options, Councilman Reed echoed Bustichi’s disappointment in the vote, which he characterized as a move that would marginalize Scotts Valley residents' influence in Santa Cruz County issues.

“Scotts Valley has a small voice, but it’s united,” Reed said.

Reed, Bustichi and Councilman Randy Johnson were also united in voicing their displeasure with District Five Supervisor Mark Stone.

“He’s done very little for the city of Scotts Valley,” Bustichi said.

Addressing those in attendance at the meeting, Stone said he understood the emotions involved in splitting Scotts Valley between two districts, but he said he believed the redistricting did not carry with it any real effects to Scotts Valley as a community. He also reiterated that he felt that having two supervisors to represent the city was more advantageous than just having one.