Small Skirmish in War on Women At County Board of Supes Meeting

The "war on women" came to Santa Cruz yesterday in advance of International Women’s Day.  A small skirmish broke out in the County Board of Supervisors chamber over a motion made by the lone women on the Board, Ellen Pririe.

Despite twice having voted unanimously to endorse the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in 1995 and again in 2005 the Board could not get unanimous support for a rather harmless motion intended to remove obstacles that may exist for women and girls in accessing county services.  

Pririe’s motion was to direct various County departments to work with the County Women’s Commission to develop a survey to identify gaps in data collection and other practices that could lead to gender inequities in County services and funding decisions and to develop training for department heads to help them better understand how the choices they make may influence gender inequities.

The Board’s consideration of the proposal stems from a recent report by  the County Women’s Commission on the Status of Women and Girls in Santa Cruz County (SOWAG) that found that a failure to gather and disaggregate data by gender has an adverse affect on addressing gender  inequities which were identified in a number of areas.

Supervisor Greg Caput, who represents south county, opposed the motion on the grounds that CEDAW was mentioned in the letter presented to the Board by members John Leopold and Mark Stone in support of the proposed action.  Caput claimed that his objection was to using an international treaty as a “template” for the study.  

Women’s Commissioner from the 5th District, Sheila De Lany, a Boulder Creek jeweler, spoke in favor of the motion and was asked by Caput why the U.S. Senate has yet to ratify the treaty signed by President Carter.  After providing a short lesson in Senate rules De Lany pointed out that the U.S was among seven countries including of Iran, Somalia, and Sudan who have not yet ratified the treaty.

Supervisors Pririe, Stone and Leopold all took their turns trying to assure Supervisor Caput that the County was not entering into any foreign treaties to no avail.  Ultimately the Board voted 4-1 to approve the motion.

After casting the lone vote against the motion, Caput told Sentinel reporter Jason Hoppins that  as a pro-life Catholic he objects to language in the treaty supporting womens' access to abortions.  Apparently Caput objects to Article 12 which reads: “States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the field of health care in order to ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women, access to health care services, including those related to family planning.”

The fact that the County will proceed with steps intended to eliminate discrimination against women in their practices and funding decisions is to be commended, however, the fact that in 2012, in Santa Cruz County, there is one member of the Board who opposes such efforts should be a wake up call, particularly as we contemplate who will be on the Board in 2013.

Republicans Look To Take Over Control of County

The “Keep Santa Cruz Weird” slogan may soon take on an altogether new meaning. How weird would it be if one of the most liberal counties in California and hence the free world, wound up being governed by a Board of Supervisors, the majority of whom were Republicans?

On June 6th 2012, a little over five months from now, there is a chance that local residents could wake up to learn that control of Santa Cruz County’s chief governing body would pass to the conservatives beginning in 2013. That’s because on June 5th, 2012, during the Presidential primary election, three of the five seats on the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors will be contested. If any candidate gets 50% + 1 vote they will ascend to the BoS without having to stand in the general election in November.

Republicans, in this County and beyond, think they have good reason to be excited about the opportunity to reshape the Board - and Santa Cruz County. See: Republican opportunities are rising dramatically in Santa Cruz County with two prominent Republicans running for open supervisorial seats at BayAreaGOP.com

The granddaddy of county conservatives, and probably the most polished GOP politico to ever come out of Santa Cruz, 68 year old, Bruce McPherson, surprised many by announcing a run for the BoS from the 5th District. (By virtue of redistricting McPherson’s Pasatiempo home has become part of the predominately San Lorenzo Valley District.)

In District 2 there are two candidates with solid Republican credentials, current County of Education Board member Vic Marani and Gina Locatelli. Marani was elected to the County Board of Education in 2008, after serving earlier on the Pajaro Valley School Board. He had been working as an aide to Republican State Senator Sam Blakeslee until leaving to run for supervisor. He is also the former chair of the County Republican Party.

In District 1, no one from the right has yet stepped up to run against incumbent John Leopold but there’s still time for a conservative challenger to emerge. Dene Bustichi is apparently being courted and someone could still move into the district and become eligible before the filing deadline.

Conventional wisdom argues that with six announced candidates in District 5 and four so far in District 2, the chances of any one candidate reaching the 50% +1 threshold is slim and that we will be having a November 12 runoff between the top two vote getters. But consider this: the June primary, typically sees a low turnout and this year will draw a higher percentage of Republican voters because they have a contested Presidential race. Furthermore, while nominally a non-partisan race, Republicans, smelling an opportunity and having a least two party loyalists running, could turn the race into the most expensive Board of Supervisors contest in Santa Cruz County history.

If progressives fight among themselves through the Spring they could divide and exhaust their donor base and make it difficult to reorganize behind one candidate in the Fall.

It has the potential to turn into a “perfect storm” scenario. Weird.

Mark Stone Announces Endorsements

Mark Stone's campaign for the State Assembly announced today that Assemblyman Bill Monning and the California League of Conservation Voters have endorsed his candidacy for State Assembly.  The entire news release is presented below.

Assemblymember Bill Monning Endorses Mark Stone for the 29th Assembly District

(Santa Cruz, CA) Bill Monning, who represents California’s 27th Assembly District, today announced his endorsement of Mark Stone for the 29th District State Assembly seat.

“I am pleased to announce my endorsement of Mark Stone for State Assembly,” commented Mr. Monning. “I have known Mark Stone for many years throughout his time as a Santa Cruz County Supervisor where he has championed social and environmental causes. He has served the State of California wisely as a California Coastal Commissioner, upholding the values of coastal protection that are so important to this district. I believe we can count on Mark to apply his integrity and intelligence to protecting the diverse communities, the natural environment, and the creative local businesses that make our region so special.”

Mark Stone was also recently endorsed by the California League of Conservation Voters, one of the premier conservation groups in the state. 

He was gratified to get Mr. Monning’s endorsement at this early stage of his campaign. He said,"I am indeed honored to receive the endorsement of Assemblymember Bill Monning. Bill has distinguished himself as a leader in healthcare, social justice and environmental protection. I believe that our past history of working together will enhance the prospects of advancing strong representation for our region."

Monning is running for the California State Senate in the new 17th Senate District, encompassing Santa Cruz County, parts of Santa Clara and Monterey Counties, and San Luis Obispo County.

Mark Stone has served on the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors for over eight years and currently serves as Chair. He has served as a Commissioner on the California Coastal Commission since 2009 where he cast several key votes on environmental decisions. He is the Vice-chair of the Commission. Mr. Stone, a Democrat, is running to replace Assemblymember Bill Monning for the newly drawn 29th Assembly District
which encompasses most of Santa Cruz County, coastal Monterey County and parts of Santa Clara County, including the cities of Santa Cruz, Monterey, and Carmel. Mark Stone lives in Scotts Valley, California.

Taking The Fifth

This map has been slightly redrawn as boundaries changed as a result of 2010 Census.   

A Special SLVNews Series on the Race for Fifth District County Supervisor  

SLVNews was created to provide our community with an online platform to share useful local news that affects the San Lorenzo Valley and surrounding Santa Cruz Mountain communities. With the help of other active citizens, SLVNews has been posting and sharing information about school plays, club meetings, road closures and more to a growing audience who follow us on our blog, Facebook, Twitter, Google+  and at SLVNews.Net.  Currently our various posts are being read and shared by thousands of local residents every day.

Among the more popular items we’ve posted have been local birthdays, traffic alerts, and the notable achievements of our students, athletes and artists.  The only political news that has so far attracted a large following was the months long drama that played out over the City Council of Santa Cruz and the Library Joint Powers Board regarding cuts to library service in Felton and Boulder Creek.

I suspect that’s about to change.  

The announcement by Mark Stone that he was giving up his seat on the Board of Supervisors to run for State Assembly means that our district will have a new representative for the first time in 9 years.  

Formal filing for the June primary does not begin until February but we already have five declared candidates, and who knows how many others sitting on the fence.

With such a large field vying for our support and nearly eight months before voting begins, we the people have an opportunity and a responsibility to engage the candidates in a thoughtful and thorough conversation on what our collective hopes and desires for the future are and what each candidate proposes to do to advance those goals.

I will reach out to every candidate and invite them to join this community conversation by providing them all equal access to the entire SLVNews platform so they can an answer our concerns and share their positions and visions unedited and unfiltered.  

The goal of Taking The Fifth will be to foster a respectful dialogue, create as much transparency in the electoral process as possible and to ultimately identify the person who will be the most effective champion for the majority of those of us who live in the fifth district.

Fate of Felton Library To Be Determined

The Final Report of the Task Force formed in June 2010 to study and recommend service models to the Library Joint Powers Board proposes four options for the future of the Library System and only one of the four  would retain Felton as a full fledged branch.  In two of the models the Felton branch would be shut completely while a fourth option calls for a "library/community" partnership.


The Boulder Creek branch survives in three of the four models and would become a partnership in the fourth.


The report (available here) runs 117 pages and details each of the proposals with staffing and service levels as well as a benefits and risks statement associated with each.

Ben Lomond Park Upgrades Approved, Funded

Santa Cruz County officials signed off on plans to improve the Ben Lomond Park on the river at Mill Street.  Using Proposition 40 funds and with the Board of Supervisors approval today, work should begin on the first phase soon.   Additional upgrades await word on whether additional money from the state will be forthcoming.  That is expected in September.

Phase 1 includes resurfacing the basketball court, new playground equipment and upgrades to the rest room facilities as well as various other improvements.  Approximately $400,000 will be spent between now and December to enhance the popular downtown Ben Lomond spot.

Additionally the Board of Supervisors asked the Park Department staff to begin exploring plans to restore the dam which creates a popular swimming hole in the summer and has been missing for a number of years.

Local community members have been working with Park staff to design the new layout and most are pleased with today's announcement.