Editorial | Looking forward: Ryan Coonerty for Santa Cruz mayor

When Ryan Coonerty met recently with the Sentinel Editorial Board, as one of five candidates for Santa Cruz mayor, we asked him, "Why are you getting back into running for a local office?"

Coonerty's reply was, "Have you been talking to my wife (Emily)?"

But the question wasn't meant as a joke; after all, Coonerty has already been a member of the Santa Cruz City Council and a council-appointed mayor; then a two-term, District 3 Santa Cruz County supervisor, a post he left in 2023. Since then, among other activities, he has worked as senior intergovernmental affairs advisor to San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, who is currently running for governor of California. Coonerty also is a podcaster, lecturer at UC Santa Cruz and a land-use consultant.

Coonerty has been widely considered as, variously, the "establishment candidate," "anointed" and the choice of a shadowy "politburo" (in the words of Sentinel columnist Stephen Kessler), and is the odds-on favorite to succeed the very pillar of any such local political/Democratic Party establishment, Fred Keeley, who is retiring from the office this year.

Coonerty's strongest attribute, however, that leads us to recommending him in the June 2 primary is his forward thinking for a city he and his family have served for generations. His father Neal was also a Santa Cruz City Council member and county supervisor, and founding owner of Bookshop Santa Cruz. His wife's family owns the Dell Williams building, which is up for sale with plans for it to possibly become an affordable seniors' housing project (Coonerty says he would recuse from any vote if this project comes before the city).

Coonerty's challengers are legion: former Councilmember and Mayor Chris Krohn, activist and author Ami Chen Mills, longtime city policy critic Gillian Greensite and artist/organizer Joy Schendledecker.

While Chen Mills, Krohn and Greensite were well-prepared and issue-oriented in our Editorial Board sessions (Schendledecker was not able to meet with us during our announced time), their visions for the city also seemed to look in reverse, to a time the city has moved on from.

The three shared similar concerns that the character of Santa Cruz has changed for the worse, mainly because of the size and scope of housing developments. Chen Mills also evoked an underlying purpose to the crowded field: to prevent Coonerty from gaining a majority of votes thus taking the race to a runoff election Nov. 2.

We don't disagree. A runoff between the top two candidates would allow a greater debate over issues. We wonder, however, if the presence of four opposition candidates will water down the vote that Coonerty will get the majority vote necessary to avoid a runoff.

But here's why he's the Editorial Board's choice as the next mayor, a post he described as more "entrepreneurial" that would allow him a "unique platform" to engage with city residents and create a "vibe" that will, among other things, encourage economic development in Santa Cruz.

We liked his acknowledgment that the many empty storefronts in the city's downtown are partly the result of lengthy and difficult permitting policies and that the city needs to be more flexible in allowing new retail, restaurant and tech businesses to have a home here.

On housing, he noted that 60% of what has been built is considered "affordable" (a somewhat nebulous term these days because the area's median income level has gone up dramatically in recent years). At the same time, he said the city needs to demand better designs on new building and push back with neighborhood concerns over size and scale - and lobby the state for more control over development.

Regarding homelessness, Coonerty said while the city has reduced the homeless population by 50%, the people living on the streets are mostly ill and addicted. Coral Street by the Housing Matters campus on the road into Costco, he said is an "open-air drug market" that should not be tolerated. People on the street need to be offered treatment and shelter, he said, but if unwilling to accept either or both, their cases should move onto Care Court.

While Coonerty is viewed by his progressive opponents as, in a strange only-in-Santa-Cruz sense, "conservative," he said he wants to show as mayor that government can work with progressive policies.

The Editorial Board found Coonerty the most realistic candidate about downtown, economic development and the need to work with the state to gain more control over housing standards.

The connections that other candidates find off-putting will actually serve the city well in the current times. Looking to the past is not a realistic path forward. Ryan Coonerty has the experience, vision and knowledge to manage the city for what comes next.

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This story was originally published April 25, 2026 at 5:09 PM.