Editorial | Elect Ryan Coonerty Santa Cruz mayor

In May, with five candidates running to become Santa Cruz's next mayor to succeed Fred Keeley, the Sentinel Editorial Board recommended city voters choose Ryan Coonerty.

We continue to endorse Coonerty for this post, which essentially provides citywide leadership for a City Council where electeds now represent districts.

We think Coonerty has the experience, vision and ability to bring consensus to lead the city through somewhat fractious times, even as many residents are increasingly expressing concerns over developments they see as changing the character of the city for the worse.

In the June primary, with nearly 21,000 votes cast, Coonerty would have needed 50% plus one to avoid a runoff.

But with four other candidates drawing votes, he came short of that, at about 48%.

Local activist and journalist Ami Chen Mills finished second with nearly 21% of the vote, and is now going up against Coonerty in the Nov. 3 general election.

While it might seem a long shot for her to overtake such a wide disparity in votes, Chen Mills is a strong candidate with significant support among old-guard progressives and neighborhoods that oppose many of the developments built or planned in Santa Cruz. That's why we previously wrote that a runoff election is both a healthy and democratic option for city voters.

You can read about Chen Mills' platform and views in the accompanying Guest Commentary she has authored for the Sentinel. The board recognizes that she brings up critical, quality of life issues, including the need to keep people housed, that need to be addressed.

Coonerty, however, remains the more qualified, seasoned, experienced and, yes, well-connected candidate to see many of these goals accomplished.

Coonerty, a former councilmember and county supervisor, correctly sees the city at a critical point in dealing with state mandates, a federal government in crisis, continuing growth at UC Santa Cruz, weather-related threats from El Niño and filling vacant storefronts downtown.

That's a panoply of issues, along with other looming decisions on a new arena downtown for the Santa Cruz Warriors, West Cliff Drive protections and supporting housing solutions for individuals experiencing homelessness, many of whom suffer from substance abuse afflictions and mental health challenges.

Not to mention the furor over the Seabright-Soquel proposed development of which Coonerty recently wrote, "I hate it. If elected mayor, I will fight this proposal with every legal tool available." The project, he wrote, is all wrong in scale and concept, and "would demolish an active and vibrant neighborhood center."

At the same time, Coonerty, whose family has owned and operated downtown businesses for decades, wants to see future developments built within the downtown perimeter.

He also understands that while the city in many ways can't pick and choose what gets built, Santa Cruz has been going above and beyond state requirements for new housing, both for very-low-income units and low-income. Coonerty is uniquely qualified to lead the way on pushing back on state demands, including ensuring that UCSC housing should count toward state housing goals.

"We've earned some room to slow down, listen more to the community and get the next projects right," he says, and he's right.

Coonerty also offers up practical and doable future ideas such as offering two free hours of parking and putting more cops walking busy streets to encourage more people to come downtown, along with vowing that as mayor he will himself be regularly seen downtown.

Coonerty has been characterized as, variously, the "establishment candidate," and having been "anointed" by current electeds who favor his election. And only in Santa Cruz would he somehow be branded as the "conservative" choice.

But he actually is the most realistic candidate about downtown, the most qualified to promote future economic development and to step up immediately to work with the state to gain more control over housing standards.

As we wrote in our previous endorsement, the connections that other candidates find off-putting will actually serve the city well in current times of upheaval.

Looking to a past that cannot be recreated is not a realistic path forward. Ryan Coonerty has the experience, vision and knowledge to manage the city as mayor for what comes next.

We recommend his election this Nov. 3.

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This story was originally published September 12, 2026 at 5:05 PM.