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The progressive left in Santa Cruz, as distinct from the liberalish Democratic center that controls the City Council, has a persecution complex. Most recently they’ve been complaining that district elections, whose lines have been drawn to divide some neighborhoods, will disenfranchise voters likely to favor progressive candidates and policies. For example, UCSC students’ votes would count only in their own district rather than citywide, where their impact has been disproportionate to their engagement with and understanding of the community. Leftist activists famously enticed students with donuts to register and vote only for Drew Glover and Justin Cummings in the 2018 City Council elections, even though three seats were open, so as not to “dilute” their electoral power.

The only problem turned out to be that Glover was a terrible candidate who ultimately enabled his own recall with his belligerent behavior. Cummings then proved himself independent of the people who elected him by changing his mind about the mixed-use library-garage project, thus angering or disappointing many of his former supporters. Cummings is now running for 3rd District supervisor, and he’s a good candidate, but the heavy favorite in that race (especially as Ami Chen Mills is likely to divide the progressive/environmentalist vote) is fellow councilmember Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson, who has the backing of the Democratic machine and a ton of money from the moderate middle.

If Cummings loses for supervisor, and if he’s so inclined after four years on the council, I think he’d make a plausible candidate for mayor if Measure E passes. Like his other council colleague Sandy Brown, Cummings has both the progressive values and the personal demeanor to communicate them diplomatically. Even though they are usually outvoted, they are at least able to offer reasonable alternate arguments about public policy.

I can easily imagine that in every district in the city of Santa Cruz (whose political interests are comparably mixed) there are qualified council candidates from all parts of the political spectrum, except perhaps the far right; certainly there are plenty of liberal Democrats, some more leftish than others. My point is that instead of lamenting that the deck has been stacked against them, the local left, via whatever their organizations can offer in the way of organizing, could conceivably recruit good enough candidates to be elected and become a majority on the council.

While the polite upper-middle-liberal class has no trouble recruiting and organizing — and funding — candidates’ campaigns, the recent record suggests that the Sanders-Warren wing has fielded fewer and inferior candidates. Brown and Cummings have proved that it’s possible for progressives to get elected and to serve with competence and conviction, proceeding not only by ideology but by the facts and limits of reality.

There’s no systemic reason that Santa Cruz couldn’t have a progressive mayor and/or City Council. It’s a matter of whether there are people who can make their case to their constituents persuasively and who have the character and political skill to do the work of governing. The pay is lousy; the hours are long; some of the people you have to put up with are insufferable; you have to understand spreadsheets and budgeting; you need to learn enough to know when to accept what staff recommends and when to question it; and you need to be able to argue respectfully.

There’s nothing to prevent good candidates from running if they have the desire to serve and the time and stomach and courage and organization to campaign. District elections are an opportunity for anyone who wishes to represent a neighborhood or slice of the map to go for it — and it costs less than running citywide. Electoral politics are contests whose results are not preordained nor determined exclusively by money or geography. The quality of the candidate matters most. If they know what their district needs and are smart enough to learn how the city works, there’s no reason they couldn’t be a contender and serve the whole city well.

Next week: why I’m voting Yes on Measure E.

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