Cabrillo College has campuses in Aptos and Watsonville and more than 17,000 students a year. Its seven trustees are elected by area. Only voters in Area 6 will see this race.
The candidates
- Milissa Ales-Barnicoat, 68, is CEO of the worker-owned AlliedUP Cooperative and has spent more than 30 years in workforce development. She says Cabrillo "can't cut our way" to stability and should go after more state, federal, grant and private money.
- Karen Cogswell, 71, is a retired small business owner with a career in finance. She chairs the finance committee of the Cabrillo College Foundation board and has volunteered with the college for more than 12 years. She cites a roughly $2 million funding gap.
- Benjamin Finke, 31, is a Santa Cruz METRO bus operator and union activist. He wants pay for faculty and staff to catch up with peer colleges, more support for adjunct faculty and the Watsonville campus, and state changes to the community college funding formula. He also wants the state to shift money from the online-only Calbright college to local colleges.
The budget backdrop
Finke told Santa Cruz Local that the prior year's deficit was about $4 million and the newly approved budget runs a deficit of about $2 million. All three candidates point to faculty pay, enrollment and lost federal grants for Hispanic-Serving Institution programs as major challenges.
How to vote
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3. Polls and vote centers close at 8 p.m., and mailed ballots must be postmarked by Election Day and arrive within seven days. You can check your registration and ballot status at sos.ca.gov/elections. California lets you register and vote the same day at a vote center. For more local races and measures, see our 2026 Bay Area election hub.