Mayor Fred Keeley isn't running again. That leaves Santa Cruz voters with a two-person runoff on Nov. 3. Five candidates ran in June and none topped 50%, so the top two advanced. The mayor serves four years, votes as one member of the council and helps set council agendas.

The candidates

  • Ryan Coonerty, 52, is on the ballot as "Educator/Non-Profit Director." He served on the City Council and as mayor from 2004 to 2012 and was a county supervisor from 2015 to 2023. Today he teaches at the Leon Panetta Institute and UC Santa Cruz and runs Leadership Santa Cruz County.
  • Ami Chen Mills, 58, is on the ballot as "Journalist/Lecturer/Consultant." She led the Get The Flock Out campaign that pushed the city to end its license plate reader contract, ran for county supervisor in 2022 and sits on the county Democratic Central Committee.

Where they differ

  • Housing: Both oppose the six-story project proposed at Seabright and Soquel avenues. Coonerty now says the city should be "more aggressive in pursuing legal options" against projects neighbors oppose. He also wants state lawmakers to count student housing toward the city's housing targets. Chen Mills says the city's power is limited. She would bring neighbors' concerns to developers early and look at anti-displacement rules.
  • Homelessness: Coonerty wants to expand the county's Homeward Bound relocation program, mandate treatment for people with serious mental illness or addiction, and enforce camping bans for people who refuse shelter. Chen Mills wants a daytime "place to be," safe parking and small managed encampments, and opposes expanding long-term forced treatment.
  • Taxes: Chen Mills would consider a higher hotel and short-term rental tax or a new business tax. Coonerty wants no new taxes and would raise revenue with a new downtown hotel and by filling empty storefronts.
  • License plate readers: Chen Mills opposes them outright. Coonerty says he wouldn't bring back a Flock contract under the current federal administration, but might later if there were privacy protections.

Money and tone

As of Sept. 19, Santa Cruz Local reported that Coonerty had raised $125,828 and Chen Mills $42,733. The race has turned sharp. Coonerty told KAZU the campaign has been "extraordinarily nasty and full of disinformation." Chen Mills has criticized his ties to developers and his early work at the predictive-policing startup PredPol, which he left in 2013. Coonerty has pointed to her support for Measure O, which would have stopped the downtown library and affordable housing project.

Need logistics? See our Santa Cruz County voting guide.

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.