Steve Schnaar
For Santa Cruz City Councilmember

Occupation: Bicycle Mechanic/Educator                               Age: 38

I am running for the Santa Cruz City Council because I want to contribute to positive change.

Issues that are important to our community include: affordable housing, environmental stewardship, sustainable transportation, living wages for City of Santa Cruz workers, and protecting our community gardens.

To address housing I support requiring affordable units in all new developments, exploring rent stabilization, and inviting the careful permitting of more backyard units.

Over the past fifteen years, I have worked to strengthen and improve our community with the Bike Church and the Resource Center for Nonviolence.

I created the Santa Cruz Fruit Tree Project, which brings people together to harvest unused urban fruit, and have successfully worked with the Parks and Recreation Department to launch our first-ever community orchard.

I have worked to protect farmworkers from a dangerous pesticide, promoted local campaign finance reform, supported the Warming Center that keeps homeless people from freezing, and called for police accountability and transparency.

My years of community involvement and advocacy have been driven by compassion and a vision of greater social and environmental justice, paired with an equal dedication to evidence-based decision making.

Working in so many varied groups, I have also learned a lot about collaboration and consensus-building.

I will continue to serve Santa Cruz.

I respectfully ask for your vote.

http://www.steveforcouncil.com/