Gillian Greensite (Mayor of Santa Cruz, California, candidate 2026)
Gillian Greensite is running for election to the Mayor of Santa Cruz in California. Greensite is on the ballot in the primary on June 2, 2026.[source]
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Biography
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Elections
Nonpartisan primary
Nonpartisan primary election for Mayor of Santa Cruz
Ryan Coonerty (Nonpartisan), Gillian Greensite (Nonpartisan), Chris Krohn (Nonpartisan), Ami Chen Mills (Nonpartisan), and Joy Schendledecker (Nonpartisan) are running in the primary for Mayor of Santa Cruz on June 2, 2026.
Candidate | ||
| Ryan Coonerty (Nonpartisan) | ||
| Gillian Greensite (Nonpartisan) | ||
| Chris Krohn (Nonpartisan) | ||
| Ami Chen Mills (Nonpartisan) | ||
| Joy Schendledecker (Nonpartisan) | ||
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 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Endorsements
Greensite received the following endorsements. To send us additional endorsements, click here.
Campaign themes
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
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Campaign website
Greensite's campaign website stated the following:
The Issues
Background I have lived in the city of Santa Cruz for 51 years. I’ve been deeply involved in local city politics for 45 years. I have served on two city commissions with three terms as chair. Most of my political work has been on the public side of the podium.
Why run for Mayor? I decided to run for Mayor to take a stand against the rapid overbuilding of large projects that are overwhelming our infrastructure, our neighborhoods and our town. What we see now is just the beginning. Unless there is a change of direction at City Hall, the City of Santa Cruz will be unrecognizable in a few years.
Overbuilding This city-driven overbuilding goes way beyond state housing requirements. The city approved the building of double the number of state-required housing units in the last eight-year cycle, mostly at the upper income levels. Those extra housing units do not count towards the current cycle, which runs from 2023-2031.
Slow down! The city’s website shows that new large housing projects already submitted to the city, either approved or waiting for approval, total more than 4,000 additional housing units. This number exceeds the state-required 3,736 housing units for the entire eight-year cycle ending in 2031.
No overlay district The city has also proposed establishing a “ministerial approval overlay district.” This new district would encompass every buildable city parcel currently zoned mixed use or multi-family. Should this proposal pass, public hearings would be eliminated for all projects labeled one hundred percent affordable. This would give city planning staff sole authority to approve projects, without public oversight. The overlay district weakens current heritage tree protection criteria. It allows eight story projects deep into existing neighborhoods. This overreach is neither required by the state, nor necessary to reach our state housing numbers for the current eight-year cycle.
Overbuilding & higher rents We cannot build our way into affordability. More housing does not necessarily lead to lower rents. As more market rate housing is built, and more affluent people relocate to Santa Cruz, the income eligibility levels for affordable housing also rise since they are tied to the Area Median Income (AMI). As the AMI rises—it has risen 25% in 3 years—it leaves more low-income workers out of competition for affordable housing.
Affordable housing: priority for local workers I am running to make absolute certain that affordable housing built in the city is offered first to local workers and local residents. The 2023-24 Civil Grand Jury, of which I was a member, published an investigative report titled “Housing for Whom?” The report documents that the city has no tracking system to ensure existing local preferences for affordable housing are being followed. If elected, I will work to make sure a tracking and verification system is in place, is followed and is audited. Our city by itself cannot provide affordable housing for the whole county and region. Priority must be given to local workers.
Negative fiscal impact City planning staff has stated—and council has ignored—the fact that new housing results in a net negative fiscal impact over the long term. If the overbuilding continues, the cost of basic services will increase. Getting a doctor’s appointment will be more difficult. Dominican Hospital is overwhelmed right now. Costs for water, sewer and garbage will rise. Traffic congestion will get worse. Overcrowding has negative impacts for people, the infrastructure and the environment.
State take-over of local control State housing laws have left cities with little control over their own land-use decisions. If elected, I will join other CA cities in pushing back against the state’s unsustainable housing requirements. Our state representatives must hear our concerns and better represent our interests.
Housing built in the last 50 years Some claim that the city has built no housing for the past 50 years, that these new outsize buildings are just catch-up. That is incorrect. The US Census shows that since 1970, eleven thousand housing units have been built in the city. False claims to justify overbuilding should have no place in land-use decisions. As Mayor, I will base decisions on facts and evidence.
Where is our money going? There has been a significant increase in the City’s top and middle management employees over the past three years. Padding at the top has in the long run bankrupted some CA cities. If elected, I will examine the ratio of supervisors to workers in the city to see if it aligns with similar cities in CA. I will scrutinize the over-hiring of consultants. I will ensure proper environmental review of projects to avoid unnecessary lawsuits that in the recent past have cost the city hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The environment I am running to address environmental issues that have taken a back seat in the city’s priorities. We need to re-instate the ranger program in Parks and Recreation to keep our open space lands safe and clean. We are fast losing our heritage trees; three to four hundred are cut down with permit each year in our eleven square mile city. We can do better. We need to address light pollution, a proven human health risk with negative impacts on nocturnal animals, migrating birds and plant life.
Small businesses If elected, I will support and protect our local small businesses. Too many are being forced out by the bulldozer. After displacement, few can afford the higher rents in the new projects. We are losing a sense of place as long-time local businesses disappear. I will protect our scarce industrial lands for future job growth.
Community safety I worked as head of Rape Prevention Education at UCSC for thirty years. I know we can do a far better job of response to the high level of reported rape in the city, currently a buried issue. I will prioritize public safety in our parks. I deplore the actions of ICE and will not support their presence in Santa Cruz.
Leadership I am a skilled chair of public meetings. I respect all who work in the city at all levels. I respect all members of the public who attend city council meetings. I have a good rapport with current council members and am respected by city staff.
Democratic process If elected, I would expand civic involvement by encouraging council members to hold regular constituent meetings in their districts. I would end the current requirement that council members can discuss an item only after a motion has been made. I view this requirement as stifling public debate among the council. It makes public comment largely superfluous since motions are pre-prepared with staff.
My pledge If elected I will work with council members in a leadership role: to redirect staff away from overbuilding; to comply with state laws but no more; to push back against state take-over of local control; to protect our neighborhoods, our infrastructure and our environment with transparency and a more robust democratic process.
— Gillian Greensite's campaign website (April 3, 2026)
See also
2026 Elections
External links
Footnotes
