Back and Ready For More
At age 75, Katherine Beiers is ready to take another stab at Santa Cruz city politics
STORY BY STEVE HAHN
Katherine Beiers is not done living life to the fullest. The 75-year-old two time Santa Cruz mayor has more bounce in her step than most women half her age and now she’s ready to give another jolt of vitality to the city’s progressive movement. That was the clear message last Thursday as Beiers announced her candidacy for Santa Cruz city council from the comfort of her spacious westside backyard.
And what has she been doing to prepare for this comeback since leaving the council in 1999?
“I have not sat on a beach chair, nor have I eaten bon bons,” she insisted. “I have done a lot. I made a quilt, ran 11 marathons, three 50-mile runs and cleaned out my entire basement.”
Wow. For those keeping track, that’s 14 footraces in eight years – eight senior years. Turns out Beiers hasn’t just been hanging out at the track either. She’s also served on the Board of the Cultural Council and the Santa Cruz County Land Trust.
Reentering city politics proper in this November’s race was a tough decision, she says.
“I realized I had the energy and above all, the interest,” says Beiers. “I never stopped paying attention to my city and its goings on. I cannot see a public works project without inquiring as to what it is and how much it is costing.”
Beiers got her first taste of local politics when she led the effort to stop a convention center from being built on Lighthouse Field in the ’70s. After that battle was won, she took her seat on the city council in 1989, just months before the Loma Prieta quake. After that, it was “reconstruct, reconstruct, reconstruct,” according to Beiers. After the rebuilding was mostly complete, Beiers—who was mayor in 1994 and 1999—was able to shift her focus to “more exciting things,” such as organizing the drive to save the railroad trestle by the Dream Inn and sorting out the dizzying logistics of running electrical lines underneath Mission street.
This time around, her main goal is to bring the voice of the average neighbor back to the General Plan process.
“No matter how many experts you consult on planning theories, there is no experience that can equal listening with an open mind to individuals thinking about their own houses, their own streets and their own neighborhoods,” she says. “What I will bring to the General Plan process is a respect for the public hearing process.”
IN OTHER COUNCIL NEWS
Katherine Beiers won’t be alone in this November’s race for the Santa Cruz city council. Current Mayor Ryan Coonerty will have to fight for his seat, as will former labor organizer and current councilmember Tony Madrigal. Transit activist Ed Porter and former candidate for the 27th Assembly District Emily Reilly will both be taking a bow due to term limits.
So far, there have only been two other new candidates besides Beiers to officially file “intentions to run” with the city clerk’s office. Those include former Mayor Don Lane and political newcomer Blas Cabrera.
The deadline to file paperwork is August 8 at 5 pm. Those interested in running should drop by 809 Center street, Room nine and pick up the paperwork. For more information call 420-5030. Let the races begin!
