Steve Pleich Files for 2014 City Council Race

Vice Chair of ACLU Santa Cruz and recently elected President of the Latino Democrats of Santa Cruz County, Steve Pleich, has filed his papers with the City Clerk declaring his intention to run for City Council in 2014. Pleich, who ran unsuccessfully in 2010 an 2012, believes it is time for a complete revisioning of our how our city is governed and the role citizens play in determining the future of our community. The 2014 campaign platform will include the development of sustainable and environmentally conscious water policy, the creation of a true partnership between the city and UCSC to re-energize local economic development, the reformation of the Citizen's Police Review Board abolished more than a decade ago and a move to publicly financed elections.

Each of these initiatives speak to the concerns voiced by the people of Santa Cruz concerning the environment, the economy and the need for practical engagement in the policies that determine both electoral and law enforcement policies. A long time member of Desal Alternatives and a founding member of the Right to Vote on Desal Coalition which last November secured the right of the people of Santa Cruz to approve the construction of a proposed desalination plant, Pleich believes that future sustainability of our local water supply can be achieved through sensible water use and best practices conservation.

Pleich was endorsed by the UCSC College Democrats in 2012 and spent much of the final two months of that campaign on campus talking with and listening to the student voice. Both the student body and the university administration agree that the economic and technology future of the city and UCSC are inextricably bound together. The students were particularly enthusiastic about the prospect of the development of a Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) system which would address both local traffic impact issues and provide an economic link between the City and the City on a Hill.

Pleich understsands that the proposal to reconstitute the Citizen's Police Review Board and the initiative to publicly finance elections will spark sharp debate on all sides of these issues. But he believes that the city must substantially change the way in which it is governed. "Business as usual" is neither good enough or responsive enough to address the present problems and future concerns of our community.