At issue were the city's plans for providing new housing for the residents of the substandard apartments, but all anyone heard was name-calling. Through it all, Norm Lezin just smiled. Later, after the dust had settled, Lezin looked back at the chaos and held it up as an example of what is wrong with politics in Santa Cruz. But Lezin hardly seemed disappointed. A lot of folks are suspicious of SCAN, for good reason.
People are ready for a change.
Shanks is on the SCAN election committee and one of the organization's more thoughtful members. It was Shanks who wrote the in-depth study on the potential impact of district elections that was the basis for the membership's vote opposing the ballot measure. It shouldn't be a lot of people in the progressive wing feeling biased against it because of who is proposing it. This is shaping up as a left-right referendum. This kind of issue shouldn't have to go that way.