May 12, 2002
Cynthia Mathews weighs council run By DAN WHITE SANTA CRUZ — Another former mayor is weighing a return to local politics. Cynthia Mathews, 59, said she is leaning toward making a bid but hasn’t made up her mind. "I think I could make a real contribution," Mathews said. Former three-time mayor Mike Rotkin said this week he would most likely run for a council seat. Rotkin’s and Mathews’ statements are hardly earth-shattering to local politics watchers. Rumors of their running have been circulating for months. Mathews is the Mar Monte Planned Parenthood office’s associate vice president for public affairs. She helped found the office in Santa Cruz in 1971. She served two council terms from 1992 to 2000. The city is considering about $3 million in suggested cuts. In November, voters will decide whether to throw out a 7 percent utility tax that pumps about $8 million a year into the general fund. Mathews said she would pay serious attention to recommendations from staff and department heads when looking at cuts. She also said she is helping to form a committee to preserve the utility tax, because losing it would be "truly catastrophic. It boils down to a quality of life issue: What kind of city do people want to live in?" She predicted that "everyone who runs (for City Council) will favor the utility tax, or damn near. Everyone who cares about the city would have to care about a reasonable level of revenue to support the services people want." Mathews, who recently co-chaired the Measure C and D campaigns for a city schools parcel tax, said her big priorities are a healthy downtown, housing issues and quality of life for families. Rotkin has been one of Mathews’ most loyal supporters. Rotkin said he left the Santa Cruz Action Network, the progressive grassroots political group he helped found, because it chose not to endorse Mathews during her 1996 election bid. SCAN endorsed her in 1992. Rotkin and Mathews, and current councilmember Scott Kennedy, were enthusiastic backers of the beach area development plan to realign Third Street, turn La Bahia apartments into a conference center and expand the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. The issue created rifts within the city’s progressive community. While backers said the plan would create union jobs and revitalize a severely neglected part of the city, critics argued aspects of the plan would cause traffic problems and displace poor residents. Many also opposed a city redevelopment partnership with the Seaside Co., which owns the Boardwalk. Three on the current council, Mayor Christopher Krohn, Keith Sugar and Tim Fitzmaurice, made defeating the Beach Area plan the center of their political campaigns four years ago. All three are up for re-election this year but have not announced their intentions. Contact Dan White at dwhite@santa-cruz.com. |
