Koenig defeats Leopold for Santa Cruz District 1 Supervisor seat

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KION) UPDATE: 11/4/2020

Incumbent John Leopold has conceded the Santa Cruz District 1 Supervisor race to Manu Koenig. Early results show Koenig tallied 56% of the vote.

A runoff in the March primary led to two candidates vying to fill the seat for District 1 Supervisor in Santa Cruz County. In the primary, incumbent John Leopold tallied 45% of the vote, and Manu Koenig came in second place out of six candidates with 30% of the vote. 50% was needed to secure the victory.

This district represents Live Oak, Soquel, and the western side of Capitola.

John Leopold was seeking his fourth term on the board of supervisors. Since the pandemic he says he’s led the way on important issues like protecting renters and writing code to move businesses outdoors.

Challenger Manu Koenig argues there’s still more to be done, and it's time for change. Koenig has worked at several tech start ups and most recently was the Executive Director of Santa Cruz County Greenway.

KION’s Drew Andre spoke with both candidates following the latest results, and will have more on this race tonight at 5 and 6 p.m. on KION.