Santa Cruz County Supervisor, District 1
John Leopold
Occupation: District 1 Supervisor
Relevant Experience:
- Current Supervisor for District 1
- Board Member, Central Coast Alliance for Health
- Associate Director, Working Partnerships USA
- Executive Director, Santa Cruz AIDS Project
- Member, AIDS Housing Advisory Task Force to Secretary Cisneros
Personal Information:
- Age: 54
Website: https://www.friendsofjohnleopold.com/
Social Media:
Leopold is the current County Supervisor for District 1. During his time as supervisor, he said he has been a member of the Regional Transportation Commission, the Santa Cruz County Sanitation District, Community Corrections Partnership and the Task Force on Justice and Gender among others. He was co-chair of the 2016 Measure D campaign, the 2018 Measure G campaign and the 2014 Measure F campaign. He has also served as a board member for the Central Coast Alliance for Health and the executive director of the Santa Cruz AIDS Project. He said he participated in the first White House Conference on AIDS in 1995.
Some of Leopold's top priorities include tackling the COVID-19 pandemic, saving money on water, addressing climate change and addressing racism and social justice issues. He said his background in public health gives him the experience to make the right choices. Leopold also said he has advocated for water rate cuts, is working to eliminate the surcharge and has founded Smart on Crime to support restorative justice
Read his full candidate statement here.
Manu Koenig
Occupation: Nonprofit Executive Director
Relevant Experience:
- Executive Director, Santa Cruz County Greenway
- Board member, Digital NEST
- Board member, City of Santa Cruz Downtown Commission, 2018-2019
- Co-Founder and CEO, Civinomics
Personal Information:
- Age: 35
- 3rd generation Santa Cruz County resident
- Fiancee: Leah
Website: https://manukoenig.com/
Social Media:
Koenig co-founded Civinomics, an online voting platform, in Santa Cruz in 2011. He said local governments hired them to conduct surveys, but he also worked to manage payroll, raise money, lead sales and tighten the product development cycle. After founding the company, Koenig said he worked with Save our Shores to move a plastic bag ban forward in Scotts Valley and joined the boards of Digital NEST, Santa Cruz County Greenway and the City of Santa Cruz Downtown Commission. He has been an advocate for changing the plan for the rail and trail and led outreach efforts to pass Measure L
If elected, Koenig said he wants to put the rail corridor to a county vote so community members can show support for a train or a multi-use trail. Some of his other priorities include building affordable housing, providing incentives for homeless people to contribute to the community, road maintenance, advocating for local businesses and prioritizing operational funds for parks and natural spaces.
Koenig holds a Bachelor's degree in German Studies from Stanford and finished Master's coursework in Management Science and Engineering.
Read his full candidate statement here.
