Tallying Election Contributions Made by Development Interests in the City of Santa Cruz

The four Santa Cruz City Council candidates endorsed by progressive groups are: Joy Schendledecker, Hector Marin, David Tannaci, and Joe Thompson. These candidates have received little to no funding from real estate and development interests.

The largest single cash contribution of the entire election cycle for any campaign in the City of Santa Cruz was made to No on Measure M by Milpitas-based Devcon Construction, in the amount of $9,000. Devcon has been ranked as the largest general contractor in the Silicon Valley.

Devcon's contribution is especially significant considering the potential impact of Measure M on the proposal to construct a new Warriors arena, which the city is working on as part of the Downtown Plan Expansion in the area south of Laurel Street. The Santa Cruz Warriors have said the team will need to build housing as part of the overall project in order to fund the construction of the new arena. The city is currently working on an Environmental Impact Report for the Downtown Plan Expansion, and is studying potentially increasing the allowable building heights in the area to 15 to 17 stories.

Devcon built the present Santa Cruz Warriors arena in 2012, and the firm has constructed a number of other large sports stadiums in the Bay Area, including Levi's Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers; PayPal Park in San José, home of the Earthquakes soccer team; Tech CU Arena, home of the San Jose Barracuda of the American Hockey League (AHL); Stevens Stadium at Santa Clara University; and St. Ignatius Pavilion in San Francisco.

Measure M, the Housing for People initiative, would increase affordable housing inclusionary requirements from 20% to 25% for developments with 30 or more housing units. If passed, Measure M would also require a vote of the people to amend the city's General Plan to increase allowable building heights or floor area ratios.


Measure M Campaign Totals


Yes on Measure M (Housing for People Initiative):
Total contributions: $35,753.05

Contributions from real estate and development interests to the Yes on Measure M campaign are as follows:

$1,000 Joseph Quigg, Commercial Property Owner and Developer
$120 Len Beyea, Green Engineering Consultant
$100 David Wilson, Realtor, Wilson Bros. Commercial Inc.


No on Measure M (Affordable Housing Advocates Santa Cruz):
Total contributions: $57,294.00

Contributions from real estate and development interests to the No on Measure M campaign are as follows:

$9,000 Devcon Construction, Milpitas, CA
$5,000 For the Future Housing, San Luis Obispo, CA
$5,000 Green Valley Corporation, Owned by Developer Barry Swenson, San Jose, CA
$5,000 LPC West, Lincoln Property Company, San Francisco, CA
$5,000 Redtree Partners LP/Redtree Properties
$5,000 Santa Cruz Seaside Company
$5,000 Santa Cruz Together
$1,500 La Bahia Holdco., La Bahia Hotel and Spa, Owned by Ensemble Investments of Long Beach, CA
$1,500 Santa Cruz Beach Hotel Partners, Dream Inn, Owned by Ensemble Investments of Long Beach, CA
$1,000 New Way Homes
$250 Rafa Sonnenfeld, Policy Director, YIMBY Action

The No on Measure M campaign is led by Don Lane, a former Santa Cruz City Councilmember; Elizabeth Madrigal, a development project manager at Mission Housing of San Francisco; and Diana Alfaro, a development manager with Workbench. Lane is also a board member of the group Housing Santa Cruz County, and Madrigal and Alfaro are both leaders of Santa Cruz YIMBY, which is a chapter of YIMBY Action.


Santa Cruz Together

Santa Cruz Together is an anti-progressive group that supports policies that criminalize homelessness, and the group's political positions prioritize the rights of property owners over the general public. In the City of Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz Together ran the campaign against the rent control initiative that was on the ballot in 2018, as well as the campaign against the empty home tax that was on the ballot in 2022.

Santa Cruz Together raised $20,000 during the 2024 primary, all in large donations. Contributions to Santa Cruz Together during this election cycle are as follows:

January 23, 2024: $5,000 S.C. Beach Hotel Partners LLC (Dream Inn Santa Cruz), which is owned by Ensemble Investments of Long Beach, CA
January 26, 2024: $5,000 Green Valley Corporation, which is owned by developer Barry Swenson, San Jose, CA
February 2, 2024: $5,000 Redtree Partners LP/Redtree Properties
February 2, 2024: $5,000 Santa Cruz Seaside Company


Santa Cruz City Council

Total contributions received by Santa Cruz City Council candidates during this election cycle are as follows:

$29,521.00 - Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson (District 3)
$28,205.57 - Joe Thompson (District 5)
$26,863.00 - Susie O'Hara (District 5)
$14,731.23 - Sonja Brunner (District 2)
$12,945.00 - Joy Schendledecker (District 3)
$12,442.00 - Gabriela Trigueiro (District 1)
$7,757.00 - David Tannaci (District 1)
$4,800.00 - Hector Marin (District 2)


Cash contributions to Santa Cruz City Council candidates from real estate and development interests are as follows:

Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson

$400 Farrokh Azarabadi (Carmichael, CA), Farrokh Azarabadi Property Management
$400 Brian Babaoff (Beverly Hills, CA), Associate, Ensemble Investments
$400 Kambiz Babaoff (Beverly Hills, CA), Chairman, Ensemble Investments
$400 Shirin Babaoff (Beverly Hills, CA)
$400 Ken Carlson, Real Estate Investor
$400 William Ow, Real Estate Developer, Ow Family Properties
$400 Azzie Youssefi (Sacramento, CA), Housing Developer
$250 California Real Estate PAC, Los Angeles, CA
$250 Charles Canfield, Owner, Santa Cruz Seaside Company
$250 Eric Grodberg, Rental Property Owner/Landlord
$250 Karl Rice, CEO Santa Cruz Seaside Company
$200 Douglas Ley, Redtree Properties, Havermawr Inc.
$100 Robert Berlage (Watsonville), Communications Director, Big Tree Lumber
$100 Caitlin & Bahman Karimzadeh, Realtor
$100 Pete Kennedy, Green Building Professional, Bright Green Strategies, Inc.
$100 Kim Stoner, Contractor
$100 John Swift, CEO, Swift Consulting Services

Total: $4,500.00


Susie O'Hara

$400 Neal Langholz, Real Estate Agent, Karon Properties
$400 Louis Rittenhouse, Property Owner and Developer
$250 Charles Canfield, Owner, Santa Cruz Seaside Company
$250 Owen Lawlor, Real Estate Developer, Lawlor LandUse
$250 Christen Morell, Morrell & Company Real Estate Services
$250 William Ow, Real Estate Developer, Ow Family Properties
$250 Karl Rice, CEO Santa Cruz Seaside Company
$200 Douglas Ley, Redtree Properties, Havermawr Inc.
$100 Kim Stoner, Contractor

Total: $2,350.00


Sonja Brunner

$260.59 Reuben Helick, Commercial Real Estate Agent, Cushman & Wakefield
$250 Charles Canfield, Owner, Santa Cruz Seaside Company
$250 Karl Rice, CEO Santa Cruz Seaside Company
$200 Douglas Ley, Redtree Properties, Havermawr Inc.
$100 Deidre Hamilton, Hamilton Land Planning

Total: $1,060.59


Gabriela Trigueiro

$250 Charles Canfield, Owner, Santa Cruz Seaside Company
$250 Karl Rice, CEO, Santa Cruz Seaside Company

Total: $500


Joe Thompson

$100 Sibley Simon, Developer at Envision Housing LLC, and Partner at Workbench
$400 Darius Mohsenin, Apartment Owner/Landlord

Total: $500


Hector Marin

$100 Micah Posner, Builder

Total: $100


Joy Schendledecker and David Tannaci did not receive any campaign contributions from real estate and development interests that were immediately apparent in their financial disclosures.

Campaign finance totals were calculated using financial documents filed with the City of Santa Cruz through March 5, 2024. As of the publication date for this article, city council candidates Hector Marin and David Tannaci have not filed the most recent required financial disclosure form, which may or may not have affected their finance totals.


Campaign finance documents for the City of Santa Cruz can be found here:
https://public.netfile.com/pub2/?AID=CRUZ