Santa Cruz Sentinel: Workforce Housing Affordability Act campaign turns in signatures

SANTA CRUZ — Housing advocates, local leaders and community members gathered in the courtyard of Santa Cruz City Hall on a warm and sunny Thursday to commemorate the handing off of more than 4,000 signatures to the Santa Cruz city clerk to place the Workforce Housing Affordability Act tax measure on the ballot this fall.

“We are here to celebrate a huge milestone on our path to bring more workforce housing to the city of Santa Cruz,” said Housing Santa Cruz County Executive Director Elaine Johnson at city hall. “This measure represents more than a funding mechanism. It’s a reflection of what’s possible when our community comes together. We’ve built a broad coalition of housing advocates, labor, educators, business leaders and neighbors, standing shoulder to shoulder to make sure the people who power our city can actually live here.”

Johnson has served as a champion of the measure for about two years alongside others including Santa Cruz Mayor Fred Keeley, who discussed the initiative’s evolution from the series of community meetings held in 2023 to the campaign’s official launch in January.

“It’s been a long journey,” said Keeley. “This didn’t just begin a couple of years ago. It began many years ago. This community has been searching for a solution to housing affordability for decades, decades. There have been good faith efforts to get a measure to the ballot that could get the support of a majority of the voters. There were at least three previous measures.”

Keeley said that figuring out the right formula for an affordable housing tax measure that could be supported by a majority of city residents has been difficult but by consulting with the community and local stakeholders before deciding on the details of the measure, he believes they struck a balance with the Workforce Housing Affordability Act.

“Everyone was in that conversation and everyone who was in it, made it a better product,” said Keeley. “Even the folks that don’t support it made it a better product, a much better product.”

Eden Housing CEO Linda Mandolini, Santa Cruz Mayor Fred Keeley and Housing Santa Cruz County Executive Director Elaine Johnson celebrated on Thursday after supporters of Workforce Housing Affordability Act turned in petition signatures to place the measure on the Nov. 2025 ballot. (Shmuel Thaler – Santa Cruz Sentinel)

The Workforce Housing Solutions Act has two components. If the initiative passes with a majority vote in November, it would enact an annual parcel tax of $96 per parcel in the city of Santa Cruz. The initiative also includes a real property transfer tax for homes sold at the price of $1.8 million or more. The initiative is estimated to raise $5 million each year for the city’s affordable housing trust fund and would sunset in 20 years.

Keeley also mentioned a similar city ballot initiative called the Workforce Housing and Climate Protection Act, which was created by members of the Santa Cruz County Association of Realtors and which Keeley calls a “dirty political trick.” The Realtors’ association campaign handed off about 6,000 signatures to the city clerk Wednesday, according to the group’s Government Affairs Director Victor Gomez.

“We are excited to have our initiative officially qualified and look forward to a strong campaign,” Gomez told the Sentinel. “As we met and discussed our initiative, folks are thrilled at the opportunity to fund improvements and safety upgrades to the wharf and the possibility of actually being able to purchase an affordable home, instead of just more rental housing. Unlike the other proponents, we have planned to build for sale, not only for rent units. Additionally, we believe exempting seniors over 55 is critical, as many are already struggling to make ends meet.’

At city hall, using a visual aid, Keeley said that the Workforce Housing Affordability Act campaign gathered about 7,000 signatures in total but after verifying them with the help of former mayor and political consultant Bruce Van Allen, handed off 4,170 to the city clerk. The campaign needed to gather 3,620 signatures to make the ballot.

“I have worked on affordable housing and as a tenant advocate for a long time,” said Van Allen. “When a community can commit a serious contribution from its local resources, that really brings in a lot more money. It leverages the state and federal money, foundation money and tax credits. A community either has to provide the land, which we don’t really have, or the money to show that local commitment. And so this just gets us in the good graces with all of the sources from outside of the community to make a project affordable.”

Following the ceremony at city hall, community members enjoyed cake in the courtyard and further discussed how the revenue gathered through the measure will help leverage additional funds for affordable housing developments such as Santa Cruz Planning Commissioner Pete Kennedy and local “land title guru” Jim Weller.

“This gives us that seed money, which is critical,” said Kennedy. “There are so many funding sources for these jobs. I was at an Eden Housing grand opening last week and there were 12 funding sources. So if we can put some taxpayer money in and multiply it by 10, that’s good times.”

Weller mentioned that the seed money provided by the tax initiative can also be used to secure the issuance of a bond.

“So, $10 million could secure $100 million in a 30-year bond measure,” said Weller. “That’s real money. You can do something with $100 million.”

Now that the initiative has tentatively made it on the ballot after years of effort, Johnson said she feels a sense of relief and told the Sentinel she was going to celebrate with a meal at her favorite restaurant after the ceremony.

“You don’t know how much you’re carrying until you let it down,” said Johnson. “This signature gathering piece has been six months in the making and there were no days off. Handing in those petitions to Bonnie (Bush), it really felt freeing. I feel confident that we will qualify and that in itself is a victory.”