Candidate Filing for Some Offices on the November Ballot Extended until Wednesday

Candidate Filing Extended to August 15 for Several Local Offices

Filing has extended for several school, fire, water, and recreation districts as well as the Cities of Capitola, Santa Cruz and Watsonville due to the fact that the incumbent did not file by the deadline of 5 p.m. Friday, August 10.

Therefore, candidate filing has been extended until 5 p.m. Wednesday, August 15 for anyone other than the incumbent to file.

Contests that have been extended include:

SCHOOL DISTRICTS

• Santa Cruz County Board of Education: 2 Governing Board Members· Trustee Areas: 3 and 5
• Aromas-San Juan Unified School District: 3 Governing Board Members;
• Pajaro Valley Unified School District: 2 Governing Board Members, Trustee Areas: 2 and 6;
• Santa Cruz City School District: 4 Governing Board Members: 2 in Trustee Area 1 (inside city – 1 full term, 1 short term); 2 in Trustee Area 2 (outside city)
• Scotts Valley Unified School District: 3 Governing Board Members.
• Happy Valley Elementary School District: 2 Governing Board Members (short term);
• Live Oak School District: 3 Governing Board Members (2 full term, 1 short term);
• Soquel Union Elementary School District: 3 Governing Board Members.

 FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICTS

• Aromas Tri-County Fire: 3 Directors (2 full term, 1 short term);
• Branciforte Fire: 3 Directors;
• Pajaro Valley Fire: 4 Directors (3 full term)

 WATER DISTRICTS

• Central Water: 2 Directors;
• Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency: Division D;
• San Lorenzo Valley Water: 2 Directors;

 RECREATION DISTRICTS

• Boulder Creek Recreation and Park District: 3 Directors;
• La Selva Beach Recreation District: 3 Directors.

 MISCELLANEOUS DISTRICTS

• Pajaro Dunes Geologic Hazard Abatement: 2 Directors (elected by property owners)
• Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District: 1 Director (short term)

 A person is eligible to be elected or appointed to the above offices if that person is:

• 18 years of age and a citizen of the state at the time of his/her election or appointment (Government Code §1020)
• a registered voter of the district or division and otherwise qualified to vote for that office at the time nomination papers are issued to the person or at the time of the person's appointment. (Election Code §201; Government Code §24001).  Exceptions:  for recreation districts, the candidate may either be a registered voter of the district or a registered voter of the state who owns property in the district (Public Resources Code §5783.3); for resource conservation district, appointees must be a registered voter of the state who 1) resides in the district and either owns real property or have served two years or more as an associate director providing advisory assistance to the board, or 2) be a designated agent of a resident landowner within the district. (Public Resources Code §9352)

Declarations of Candidacy for candidates for the offices listed above are available from the Santa Cruz County Clerk/Elections Department, 701 Ocean St., Room 210, Santa Cruz, CA, 831-454-2060. Declarations of Candidacy must be filed by 5 p.m. Wednesday, August 15 at the County Clerk/Elections Department at the address above.

CITIES

Three cities in Santa Cruz County also have incumbents who did not file, so candidate filing has extended until 5 p.m., Wednesday, August 15: 

• Capitola: 2 Councilmembers & 1 Treasurer
• Santa Cruz: 4 Councilmembers
• Watsonville: 4 Councilmembers: Districts 2 and 6

Candidates who file for Capitola and Santa Cruz offices must be a registered voter of the city. Candidates running for Watsonville City Council must be a resident and registered voter of the City and the District for 30 days preceding the opening date for the filing of nomination papers.

All candidates for City Council must file a Nomination Petition with 20 valid signatures in order to have their name placed on the November ballot. In addition, Declarations of Candidacy must be filed with the appropriate City Clerk’s Office. 

• Capitola City Clerk’s Office – 420 Capitola Ave., Capitola, CA 95010, 831-475-7300
• Santa Cruz City Clerk’s Office – 809 Center Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, 831-420-5038
• Watsonville City Clerk’s Office – 275 Main St., 4th Floor, Watsonville, CA 95076, 831-768-3040

Declarations of Candidacy and Nomination Petitions for city office must be filed by 5 p.m. August 15 for anyone other than the incumbent to file.

Appointment to each elective office will be made as prescribed by Elections Code §10515, §10229 and Education Code §5326, 5328 and 5328.5 in the event that there are no nominees or an insufficient number of nominees for the office and a petition for election is not filed with the elections official within the time period prescribed by the code sections listed above.

At the time the candidate files a Declaration of Candidacy, candidates have the option of submitting a 200-word Candidate’s Statement of Qualifications to be published in the Voter’s Information Pamphlet at the candidate’s expense. 

Because there are strict rules and laws governing candidate filing, interested persons are encouraged to contact the County Elections Department to obtain a “Candidate’s Handbook” and other assistance to ensure all filing obligations are met.   The Elections Department is located at 701 Ocean Street, Room 210 in Santa Cruz, phone 831-454-2060. Candidates for City Council should contact the City Clerk in their city of residence.

The “Candidate’s Handbook” for the November Election is available online at www.votescount.com For more information, please contact the Santa Cruz County Clerk/Elections Department at 831-454-2060 or  toll-free 1-866-282-5900.