Mayor Ryan Coonerty to Take Santa Cruz Residents to Mayor School

Santa Cruz Mayor Ryan Coonerty, who is both a lawyer and a professor at UC Santa Cruz, will teach a course on local government to all Santa Cruz residents.

Called the "Mayor's Academy," the two-hour course will be given four times, once a month over the next four months and it will deal with all kinds of questions about local government, including, according to Coonerty, "Where your tax dollars go? How to get a pot hole fixed? And what's with that River Street sign?"

The 37-year-old mayor said he was inspired by the police department's citizen academy, which teaches the public about police work, to try the same thing with government.

"It sort of hit me one night," he said. "I believe in the idea that putting a bunch of people in a room and working on facts and issues can really lead to something."

Also, he joked, it's another of his efforts to avoid practicing law.

"The only places people learn about the city are from news sound bites or two minutes of explanation at City Council meetings," he added seriously. "This is a place to have a more in-depth discussions."

The classes are from 7-9 p.m. Wednesdays starting this week and continuing on May 17, June 7 and July 27 at City Council Chambers.

Contact Lisa McGinnis (lmcginnis@cityofsantacruz.com) to register or call
831-420-5270.

The cost is a suggested $25 donation to Friends of Parks and Recreation.