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Profiles of Two Good Men
A day or two after the 2018 election of new City Council members a small group of people began looking at the likely winners, acknowledging that there would now be a progressive majority. This was not welcomed. The progressives were clear in their concern for the less affluent, those who earned low wages or were unemployed, those who had to commute long distance because rents were unaffordable here, those who were homeless, with or without jobs, There was also a good sized group in Santa Cruz who were housed, employed or retired and shared the progressive majority’s concern for the less fortunate. Rather than accept the new balance and work with it, the Group decided to try to remove one or more of the progressives and elect one or more of their own
Who was most vulnerable to a recall? Soft spoken strong-willed Sandy Brown, with two years experience on the Council under her belt; Chris Krohn, known to sometimes ignore Robert’s Rules of Order, elected to the Council for a 2nd time and respected in the progressive community for his consistent push for affordable housing; Drew Glover, a Santa Cruz native, well known activist on behalf of the homeless and those with low waged work, and instructor of Kingian nonviolence at the local Resource Center for Nonviolence, or Justin Cummings, a young faculty member interested in the environment but otherwise a stranger to the group looking to make some choices.
Perhaps few were surprised at the choice of Chris Krohn and Drew Glover as targets of the recall push. Both men are known for their compassion and concern for others, especially folks who have many strikes against them and are working hard just to survive. Both are big hearted, and intelligent. Both believe that there must be a place in Santa Cruz for a mix; not just those who have a good wage, a lovely place to live and power over the future of the city but others as well. A place for the ones who do the lower paid, hard work, who teach children, care for the elderly and the ill, cook and wash dishes in restaurants, clean the hotels, provide police and fire protection and in so many ways make this a good place to live.
What those in power particularly dislike is that both men, but particularly Drew Glover are “outspoken” advocates. Rather than sit back and agree with yet another plan for luxurious condos, or a developer’s request to pay cash instead of including affordable units in a new apartment building or the City’s unwillingness to maintain safe locations for the homeless, they speak up and vote no. They give voice to the concerns of those who are rarely heard.
Drew Glover is large black man with a deep voice. No matter what he says some will claim that he’s angry, a common problem for black men. Chris Krohn, like Drew Glover, is likely to speak up and make his concerns known even when the other side keeps calling the question and cutting him off. Almost everything about them is fodder for criticism by the ones who disagree with their convictions, their values and their goals.
Drew is the more reserved of the two and harder to get to know . His reticence has been labeled indifference or worse by recall supporters but he is far from indifferent. Chris is outgoing, and talks easily with both friends and strangers. But don’t assume it’s just small talk. When conversation turns to the future of Santa Cruz and how to make it better for those who have little, both men are passionate.