City of Capitola City Council Councilmember Joe Clarke

The third-place vote-getter in an extremely tight race for Capitola City Council, Joe Clarke was sworn in as an at-large councilmember on Dec. 8. The lontime local gathered endorsements from outgoing Capitola Mayor Sam Storey as well as former mayors Gayle Ortiz, Bruce Arthur and Mike Termini.

A retired sergeant with the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office, Clarke has extensive experience in public safety. He’s been a K-9 deputy, has managed the search and rescue unit, and was a SWAT team member and hostage negotiator. He also was director of police services at Cabrillo College.

During the election, Clarke spoke about his dream for Capitola in Santa Cruz Local’s Election Guide. A recreational surfer, Clarke said that he wants to “get Capitola beaches off of Heal the Bay’s annual list of California beaches with the poorest water quality.”

He also shared his views on the Santa Cruz Coastal Rail Trail, which will run through Capitola. “Now that it’s been voted on—they want the trail and rail is what everyone decided on. I think that we need to get the trail up immediately. I know they started up on the Westside and have some of it completed, but try to get the trail completed immediately or as soon as possible, because it’s going to take some while for them to redo all the railroad tracks. And if they get the trail up sooner, the better off we are. That’ll alleviate some of the traffic problems. It will be safer for the bicyclists. That’s all good.”

Day job: Reitred sergeant with the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office. He also served in the United States Coast Guard.

Volunteer work: Capitola Public Safety Foundation, the Santa Cruz Scholastic Surf League, Operation Surf, and the Sheriff’s Activity League.

Notable quote: “Currently, the City of Capitola does not have an active redevelopment plan, and I believe it’s time we get the redevelopment plan back on track. Building costs have skyrocketed the past few years and Capitola has to get the developers back to table so we can get the project moving before costs rise again. We need to work with developers on new zoning laws to make it easier for them to want to come back.” (Source: Lookout Santa Cruz, Nov. 1, 2022)