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Justin Cummings said public service is in his blood, having watched his mother serve as a public health nutritionist and his father serve as a public defender in Chicago. When he was elected as mayor of Santa Cruz in December 2019, he became the first black man to serve as mayor in Santa Cruz history. He came to Santa Cruz to pursue a Ph.D. in ecology and evolutionary biology from UC Santa Cruz. Having successfully obtained the degree, he transitioned to working for the Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program, which sought to help college students from diverse backgrounds become future leaders in the conservation movement. He first ran for council in 2018 and promised to represent working-class voices.
First elected: Nov. 6, 2018
Day job: Drone operator and environmental sensor technician at UC Santa Cruz
Alma maters: UC Santa Cruz (Ph.D., ecology and environment); Eastern Illinois University (bachelor’s degree, Spanish literature and language, biology)
Notable quote: “We deserve a City Council that works for the many, not the few.”
City Council Committees
Public Safety Committee
Council Ad Hoc Revenue Committee
External Assignments
Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments
Climate Action Task Force
Local Agency Formation Commission (Santa Cruz holds the city seat through May 2022)
Measure U Implementation Working Group
Santa Cruz County Integrated Waste Management Local Task Force
Santa Cruz Mid-County Groundwater Agency
The Santa Cruz Planning Commission on Jan. 9 unanimously approved plans for a six-story, 83-unit apartment building on the 900 block of Water Street in Santa Cruz.
The new homes would be less than a block away from a five-story building at 831 Water St. approved in December.
