City of Santa Cruz City Council Councilmember Renée Golder

Renee Golder first ascended to the Santa Cruz City Council in March 2020 when she replaced Drew Glover, who became one of the first councilmembers in Santa Cruz history to be recalled. Having taken over for her predecessor mid-term, she ran again for reelection in 2022—in the first election in Santa Cruz history in which councilmembers were elected by geographical district, rather than at large.

Garnering 57.77 percent of the vote in in a successful run against challenger Sean Maxwell, Golder won a full term as the councilmember for the newly drawn District 6, which includes Santa Cruz’s Westside: south of Mission Street, west of Younglove Avenue and Columbia Street, along Western Drive, and a western part of UCSC.

A 20-year veteran teacher, Golder has said she believes the top issues for the council are are public safety, water and resources, open resources and parks, and housing. She previously served on the Santa Cruz Public Safety Citizen Task Force and volunteered for the Santa Cruz Sister Cities Committee.

First elected: March 3, 2020

Day job: Principal of Bay View Elementary School

Alma maters: National University (master’s degree, applied school leadership); UC Santa Cruz (bachelor’s degree, history)

Notable quotes:
“I think my district really wants safe, clean streets where there’s not RVs parked in the neighborhoods. I think people want their basic needs met as residents: They want their trash picked up, they want water coming to their faucet, they want to see development in appropriate locations, and they want to see a town where where they can walk and bike and work and feel like it’s taken care of—business is taken care of.” (Source: Santa Cruz Local’s Nov. 8, 2022, Election Guide)

“My priorities are to create more workforce housing, protect our environment, address homelessness, improve our infrastructure, support small businesses, and afterschool programs. We are stronger when we work together for a safe, sustainable city.” (Source: 2020 campaign statement)

City Council Standing Committees:
Public Safety

City Council Ad Hoc Committees:
Oversized Vehicles Ordinance Ad Hoc Committee
Charter Amendment Committee

External Governmental Agencies/Intergovernmental
Coordinating Committees:
City-Santa Cruz City Schools Committee
Santa Cruz County Integrated Waste Management Local Task Force
Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission (Alternate)