Santa Cruz isn't Denmark, and That is Exactly the Point

A recent commentary in Lookout Santa Cruz reads like a eulogy for a progressive era its author helped define. But let’s be honest: that era was never as pure or effective as its champions like to remember. Santa Cruz has long been governed not by practical progressivism, but by rigid idealism—often led by older white men who treated compromise as betrayal and pragmatism as weakness.

The truth is, America is a country of extremes—both natural and social. We swing between liberal and conservative, idealism and realism. We are not Denmark, where politics are relatively stable and society cohesive, but also, frankly, a little bland. Santa Cruz reflects America’s volatility, but with our own local flavor.

In most of the country, I’d be considered a flaming liberal. But here in Santa Cruz, I’m a pragmatic, middle-of-the-road liberal. And I’m not alone. More and more residents are realizing that rigid ideology hasn’t solved our housing crisis, improved our transportation system, or made local government more functional.

The generation that defined Santa Cruz’s old-school progressivism—people who were certain of their worldview and dismissive of dissent—is aging out. They had some real wins, but they also left behind a mess: unaffordable rents, broken infrastructure, and political clubs more focused on purity tests than public service.

Unfortunately, ideological extremism tends to provoke its opposite. By refusing to adapt to changing realities, the progressive establishment opened the door for a more conservative, reactionary response—not because it offered better ideas, but because people were desperate for something different.

We don’t need to swing to the right. We need to move forward—with leaders who are less interested in reliving the political battles of the ’70s and more focused on solving today’s problems. Santa Cruz deserves pragmatic, inclusive politics grounded in the reality we live in, not the nostalgia some still cling to.

It’s time for our politics to grow up—not give up.

Explore this topic and more on April 2 at Chaminade: Beaches, Books, Budgets, and Bots