Capitola Parks and Recreation recently held a Mayor for a Day essay contest for elementary and middle school students. Students were invited to write an essay telling the City Council what they would do if they were mayor for day. The winners will attend a City Council meeting and read their essays from the mayor’s chair. I am pleased to announce the winners and to share with you excerpts from the winning essays.
The elementary school winner is Desirae Adams a fourth grader at St. Abraham’s Classical Christian Academy. Excerpts from Desirae’s essay:
“If I were given a chance to become a mayor for one day in Santa Cruz County I would turn the gas prices down to help the people and families who can’t afford to pay to fill up their car or truck, and some people who can’t afford the gas have to walk every single day and maybe sometimes kids have to walk to school and back every day. Maybe people can’t afford to rider the bus or buy a bike.
I’d make things a little cheaper just because kids and parents, families and people with old age or anyone in need to have clothes and especially food. I’d find the best place for kids and families to live. Comforting people is great and especially orphans. Even if orphans don’t have parents we should never treat them different but instead comfort them which is what I’ll do when I’m mayor for a day. I’ll go to some schools and go to different classrooms and put a basket for clothes, blankets whatever really all we need is for everyone to be comforted. I’d also make services to make our county more beautiful, safe and clean.”
The Middle School Division Winner is Sydney Swanson, an eighth grader from New Brighton Middle School. Excerpts from Sydney’s essay:
“As mayor of Capitola, I have a few ideas on things that could make a significant
difference. Although I don’t think it would be possible to do all this in 24 hours, I would work on more sanitary bathrooms, cleaner beaches and increasing parking in the village. I think these issues need to be fixed because they affect how we feel and enjoy Capitola. First of all, dirty bathrooms are a big issue. Bathroom cleanliness is significant because the bathrooms affect how tourists view our community and how it feels. People come in wet and sandy, which leaves the bathroom nasty. As mayor, I will try my best to fix this issue by regularly cleaning and encouraging people to rinse off their feet or body before entering and be more conscious about the germs, sand, water and dirt they bring in.
Next, I will address the issue of dirty beaches. According to the Santa Cruz Sentinel, ‘Of 10 beaches that made the list statewide, Capitola came in at third on the list for dirtiest water.’ To try to fix this problem of dirty water and trash on our beaches, I will get volunteers and school students in our district to help clean waste off our shores. I will also encourage community members and tourists to pick up their trash daily to help get us off that dirtiest water list.
Lastly, I will add more parking around the village. I’ve noticed that it’s becoming
challenging to get parking and many tourists leave or need to park far away. This could affect small businesses that rely on tourists to stay open. To fix this, we could make a multi-leveled parking lot. This will make parking easy to find, but how will we pay for it? We will try to get donations from local businesses, community members and tourists. We will also have an event like an auction to raise money for this parking lot. If we still don’t have enough money, there could be a small tax for middle-class citizens and a more significant tax for wealthy citizens. Overall, I have many ambitious goals that may not be possible to complete in a day, but with more time, I believe I could achieve these goals and make a difference.”
Congratulations to Desirae and Sydney on winning the essay contest. They will be recognized and will read their essays at the Capitola City Council meetings of Oct. 13 and Oct. 27. I hope that you have enjoyed reading their goals if they were mayor for a day. Reading these essays assures me that the future is in good hands, at least in Santa Cruz County.
Sam Storey is the mayor of Capitola.
