Santa Cruz Sentinel Sidebar/Profile: Thomas Leavitt 

RESIDENCE: Santa Cruz.

OCCUPATION: Senior Unix systems administrator/entrepreneur.

EDUCATION: Attended Occidental College in Los Angeles, and Cabrillo College.

PERSONAL: Married, with two step-daughters.

EXPERIENCE: Served on city’s Homeless Issues Task Force; chair of the city’s living-wage committee; active in the Green Party since 1993.

TOP THREE ISSUES:

Affordable housing: Fix the bottom rungs of the housing ladder so that people can afford to live near where they work.

Broaden the dialogue: Facilitate creation of neighborhood organizations and business improvement districts, and give all areas and all residents a voice in the city’s governance, so that we can take full advantage of Santa Cruz’s social and economic potential.

Create public space that serves the public good: Build a downtown that serves all and discriminates against none by restoring the Pacific Garden Mall vision via the construction of a permanent, multi-block pedestrian plaza.