- Don Lane (Santa Cruz)
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Don Lane
Don Lane (born January 12, 1956) is local businessman, community organizer, and politician in Santa Cruz, CA. Lane spent many years working for and managing the Saturn Cafe after graduating from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1973.[1] During which, Lane served the community in multiple capacities in the City of Santa Cruz and community groups; leading to his serving as the Santa Cruz Vice Mayor in 2011.[2] Lane lives with his wife Mary Howe, an electronics technician and union member at UCSC; and his daughter Tida Lane-Howe, an artist and student at Cabrillo College.[3]
Contents
Early Work and Schooling
As a fourth generation Californian, Lane arrived in Santa Cruz in 1973 at the age of 17 to study politics and history at the University of California, Santa Cruz. After graduating with honors, he staffed the local election campaign of then Congressmember Leon Panetta.
Searching for a way to remain in Santa Cruz with long-term employment, he started the Saturn Café and built the restaurant into a local institution.
Early Politics
Once the Saturn Café was on steady footing, Lane returned to community politics, serving on the City Water Commission and the City Public Works Commission. He was also active in the local Democratic Party, serving as chair of the Santa Cruz County Democratic Party and as president of a local Democratic Club.
In 1988, while still managing the Saturn Café, Lane was elected to the Santa Cruz City Council.[4] During his term, the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake devastated Downtown Santa Cruz. Much of his tenure was focused on working with other city officials and community members on the successful downtown rebuilding effort. He also served on the Board of Directors of the Santa Cruz Metro Transit system and on the Regional Transportation Commission.
After completing a term as Mayor of Santa Cruz, Lane chose not to run for reelection...and turned his attention to new projects. He sold his majority ownership share of the Saturn Café, took a short term position as a campaign coordinator for Representative Sam Farr.
Community Organizing and Nonprofit Work
While serving on the City Council, Lane successfully championing a handful of affordable housing projects and leading an effort to improve homeless services. But after his term Lane continued to play a key role in initiating two new nonprofit organizations. The first being the Homeless Community Resource Center—which has now grown into the highly successful Homeless Services Center. The second nonprofit organization was Youth Opportunities, a job training program for disadvantaged teens—that was located within a downtown ice cream shop. The Youth Opportunities program trained and employed more than fifty teens during its 4 year run.
More recently, Lane has worked as an administrator with three different nonprofit organizations in Santa Cruz and he is currently employed as the administrative manager of the Appleton Foundation, as Santa Cruz-based charitable foundation.
Current Politics
In 2008, Lane stepped back into the City's political arena and won another term on the City Council.[5] He is currently serving as Vice Mayor of the City of Santa Cruz, and is in line to assume the Mayorship in December 2011. Lane represents the City to the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission, Santa Cruz County LAFCO and the Santa Cruz/Soquel Creek Desalination Task Force.[6]
References
- ^ http://www.smartvoter.org/2008/11/04/ca/scz/vote/lane_d/bio.html
- ^ http://cityofsantacruz.com/index.aspx?page=789
- ^ http://www.smartvoter.org/2008/11/04/ca/scz/vote/lane_d/bio.html
- ^ http://www.cityofsantacruz.com/index.aspx?page=789
- ^ http://www.votescount.com/nov08/results.htm
- ^ http://cityofsantacruz.com/index.aspx?page=789
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