Ryan Coonerty knows Santa Cruz, California. After being raised in the small coastal city and then going across the pond and country for schooling, he returned to his hometown to get connected with public policy in a way that he felt he was missing in Washington D.C.

Just because he has a passion to help his Santa Cruz community doesn’t mean that he doesn’t encounter difficulties in his role as County Supervisor. But he uses his previous experiences as city council member and mayor to help better understand that you can’t make everyone happy as an elected official, so he just continues “to just vote my conscience and let the chips fall where they may.”

Ryan Coonerty steps “In the Arena” to talk about not taking jobs too seriously, his diplomatic middle name, and his journey to continue improving Santa Cruz for the future generations.