Mike Rotkin

Mike Rotkin was an American academic and politician who was a lecturer at the University of [California, Santa Cruz], long-term city council member and a five-time mayor of Santa Cruz, California: 1981–1982, 1985–1986, 1995–1996, 2004–2005, and 2009–2010.
A former motorcycle mechanic with a Ph.D. in the History of Consciousness, Rotkin first ran for city council on a protest campaign as a "socialist-feminist" in 1979, taking first place among voters at a time when Santa Cruz was more Republican than Democrat. He was also a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. He taught Marxist theory at UC Santa Cruz for over 40 years, while serving six terms as a city councilman, including five terms as the mayor, longer than anyone in the city's history. During his 20 years in city government, city spending on social services and programs increased from $80,000 a year in 1979 to $2 million by 2000. However, in the 2006 election, he was criticized for supporting pragmatic pro-economic development positions.
He served as president of the University of California, Santa Cruz teachers' union.

Anti-war and anti-racism activism

Rotkin protested the Vietnam War, Apartheid, and racism, and was arrested for civil disobedience "about a dozen times".

Rotkin died in Santa Cruz, California on June 18, 2025, at the age of 79. He died of leukemia.
https://news.ucsc.edu/2025/06/in-memoriam-mike-rotkin/