16
T he C oast News - I nland E dition
OCT. 16, 2020
Election 2020
District 3 Supervisor race will determine board’s political majority By Tigist Layne
REGION — The November elections are just a few weeks away, and two candidates are vying for the District 3 seat in one of the region’s most anticipated races. For the first time in more than three decades, Democrats could flip the county Board of Supervisors’ long-held Republican majority. Districts 1, 2 and 3 are all up for election. District 1 has two Democratic candidates, and District 2 has two Republican candidates. Currently, District 4 is represented by a Democrat and District 5 is represented by a Republican. In District 3, Republican incumbent Kristin Gaspar is going head-to-head with Democrat Terra Lawson-Remer, and whoever comes out on top will deter-
50TH
CONTINUED FROM 11
of a moderate who wants to bring everyone together and I think that’s how you govern, that’s how you legislate; with everyone’s needs in mind, not just one party over the other.” Former Congressman Issa, 66, is hoping to return to Washington through a new seat. He served as a congressman for nearly 20 years until 2019, when he decided not to run for the 49th District seat again. “I’ve been an effective member of congress for the region and the nation, and I have a desire to serve,” Issa told The Coast News. “I don’t pretend to be a supervisor or a mayor or a
VISTA
CONTINUED FROM 14
to remain creative and forward thinking to ensure those businesses can survive and even flourish. Sunroad Plaza The Sunroad Plaza development project in District 3 is one neither Rigby nor Melendez supports. Rigby voted against the project, which will construct at least four drive-through restaurants at the intersection of Hacienda and Vista Village drives just south of State Route 78. Neither see the upside and discussed how the city is looking forward and drawing in higher-paying jobs in various industries. Melendez said it starts with connecting with civic engagement and said COVID-19 is forcing the city and residents to innovate to secure more higher-paying jobs. She, along with the other candidates, said keeping or expanding some of the new policies relating to outdoor dining, signage and others, will benefit the local economy in the future. Rigby said she also supports fewer restrictions, but at the same time is cautious
mine the political leaning of the board. Although county supervisor is officially a nonpartisan position, the five-member board has been controlled by a Republican majority for more than 30 years and members’ political leanings and philosophies tend to play a part in the board’s policy directions. Gaspar, a small business owner who was elected to the board in 2016, has previously served four years on the Encinitas City Council and was the first elected mayor of Encinitas. She said that her top priority right now is economic recovery for the region. “We have to 250,000 San Diegans out of work … and 900,000 who are food insecure. It’s going to be
KRISTIN GASPAR
TERRA LAWSON-REMER
very important that you have a county supervisor to navigate us out of this economic crisis,” Gaspar said. “As a CFO of a business, someone that comes with three terms in local offices … I know that I’m prepared to do this job and walk
hand in hand with our families and businesses during what will be an incredibly challenging time.” Gaspar, who has been an advocate for a swifter reopening of businesses, criticized Gov. Gavin Newsom for not giving the county
more control of the reopening process. “It’s important that we follow our local data, and we should have the ability on the local level to make decisions that are in response to what we see in our science and our data,” Gaspar said. “One thing that frustrates me is a governor that’s trying to drive an entire state, and this is a big, diverse state, and not every county has been a leader like San Diego has.” Lawson-Remer, an economist and environmental attorney who worked in the Treasury Department during the Obama administration, said that the first step to COVID-19 recovery is increased testing and increased contact tracing. “If you look around the world, the economies that have been able to get re-
started again are the ones that focused on getting their case numbers down,” Lawson-Remer said. “Once they got their numbers down, they helped businesses invest in the equipment they needed to reopen safely, and they were able to reopen and stay open.” Lawson-Remer said that, besides COVID-19 recovery, her top priority is climate action. “I’m a passionate environmentalist and I’m really focused on taking action on climate change. That means protecting our beaches, coastlines and our open spaces, as well as investing in affordable housing, and reducing traffic and congestion because protecting our planet is the most important thing we can do,” Lawson-Remer said. not working, we can find real solutions to problems for everyone.” Burkholder, a former federal law enforcement agent, received an endorsement from the Oceanside Police Officers’ Association and but no campaign donations. “I have put on a badge and I have protected people before so I understand,” Burkholder said. “I tell these folks I am there for you, however, their endorsements already seemed lined up in the primaries. If elected, they would realize how I can help them.” Both candidates openly support an increase in de-escalation training for law enforcement. their building. It should be open for them, they should not fear or have anxiety when they have to come to City Hall and do business. I want to make sure that everyone feels welcome there,” Greene said. District 4 Republican Councilmember Mike Morasco is the only incumbent running for re-election and he faces Republican April Austin Pugh. “He’s had 10 years of past, I want 10 years of present and future,” Pugh said of her opponent. “I’m not the status quo. I’m a small business owner, I’m a single mother, I know what it takes to survive. We need a clearer vision to move our city forward. We need to bring new people in and create that vision and move forward toward a healthier city.” The Escondido City Council elections are Nov. 3.
city councilman, I do the job that you expect someone to do as a representative in Washington; work on national and global issues and make sure that to the extent that there are federal programs available in your home district that we get our fair share of it, and that’s what I’ve done for all of my time in congress.” Isaa added that he is fiscally and socially conservative, as well as consistent, something he claims his opponent is not. “[Campa-Najjar] was for the Green New Deal... he has said that he supports 100% Medicare for all and a single payer plan,” Issa said. “He will say something different today, but he never explains how his
position changed from being absolutely for those in 2018. That’s one of the most important things is: are you consistent?” The 50th District seat was previously held by Duncan D. Hunter, who, despite being indicted on more than 60 counts related to the misuse of campaign funds, won re-election in 2018. After pleading guilty to one count related to the indictment, Hunter was sentenced to 11 months in prison, and resigned from his congressional seat in January 2020, leaving the seat vacant for nearly 10 months. Voters will decide the fate of the 50th District on Nov. 3.
76TH
folks accountable,” Burkholder said. “The answer isn’t always putting more money into something but instead looking at the issue critically. Needs have to be independently assessed by each district and city and that’s the missing piece in Sacramento.” Additionally, in regards to relationships with police unions, campaign donations and civil rights groups, the race for the 76th District seat is particularly unique. Boerner Horvath is currently endorsed by both San Diego and Carlsbad Police Officers associations while simultaneously sup-
porting civil rights groups, speaking at a Black Lives Matter rally for Encinitas 4 Equality in June. In June, the San Diego County Democratic Party asked all candidates to refuse donations from law enforcement unions. Despite the party’s mandate, Boerner Horvath had already received several large campaign donations from police unions during the course of her 2020 campaign, something she does not view as an issue. “I value our law enforcement unions and I value our social justice organizations,” Boerner Horvath said. “It’s not mutually exclusive. When we come together to talk about what’s working and what’s
about access to public parking. Still, she said the idea of looking to spread fewer restrictions post-COVID across the city can help drive the recovery. Rigby said there is vacant space across from the Vista Superior Court, so those areas are a target for the city as well.
like on Interstate 15. Green, meanwhile, also has reservations about the plan, saying it should be revisited as the pandemic has changed the workplace environment. He said North County is trying to come up with a compromise, noting SANDAG’s ridership projections are coming up short. “There’s a lot of things they’ve promised,” he said, “where they said they are allocating money and now going back on. We have to provide adequate infrastructure. Spending all that money on trains and buses doesn’t make sense to me.” Perez said she is in favor of the plan, noting she also supports electrifying the city’s fleet of vehicles. She said SANDAG’s plan is a step in the right direction to fight climate change, meet climate goals and if nothing is done, it’s a missed opportunity to create a robust clean energy economy. Melendez said it is important to invest to grow ridership and connect working people with jobs. She said with no connected transportation, the ability for economic progress cannot succeed, especially with lower-income residents.
SAN MARCOS
ESCONDIDO
2019 by the council to fill a vacant seat. Petrek is not running for re-election. Kramer said his priorities for the city involve limiting big developments. “People are frustrated with the big development projects that have taken place over the last 10 to 15 years,” Kramer said. “They are infringing on our open spaces, they’re not affordable to the people that are working in the community, they are overcrowding our schools and they’re congesting our roadways.” Kramer added that the city needs more affordable housing for those who are already in the community. “If I’m elected, I’m going to protect our hillsides, our open spaces and our parks and trails. I want to fight to curb the big developments and I want to build smarter and more affordable housing going forward,” Kramer said. The San Marcos City Council elections are Nov. 3.
more housing and stabilize our property tax stream,” Greene said. “We also need to attract new businesses to the city. One of the businesses that I’m very strongly in support of is the cannabis industry. … Opening up the cannabis industry would bring safe, reliable access to cannabis to a number of consumers in the area and bring in a large portion of sales tax generated into the city.” Greene also said that, with more than half of the city’s population being Latino, he hopes to make City Hall more welcoming by having meeting agendas translated into Spanish and offering translation services at council meetings. “I want to make sure that everyone in Escondido realizes that City Hall is
5 Big Moves As the pandemic rages on, one regional proposal has been causing controversy for more than a year. The San Diego Association of Governments’ “5 Big Moves” is just that, as the plan is calling for a $177 billion transit project to include more trains, buses, transit hubs and technology to get drivers off the highways. Rigby is one of the biggest skeptics, recalling a meeting she attended with SANDAG officials who were laughing at the Sprinter, the train running from Oceanside to Escondido. She said it was referred to as a “boondoggle” and now SANDAG wants to double-track the lines. She also railed against the proposal eliminating lanes on SR78 and to add a managed lane, or toll lane,
CONTINUED FROM 15
CONTINUED FROM 14
CONTINUED FROM 14
Get the latest news at www.thecoastnews.com