OCT. 16, 2015
A5
T he C oast News
Election season off to early start in Encinitas Gaspar picks up endorsements; Horvath to run for city council; Blakespear mulls mayoral run By Aaron Burgin City and federal officials speak with the media on Wednesday. The ATF will assist in investigating a three-alarm fire that leveled part of a San Marcos RV dealership on Oct. 11. Photo by Aaron Burgin
ATF to assist in San Marcos fire investigation By Aaron Burgin
SAN MARCOS — A team of federal agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms have been brought in to assist local authorities with the investigation into a three-alarm fire that leveled part of a San Marcos RV dealership on Oct. 11. The Sunday afternoon fire destroyed the parts and service center, as well as six to eight recreational vehicles, at Holland Motor Homes, which is located near San Marcos Boulevard and state Route 78. The damage was estimated at more than $4 million. Fire officials said no cause has been determined, and at this time they are not even calling the fire suspicious in nature.
“We come with a blank slate, we make sure we don’t have some preconceived notion about what is going to happen,” said Steven Cordle, the ATF team supervisor. Cordle said the ATF national team responds to large and small commercial fires, it just depends on if a local agency needs the assistance. Most recently, a national response team assisted Los Angeles Fire Department officials investigating a major apartment complex fire in downtown Los Angeles. He was a member of the ATF team that responded to the major fertilizer plant explosion in West Texas in 2013. Local authorities reTURN TO FIRE ON A16
ENCINITAS — The 2016 election season is getting off to an early start in Encinitas with a flurry of news that could impact both the City Council and Board of Supervisors races. Kristin Gaspar, who announced in September she was running for the District 3 supervisor seat currently held by Dave Roberts, announced over the past week that she received endorsements from a number of local and state officials, including San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer and State Assemblyman Rocky Chavez (R-Oceanside). Gaspar, a Republican, also received endorsements from State Senator Joel Anderson (R-El Cajon), Orange County State Assemblywoman Mimi Walters, and San Diego City Councilmembers Chris Cate, Lori Zapf, Mark Kersey and Scott Sherman. Gaspar is one of two Republican candidates vying for the nonpartisan post against Roberts, who is a Democrat. Escondido Mayor Sam Abed has also
declared his candidacy. Gaspar’s early endorsements and campaign’s apparent traction could send ripples into the Nov. 8, 2016 city council election, where Gaspar’s mayoral seat — which is up for re-election — could become fully open if she wins the June supervisor primary outright or advances to a runoff election. One person closely monitoring the situation is Encinitas Deputy Mayor Catherine Blakespear, who recently requested candidacy paperwork from the City Clerk’s office. Blake-
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spear, who was elected in 2014, said she would strongly consider running for mayor if Gaspar succeeds in the supervisor race. “I haven’t decided if I’m running for mayor yet but I picked up the paperwork to remind myself what information is required to open a committee,” Blakespear said to reporters. “I’m considering running for mayor because the seat will be open with Kristin Gaspar running for Supervisor.” If she opts to not run, Blakespear would remain
on the council until 2018. She holds the only council seat that is not up for election in 2016. One official who has signaled her intent to run for the City Council is Tasha Boerner Horvath, who was recently appointed to the Planning Commission. Horvath, who was appointed in June, was a champion of improving safety conditions around Paul Ecke Central Elementary. Blakespear said she supports Horvath’s candidacy and would likely endorse her.
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