North County Report: That Other Intraparty Showdown

That Dem-on-Dem showdown in the 39th state Senate District might be over, but that wasn’t the only intraparty race for the state Legislature going down in the county. Two Republicans are vying to represent the 76th Assembly District, covering Oceanside, Vista, Carlsbad, Encinitas and Camp Pendleton.

Oceanside City Councilman Jerry Kern is facing off against Phil Graham of Encinitas. (No, he’s not the legendary Washington Post editor ‒ but he is former Gov. Pete Wilson’s stepson.) The two Republicans are seeking to replace Republican Rocky Chavez, who is running for U.S. Senate.

Both candidates have pulled in some big change from outside the district. Graham received $355,000 in contributions for his bid in 2015. Graham had 29 donations of $4,200, including from Rep. Kevin McCarthy and Doug Manchester. He also had a $4,200 loan from former Assemblyman Martin Garrick.

Kern, meanwhile, pulled in $184,000, largely with the support of developers who have projects in North County. He also gave himself $4,200 from his City Council campaign.

• KPBS reports that candidates in the race for County Supervisor Dave Roberts’ seat reported large contributions in 2015, with Encinitas Mayor Kristin Gaspar having the strongest close to the year.

Please, Won’t You Be Mi Vecino?

Maya Srikrishnan has a story from Solana Beach, where development is putting pressure on a historic Mexican neighborhood.

Now that La Colonia de Eden Gardens has made strides in improving crime, developers are looking to build more densely in the neighborhood. The new development is causing the very people who gave the neighborhood its alegria de vivir to head to cheaper cities.

Eden Gardens is already zoned for higher density, so the new projects meet existing requirements, but the developers still face strong opposition from neighbors.

All Cleaned Up and Nowhere to Go

Ry Rivard told us this week that the San Diego County Water Authority has been dumping clean water into a lake near Chula Vista, including expensive desalinated water from the new Poseidon plant in Carlsbad.

The deal the Water Authority struck with Poseidon requires it to purchase the desalinated water, even while water continues to flow from the Water Authority’s treatment plant in San Marcos, and from the Metropolitan Water District, which gets its water from Northern California and the Colorado River.

Rivard reports that as San Diegans continue to conserve water under Gov. Jerry Brown’s conservation mandate, the county now has more water than it needs ‒ and “ratepayers will now have to shell out an additional quarter-million dollars to retreat the water so it’s again fit for human consumption.”

Also in the News

• Fifty-seven votes were cast in the Yuima Municipal Water District in Pauma Valley, resulting in the unseating of an incumbent director. Until October, little Yuima had one of the highest-paid water officials in the county. (Valley Roadrunner)

• The idea of a pier in Carlsbad is being floated, again. (Union-Tribune)

• Oceanside approved a mixed-use project in the downtown area, that will add 388 public parking spaces, and oddly requires a “bike cafe.” (The Coast News)

• Camp Pendleton is tightening access to the Marine base. (Union-Tribune)

• The district attorney is charging Escondido Union School District Trustee Jose Fragozo with 13 felonies for possibly misrepresenting his primary residence to get elected. (Union-Tribune)

• Opposition to the mall at a Carlsbad lagoon continues to stack up. (The Coast News)

• Winds brought down trees and power lines across North County this past week. Speeds topped 50 mph in Del Mar and Oceanside. (NBC 7, Times of San Diego)

• Encinitas is facing another lawsuit over its density bonus ordinance. (Encinitas Advocate)

Correction: An earlier version of this post said it could cost $250 million to re-treat water dumped into a lake near Chula Vista. The cost is about a quarter-million dollars.