The pool of candidates for Oceanside mayor is jam-packed and there’s still more than a week until the final deadline to enter the race.
So far, a dozen people, including current Council members Christopher Rodriguez, Esther Sanchez and Jack Feller, are running along with Louis Uridel, an Oceanside gym owner who was arrested when he opened his gym in defiance of the county’s public health order in May, and former Assemblyman Rocky Chavez.
That’s not all. Others in the running include: Perry Alvarez, a computer network design engineer; Fernando Garcia, a retired Marine; Rob Howard, president of the local Utility Workers Union of America; Ruben Major, a paramedic and EMT trainer; and David Turgeon, a cable technician, the Union-Tribune reported.
Oceanside Mayor Peter Weiss, appointed to the position in 2018, will not run for re-election. Instead, he’s seeking the City Council seat for District 4, which was recently created. The city is transitioning from at-large elections to district seats that represent particular neighborhoods.
Oceanside City Clerk Zeb Navarro said all mayoral candidates will be on the November ballot and the person with the most votes will win. That means the next mayor could be someone who nabs a relatively small percentage of the vote. The deadline for filing campaign paperwork for all other City Council positions is Friday.
What to Watch for on the November Ballot in North County
Ahead of the Nov. 3 election, I rounded up local ballot initiatives and City Council seats from across the region. The makeup of local City Councils could drastically change in cities like Escondido and Oceanside, where three seats apiece are on the ballot.
Carlsbad
There are two City Council seats — District 2 and District 4 — up for grabs. Voters will also weigh in on a measure to tie Council members’ raises to the San Diego Regional Consumer Price Index.
Del Mar
There are three City Council seats up for election, which are currently held by Mayor Ellie Haviland and Council members Dave Druker and Sherryl Parks. There are no local ballot initiatives in Del Mar.
Encinitas
There are three City Council seats on the table — mayor, District 1 and District 2. Voters will also weigh in on a measure that asks whether Encinitas should authorize commercial cannabis activities, including retail sales, cultivation and manufacturing.
Escondido
There are three City Council seats — District 2, District 3 and District 4 — on the ballot.
Oceanside
There will be three City Council seats — mayor, District 3 and District 4 — on the ballot. Oceanside citizens will also vote for city clerk and city treasurer. Local ballot measures include a referendum on North River Farms, a mixed-use development on agricultural land, as well as an initiative that could limit Council members and the mayor to three four-year teams. The City Council is also considering the addition of a new cannabis tax at the Wednesday meeting.
Poway
There will be two City Council seats — District 2 and District 4 — on the ballot. There will be one local ballot measure on whether to allow The Farm, a new development with a maximum of 160 homes and at least 70.4 acres of permanent open space on approximately 117.2 acres at Stoneridge Country Club Lane.
San Marcos
There will be two City Council seats — District 3 and District 4 — on the ballot. There are no local ballot initiatives in San Marcos.
Solana Beach
There are three City Council seats — mayor, District 1 and District 3 — on the November ballot. Solana Beach residents will also vote on an initiative to allow commercial cannabis retailers in non-residential zones and deliveries and certain cultivation businesses in all zones.
Vista
There will be two City Council seats — District 2 and 3 — on the ballot. There are no local ballot initiatives so far in Vista.
The deadline to enter the race for most City Council seats in North County is Friday, and ballot initiative language is due to the San Diego County Registrar of Voters the same day.
In Other News
- Former Palomar College president Joi Lin Blake was forced to resign in February amid financial troubles and a faculty vote of no-confidence. She alleged in a complaint to the governing board that she had been subjected to racial, gender and disability discrimination. She eventually agreed to withdraw her complaint as a condition of her settlement agreement, the Union-Tribune reported.
- Oceanside Police Chief Frank McCoy will retire in October after heading the department since 2006. (Coast News)
- San Diego Sheriff’s Capt. Herb Taft talked to the Coast News about his views on protests, transparency and safety, and hosted a community forum with the city of Encinitas last week. (Coast News)
- San Diego District Attorney Summer Stephan charged a Ramona gym owner for staying open and violating California’s COVID-19 shutdown orders. (Union-Tribune)
- A remotely operated submarine found a Marine assault amphibious vehicle that sank off San Clemente Island alongside human remains, presumably belonging to the eight service members who recently went missing. (Union-Tribune)
- Del Mar is stepping up its enforcement of mask wearing and hiring part-time deputies to enforce San Diego County’s emergency public health order and slow the spread of COVID-19. (Union-Tribune)
- And finally, coronavirus cases are increasing in Fallbrook, San Marcos and Vista. In the last two weeks, San Marcos saw a surge from 94 to 205 cases, NBC 7 reports.
Correction: An earlier version of this post omitted a Carlsbad measure on the November ballot.