Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Encinitas battle lines drawn

Rail Trail realities pump up interest in local elections

in an uncommon show of political alignment, almost every home has yard signs posted for the slate of three candidates.
in an uncommon show of political alignment, almost every home has yard signs posted for the slate of three candidates.

In Encinitas, in what is supposed to be a nonpartisan race for city council, the battle lines are now clearly drawn for November’s elections, with a slate of three candidates on both the conservative and liberal sides.

Months ago, the city council voted 3–2 to approve a bike and pedestrian railroad-track-side Rail Trail on San Elijo Avenue, instead of Coast Highway 101. The residents of the 1500-1700 blocks of San Elijo Avenue, homes that look out over the ocean, Coast Highway 101, and the railroad tracks, rallied against the council’s vote.

Now, in an uncommon show of political alignment, almost every home has yard signs posted for the slate of three candidates: mayoral candidate Paul Gaspar (the current mayor’s husband), first-time candidate Phil Graham (former governor Pete Wilson’s stepson), and the reelection of councilman Mark Muir. The Republican Party has endorsed all three.

Sponsored
Sponsored

San Elijo Avenue resident Denise said, “We’re all against [the Rail Trail] being on our street.”

“There’s already a bike lane on Coast Highway,” said neighbor Bill. “That’s where people want to walk and ride, on the Coast Highway blufftop, overlooking the ocean, not up on the hill on a busy residential street,” he added.

However, several months ago, it was mayoral candidate and current councilwoman Catherine Blakespear, a fourth-generation Cardiffian, who changed her vote of support for San Elijo Avenue alignment after seeing what the project coordinator, SANDAG, was actually planning. Along with up-for-reelection councilman Tony Kranz’s switched vote, the council became a 4-1 majority in stopping SANDAG’s proposal for the concrete trail to be placed on San Elijo Avenue.

“Too little, too late,” said one neighbor on the Blakespear/Kranz reversal.

Stating the Rail Trail will affect the entire railroad area from Cardiff through Leucadia, Blakespear has formed the Coastal Mobility and Livability group, calling all stakeholders along the corridor to consider not only the trail’s placement and design, but the necessary fencing, track crossing points, and the finishing of double-tracking through the city.

“My hope is for all sides to have education and responsibility [for coordinating the Rail Trail project,]” said Blakespear.

According to Blakespear, who now publicly prefers the Coast Highway 101 placement, the issue will end up at the California Coastal Commission. Commission staff supports the San Elijo Avenue alignment, says Blakespear. “I’m confident we can get them to change their minds,” she said.

However even with the intensity of the campaign signs on San Elijo Avenue, in most parts of the city, with individual yard signs loosely scattered throughout neighborhoods, Blakespear seemingly leads the way. (Campaign signs in a neighbor’s yard generally carry more political clout than the same-sized signs along the side of streets; it personalizes an endorsement.)

Joining Blakespear for mayor, the slate of candidates backed by the Democratic Party is Kranz and current planning commissioner Tasha Boerner Horvath.

One has to wonder about the one remaining candidate for council not endorsed by either political party. This will be current planning commissioner Tony Brandenburg’s third try to get a seat on the council. He seems to be working a grassroots campaign with longtime locals, but so far, he doesn’t seem to have yard signs.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Tiny Home Central isn’t solving the San Diego housing crisis

But it does hope to help fill in the gaps
Next Article

Pacific Beach – car thief's paradise

Take photos of your automobile and license plate
in an uncommon show of political alignment, almost every home has yard signs posted for the slate of three candidates.
in an uncommon show of political alignment, almost every home has yard signs posted for the slate of three candidates.

In Encinitas, in what is supposed to be a nonpartisan race for city council, the battle lines are now clearly drawn for November’s elections, with a slate of three candidates on both the conservative and liberal sides.

Months ago, the city council voted 3–2 to approve a bike and pedestrian railroad-track-side Rail Trail on San Elijo Avenue, instead of Coast Highway 101. The residents of the 1500-1700 blocks of San Elijo Avenue, homes that look out over the ocean, Coast Highway 101, and the railroad tracks, rallied against the council’s vote.

Now, in an uncommon show of political alignment, almost every home has yard signs posted for the slate of three candidates: mayoral candidate Paul Gaspar (the current mayor’s husband), first-time candidate Phil Graham (former governor Pete Wilson’s stepson), and the reelection of councilman Mark Muir. The Republican Party has endorsed all three.

Sponsored
Sponsored

San Elijo Avenue resident Denise said, “We’re all against [the Rail Trail] being on our street.”

“There’s already a bike lane on Coast Highway,” said neighbor Bill. “That’s where people want to walk and ride, on the Coast Highway blufftop, overlooking the ocean, not up on the hill on a busy residential street,” he added.

However, several months ago, it was mayoral candidate and current councilwoman Catherine Blakespear, a fourth-generation Cardiffian, who changed her vote of support for San Elijo Avenue alignment after seeing what the project coordinator, SANDAG, was actually planning. Along with up-for-reelection councilman Tony Kranz’s switched vote, the council became a 4-1 majority in stopping SANDAG’s proposal for the concrete trail to be placed on San Elijo Avenue.

“Too little, too late,” said one neighbor on the Blakespear/Kranz reversal.

Stating the Rail Trail will affect the entire railroad area from Cardiff through Leucadia, Blakespear has formed the Coastal Mobility and Livability group, calling all stakeholders along the corridor to consider not only the trail’s placement and design, but the necessary fencing, track crossing points, and the finishing of double-tracking through the city.

“My hope is for all sides to have education and responsibility [for coordinating the Rail Trail project,]” said Blakespear.

According to Blakespear, who now publicly prefers the Coast Highway 101 placement, the issue will end up at the California Coastal Commission. Commission staff supports the San Elijo Avenue alignment, says Blakespear. “I’m confident we can get them to change their minds,” she said.

However even with the intensity of the campaign signs on San Elijo Avenue, in most parts of the city, with individual yard signs loosely scattered throughout neighborhoods, Blakespear seemingly leads the way. (Campaign signs in a neighbor’s yard generally carry more political clout than the same-sized signs along the side of streets; it personalizes an endorsement.)

Joining Blakespear for mayor, the slate of candidates backed by the Democratic Party is Kranz and current planning commissioner Tasha Boerner Horvath.

One has to wonder about the one remaining candidate for council not endorsed by either political party. This will be current planning commissioner Tony Brandenburg’s third try to get a seat on the council. He seems to be working a grassroots campaign with longtime locals, but so far, he doesn’t seem to have yard signs.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Taco Taco Poway still has 99-cent fish tacos

Tacotopia prizewinner is well known among Powegians
Next Article

Yo-Yo Ma, Wagner, and Tchaikovsky come to San Diego

Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.