An Encinitas Christmas Carol

Many Encinitans felt Scrooged when Paul and Kristin Gaspar and developer David Meyer set up a sham charity, "We Love Encinitas," to send out political mailers supporting the re-election of Jerome Stocks and Mark Muir.

Yesterday's Union-Trib brings some welcome news:

Nonprofit donates to other charities

We Love Encinitas, a nonprofit committed to the education and distribution of positive information about Encinitas, has made contributions to four local charities:

• The Hand to Hand fund through the Coastal Community Foundation, which promotes economic independence and positive change in the lives of women and girls.

• The Community Resource Center, a social services agency dedicated to providing domestic violence services, food programs and emergency/transitional housing assistance to women, children, individuals and families.

• Conner’s Cause for Children, which provides critical financial assistance to families struggling to cover the out-of-pocket costs of caring for a child with a life-threatening illness or injury.

• The Magdalena Ecke Family YMCA.

It was not clear from the news article or from We Love Encinitas' web site how significant the group's contributions were, or whether they amounted to more money than the group spent on the political campaign.

It is also not clear whether this is just another legal and PR ploy to create the appearance of a legitimate charity after being caught red-handed, or whether the Gaspars have seen a ghost and changed their hearts.

But in the holiday spirit, let us hope this is a true Christmas miracle.

Coming soon to a gutter near you

In what is apparently the first expenditure by Encinitas charity "We Love Encinitas" since the campaign season, the group has inserted flyers among the mattress ads and other detritus wrapped in plastic and thrown unsolicited on Encinitas lawns, gardens, and driveways.



Though the expenditure seems odd, we suspect that WLE's lawyers told them they had better start spending some money outside of election season to try to create the appearance that the charity is something other than a campaign ploy.

In other WLE news, a commenter points out at North Coast Current that WLE's claim of 501(c)(3) status was likely fraudulent, as the brand new group wouldn't have had time to get IRS approval.

More fingerprints on sham charity: Kristin Gaspar's, and developer David Meyer's

Last month, we learned that the charity sending out campaign propaganda to support incumbents Jerome Stocks and Mark Muir was tied to Paul Gaspar, husband of councilwoman Kristin Gaspar.

When questioned by the North Coast Current, Kristin Gaspar declined comment and directed questions toward her husband.

Now the trail goes directly to Kristin Gaspar.  The Coast News obtained the October 22 We Love Encinitas filing with the California Secretary of State which lists Kristin, not Paul, Gaspar as the agent for service of process.

More troubling than Gaspar's dissembling is the revelation that developer David Meyer is also behind the group.

The documents also list David Meyer, a real estate consultant and land developer in Encinitas as the secretary and chief financial officer of the group. Meyer’s past advocacy includes forming a political action group to oppose policies promoted by the late Councilwoman Maggie Houlihan.

A page from We Love Encinitas' Articles of Incorporation. It lists Councilwoman Kristin Gaspar as the agent for service of process. Documents filed later list Paul Gaspar as the agent for service of process.
In an email, Meyer said that any questions about his involvement with the group should be directed through We Love Encinitas, and not his personal email and phone number.

All requests for comments from We Love Encinitas, including whether the group has been granted or is applying for 501 (c) 3 status, have gone unanswered.

Who does Kristin Gaspar represent? The people of Encinitas or special interests like developer David Meyer?