Wednesday, July 16, 2014

7/16/14 City Council open thread

The current city council has continued prior councils' practice of not providing written summary minutes of council discussion, but only "action minutes" which state the outcomes. Encinitas Undercover will provide a forum for observers to record what occurs at each council meeting.

Please use the comments to record your observations.

Items of interest on tonight's agenda:

- Moment of truth for density bonus. Will council follow through on what they unanimously supported last week, or will they flip-flop, turn their backs on their constituents, and take orders from Planning staff?
- Due diligence report on Pacific View.

- Borrowing $13 million for Pacific View and a lifeguard tower with a phony "lease revenue" bond where there is no lease and there is no revenue.

Also, we may hear some results from the closed session evaluation (closed by council choice, not by law) of His Excellence Gus Vina and unanimously-supported city attorney Glenn Sabine.

98 comments:

  1. It's a big night for little Mayberry by the Sea. Come early, bring the kiddies, free hotdogs and popcorn for all. It's Encinit.... Err Mayberry by the Sea. All the drama you can imagine or not.... In one little coastal community. Good luck children.

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  2. Wow. 80-100 ft. Of bluff retreat. The houses west of PacView used to have a road between them and the beach.

    In another 100 years PacView will be oceanfront. 200 years after that it won't exist.

    Wild to see the geography change beyond the scale of one lifetime.

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  3. This majority is just like the last majority.....

    It was funny to listen to Kranz talk out his ass about the city's busget being in good shape....

    Let's start calling him Dalakranz.... They act the same and do nothing positive for encintas .

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  4. Next he will get a job with a local bank and barrow $100,000 from it...

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  5. Westbrook wants story poles on every project....

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    Replies
    1. Why not?

      What's the downside?

      When I lives in Del Mar, every renovation required it.

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  6. Andrew Audet- attempting to bring levity to the meeting... But fails. Says staff is a lying failing entity. Says residents have had enough ....

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    1. It was funny. Developers are the most invasive creepers.

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    2. staff does report misinformation and with holds information- residents have had enough

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    3. I appreciate Mr. Audet's expose of he invasive Coastal Weasel AKA Carpetbaggus Weaseli and it's litigious skunk cohorts.

      I have seen them sniffing about my neighborhood and I am glad they will face barriers to the future building of their ruinous overcrowded warrens.

      -The Badger

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    4. Audet is great and he was hysterical. Wish he would run for mayor.

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    5. Me too. In fact, I think I will watch it again. That guy is classic!!!

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  7. Marco atty- doesn't like density bonus, giving his opinion. Says city must do EIR on changing their DB laws .
    Want clear direction from the council .
    MG ---- very slick, tells city he's ready to go to court on behalf of his client.

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    Replies
    1. that is hilarious- hihg density lawyer and coastal weasel Marco wants an EIR when he opposed an EIR when his developers planned on clear cutting mature trees and damaging wetlands at desert rose -

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    2. Marco spoke about when he was the attorney for the Urania neighbors. He lost for them.

      He mentioned Desert Rose and was the attorney for the developers. They lost.

      Does anyone see a pattern?

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    3. Marco Gonzalez seems to lose his cases for high density developers.

      Does it look like Marco has better success coming up with ways to file lawsuits against taxpayers using the environment as a weapon and walk away with big paydays at taxpayer expense?

      He got $250,000 for filing a lawsuit about fireworks and I don't think anything he did improved the environment, the ocean or the community- it looks like the only improvement was to Marco's wallet/

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    4. Why was Marco even there? What developer is he fight for this time? For those interested he is also a pod friend of Catherine Blakespear. Take that for what it is worth.

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    5. OK - I'll bite..........what's a "pod friend"? Sounds intriguing........

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    6. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pod_People_(Invasion_of_the_Body_Snatchers)

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  8. Building industry rep says DB allows affordable housing. Says city will end up in court if they continue down path of rounding down.

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    1. LOL how come all the other cities that round down - including the oft-mentioned Los Angeles - don't end up in court? What a buffoon. Sit down at the table with the BIA? They rendered that not an option when they started with the "do it or else" act.

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  9. Genuine Julie says Leucadia needs more renters.
    Says council members have discretion.
    No comment to steam clean playgrounds.

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    1. She losses me there…. what an idiot- Leucadia needs more renters.

      she is a loser. No go!

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    2. 10:35 why are you spreading lies? Graboi said housing worked for all without government inteference and before stack and pack. You are clearly a political troll-

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  10. I was the one who started the criticism of Julie's steam cleaning topic last week

    She nailed it this week.

    Big improvement in her comments on Debsity Bonus.

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    1. Nailed it?? Wow !! I wasn't impressed. I guess we have different hammers.

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    2. 11:09

      well stop hitting yourself in the head with it 11:09 Julie did nail, outstanding, and she stood up to both Murphy and Vina- something the gang of five refuse to do

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    3. 1:31- her comment that Leucadia used to have more renters in the 70's is nonsense. Who cares?? Someone running for mayor needs to understand is 2014. Not 1974. What is she saying?? That Leucadia was better in the 70's ?? With more renters and less homeowners?? In the 70's the county was in control, does she want us to return to county control?? As someone running for mayor she leaves many wondering.

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    4. Not sure who your "many" is, 6:22, and you can haggle over how she explained herself. You are for some reason missing her point that we are actually DOWN affordable housing thanks to cramalot construction and density bonus projects that leave the affordable unit an afterthought. Maybe you'd like to sit down with the BIA and report back on how much they care about our community?

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    5. So you are saying that incredible Julie wants the govt to build affordable housing?? Please explain her for us.

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    6. She's hardly alone in noting the decline in the number of affordable units in Encinitas. That's just a fact.

      If you're curious about why she holds a position, ask her yourself, don't be lazy. She's very approachable.

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    7. There is plenty of affordable housing in Blythe. Not everyone can/should live at the beach... Socialist nonsense.

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    8. 12:00 pm what's your point? The one pushing stack and crap housing are Barth Shaffer and Dalakranz- remember they lied on Prop A-

      Graboi opposed Prop A and opposed stack and crap- the comment last night was true, before stack and crap and density bonus incentivers that benefit coastal weasles through government intervention the free market worked just fine-

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  11. White haired lady asks for 2 low income families in 3400 sq ft homes!! I guess she not been to the apts on the north end of Hermes where 10 people live in a 500 sq ft apt. Oh well, some live in a fantasy world.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, she rather obviously missed the point that smashing two families into 3400 sf does not solve the issue that one family should not be living in significantly less square footage than the market rate ones.

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  12. Shaffer wants fewer people to speak.

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  13. Kathleen L from Leucadia says cars are important to low income people. Margaret cousin Ann is still 730 on the low income house list !! Okaaaayyyyyy??? And if you live in LA you get priority at ucla..... Okaaaaayyyyy???

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  14. Shaffer is the one who needs to speak less. Did you hear her run-on attempt at a "friendly amendment" to Kranz' motion?

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  15. The good Lisa is back tonight.

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  16. Kranz motion to round down DB, Shaffer interrupts and presents her own motion. Shaffer wants developers to open their books on projects. Says current projects are bad for the community. Can't talk fast enough, using her hands to fill in for words. Adds amendment to her amendment.
    Gaspar losing control...
    Wants motions one by one.
    Thanking public for Hanging in there.
    Gaspar concerned that changing the law will result in a lawsuit .. Marco ?? Gaspar votes to round down.
    Muir says yes .
    Here comes the vote... Oh wow. It passes.

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  17. here comes more babble from Shaffer

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  18. Staff kicking back at council.... Where's vina ??
    Oh boy here comes Shaffer again with another amendment to the detention basin motion.... Again Gaspar losing control. Staff kicking back again wants more direction, Shaffer says if you can't build on it it's undevelopable. Staff asking direction from council... Barth jumps in, Gaspar no where to be found as Shaffer and Barth take control.
    Where's vina??
    Staff says any changes must go to planning commission. Barth says this will take months. (Marco licking his chops.).
    Gaspar speaks up and says we might get more DB
    City clerk wants direction on the motions, Shaffer withdraws her motion. Passes 5-0.

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  19. Shaffer droning on and on. No wonder these meetings take forever

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  20. Shaffer babbling about something regarding affordable units. Says all new construction needs to be smaller.. Is this part of her motion?? No one knows. Says affordable units must be 75% of something gives numbers for units etc that are 60% larger than my home ... But somehow must be made affordable. Passes 4-1 Gaspar says no.

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  21. More Shaffer ----- more motions. Kranz 2nds all Shaffer motions.
    New motion to kill all projects not in the pipeline, must round down. Sabine paid by the word can't get to the point. Says that projects submitted before tonight must be allowed to round up .
    Vote 5-0.

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  22. Shaffer was a rock star.

    She framed the policy changes the community wants, and they all passed.

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    1. If only she could have done the same approach on Prop A. The community led the council by their respective noses to pass this DBL policy tonight. The credit belongs to the community which showed the council what to do. The council followed on this, and didn't lead. Still glad it ended up in the right place.

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    2. The community was not going to leave the room tonight without seeing the final votes. The fact that there were that many bodies still left in the room had to have made an impression on the council...usually folks fade, but not this time.

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    3. shaffer gave vina a glowing job review- vina of course withheld important information from the public

      shaffer actaully paid $10M for a property that appraised at $4.5 million- yes, that just happened

      Shaffer increased teh city debt service by $750K a year, knowing we are underfunding roads by more that $1M a year-

      terrible

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    4. Schaffer gave vina a glowing job review because he has come up with a plan to pay for PV, a plan that she , Barth and tony will cram down taxpayers throats.
      Shaffer And vina are brother and sisters in arms, big govt, big spenders, big at fucking the public out of money.

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    5. All f)(*&ing losers.

      I am voting them all out and can not wait until little hitler Vina is out. WTF with the Hitler Stash?

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  23. Making the public sit through a fascinating, riveting, and feel-good report from the Invasive Plant Committee was a delay tactic that was so transparent in it's intent that even Andy Kaufman couldn't have thought of a more absurd "conversation", as the council asked an endless vortex of questions, or in Mark Muir's case, multiple questions that had the same answer. I wish ALL of our city's problems could warrant such an in-depth and forensic examination. And it only took a little under two hours.

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  24. Barth says to mirror solana beach .... Wow. Does that mean we will see a streetscape ?? Rail trail?? Below grade train tracks??
    Sabine blabbering .
    City clerk says council candidates filing is open. Gee don't you want to stay until 11:45 each weds nite ?? Meeting over.
    Cox tv cuts to 3 stooges film. Not watchable, it has Curly Joe. But we've gone from 5 stooges to 3 so that 's a great improvement.

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    1. We need the below grade rail tracks....

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    2. I for one do not want below-grade rail. It cuts the town in half. Many of us in neighborhoods just east of the tracks like to walk to the beach.

      It's perfectly safe for an adult to cross. Visibility is excellent, and trains move in predictable ways. The only people who get hurt on the tracks are either drunk or suicidal.

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    3. Cuts the town in half .... Such nonsense. Please pack up and go away.... Far away. And don't tell anyone you are leaving, just go.

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    4. I agree. 10:30 is an idiot or $tock$ which also means idiot.

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  25. Gaspar so far fails as mayor. The trio are still in charge. Stay home Gaspar and Muir. You are not needed.

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    1. Gaspar claimed low income people can't maintain their homes, so let's line developer pockets with a little extra and not stress the po folks. Can't believe she went there...disgusting.

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    2. yes, bad move by Gaspar to sugget low income people can't afford furniture- however it highlights a bigger problem

      1. First government decides who gets to live where in the name of so called social justice
      2. Then government decides who gets what type of furniture

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    3. Bad, bad move by Gaspar. Putting down people who may not be able to afford furniture for their home. She, who now lives in a million dollar plus home because she got lucky and snagged a rich dude.

      The arrogance is not very becoming of a mayor who is supposed to represent all of us. Too much time with her buddy $tock$ might be rubbing off.

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  26. The public is obviously needed. This policy does not happen without the push and leadership from the public.
    Shaffer had to make all the DB motions so she would have something to write in her Me,Me,Me newsletter, which is as wordy as she is on the dais.

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  27. Murphy's pushback on excluding a retention basin you can't build on went over the line into weird. He fought for a developer-friendly "interpretation" that had folks in the room wondering exactly who he was working for....

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  28. Shaffer is becoming aligned with the citizens, got to give her credit there. She can probably work well with Julie Graboi who seems certain to be voted in. Now that leaves three.

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  29. Wow, it's already certain that Julie is in, before we know who all the candidates are? I'm a Julie supporter, but let's have the election first...

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  30. What happen to Blakespear? She did not represent the homeowners on this one. BIG MISTAKE!

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  31. Blakespear makes it a point to sit where she can be seen on camera so everyone knows she is there. But, your are correct 10:33 she did not represent us or speak on DB.

    Vote NO on Blakespear. She wants to develop the family fortune.

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  32. Andrew Audett tells it like it is. He would be a great candidate for mayor.

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    1. Election law violations are not a great selling point.

      He also seems to love the sound of his own voice. He'd be pretty good if he stopped showboating and playing word games. Drop the Music Man act and let the simple power of ideas resonate.

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    2. Is Andrew a Lawyer? He sure acts like one. Last night he sounded like he was practicing his closing arguments before the judge and jury.

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    3. the vile weeds of croynism and debt

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    4. No, Andrew is not a lawyer. In fact, I am not sure very many people actually knows how he makes a living. At least I haven't heard anyone that knows.

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    5. Nothing he keeps a secret. Ask him, and he'll tell you. Don't be so lazy.

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    6. He's a headhunter.

      http://www.seedlabpartners.com/contact-seedlabpartners

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    7. Good for him. I'm sure he does a fantastic job. Wish he had time to run for mayor or council.

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    8. I would vote for him in a second. He is sharp and would snap City Hall into shape in no time.

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  33. 11:25- I noticed that about Blakespear both last week and this week. When watching on t.v. you can usually see her, and not the rest of the audience. And, last week, when she did speak, she made sure that everyone knew she was running for Council. Think I will pass on her. She may be another wold in she eps clothes. Don't know yet.

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    1. yes- Blakespear is being tutored by the three lairs Liars Barth Shaffer and KRanz- she would be well served to moved away from them but it may be too late-

      As we see from their newsletter Shaffer and Barth are all about self promotion- they have tutored Blakespear to sit in front of the camera to gain votes

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  34. If you want to see how much of an insider Catherine is checkout the Advocate from about two weeks ago. Herman Cook VW was having a celebration and there are Catherine and Paul Gaspar with their arms around each other posing for a photo op. Just great, another potential politician going for all the photo ops she can find, just as she chooses to sit right there in the camera range at the council meetings. Most who sit there are intending to speak at some time. Last night, not a word so why was she even there? She did leave and walk out with plant people and that is fine and our hometown growers need all the consideration we can give them and her help with Coral Tree is appreciated. It is not by accident folks and I hope others will see the transparency of these appearances. Aligning so closely with forces the rest of us are trying to overcome is a questionable strategy to this observer.

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  35. So, if I'm following, we should not vote for Blakespear because she sits in the wrong chair at council meetings?

    (eye roll)

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    1. no- we should not vote for Blakespear as she is more concerned with herself then the taxpayers- it is not surprising as her family has a long history of development in the city and the current familly lands holdings are worth millions and more with density bonus thrown in- it explains why Blakespear chose to be seen last night but refused to speak on behalf of residents

      oh yea- she's also backed by Barth Shaffer and KRanz- the three who proposed raising our taxes to pay $10M for a building we could have bought for $4.5

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    2. Blakespear is friends with the Gaspars and other "prominent" p[eople in town. You can deduce for yourself which side she might be on. I saw the Herman Cook pictures, and I've seen others where she is hanging with some people that many of us know all too well and don't particularly like. But, when the debates start, that's when the rubber meets the road. And Julie, will know a hell of a lot more about almost anything in our community, than any other person running.

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    3. Well Knowitall Julie knows Leucadia was better in the 70's with more renters and less homeowners. Which is a slap in the face to all homeowners in Leucadia.
      I can see her campaign signs now: Julie says renting is the future.

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    4. 6:28 Graboi said Leucadia housing worked with less government inteference not more- you might support large government and scoial engineering- Graboi supports self reliance - tell the truth

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    5. Who's your candidate of choice, 6:28? Just curious.

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    6. 6:28 here. Let's see .... My choices are tweedle dumb or tweedle dee.. I find encinitas to forever be lacking really logical smart candidates for office. I doubt I will vote for anyone running for enc elected office. I've been waiting for 26 years for a really bright bulb in the package, isn't going to happen .

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  36. 6:28- I am also curious as to who you would like to see as both a new council person and the first mayor. Would you mind telling us, as you seem to know quite a bit about Julie. What do you know about Blakespear? To the best of my knowledge those are the only 2 viable candidates for Council at this time. I really don't see Alex as a viable candidate and so far, no one else is stepping up to the plate. Gaspar is running for Mayor, so the way I figure it, unless someone else steps up, your choices for Council are 3 people. Which one do you prefer?

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  37. 8:44 Please correct your comment to read "first elected mayor by the people". We have had many mayors since incorporation with Marge Gaines being the very first mayor of our city. She did a great job by the way.

    It is my understanding that Kranz is also running for mayor. If Gaspar runs for mayor that is fine because we will get rid of her 2 years sooner.

    Julie is the candidate to beat. She has a lot of support out there and people know who she is. The other one (Blakespear) sits in front of the camera on council nights and has contributed little to the discussion of the two major issues, Pacific View purchase and Density Bonus.

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    1. Yes, Gaines allowed all the cross streets to be closed so all the traffic would flood the other communities: and don't forget Christy Ehlers Guerin who forced unwarranted stop signs on to RSF Road. Yeah, they did a great job!

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    2. As far as I am concerned, Marge Gaines deserves respect because she was instrumental in helping Encinitas get incorporated.

      The other bimbo, Guerin, was dumber than snot and should have never been elected to council. I don't think she could ever figure out how to count to 10 with her fingers.

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    3. Gaines could have piggy backed off of SB and had the RR tracks lowered instead she told them to pound sand. Very poor judgement.
      Guerin's promise to handcuff herself to the RR tracks to stop double tracking was at best a lie, at worst a publicity stunt. A complete failure as a representative of the citizens. 100% success as a govt teat sucker.

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  38. Julie Graboi will be elected to council.

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  39. I do not know. What is her position on roundabouts, streetscape, PV and Vina?

    Major issues. the same thing was said about Kranz and look at what a flop he has become.

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    Replies
    1. I wonder how Julie feels about getting rid of some of those stop signs on RSF Rd. and maybe having a couple of roundabouts there instead to keep the tracking flowing better.

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  40. 10:26- I agree about Kranz. However, until he decided to run, for the second time, he had not gone in front of the Council on any issue that I can remember. Please correct me if I am wrong. Graboi's roots of activism can be traced way back. Think of her as one of Vina's hated 28 people. I am sure Julie will answer all questions. For a start you might want to read her article on why she is running in today's Coast News.

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