Alex Fidel weighs in on contentious issues

While likely mayoral candidates Teresa Barth and Kristin Gaspar have agreed on almost every major issue this term (Desert Rose, Prop A, budget, Communications Director, His Excellence Gus Vina, etc.), we have identified four votes in which they disagreed. Now Alex Fidel, so far the only declared candidate for mayor, gives us his positions on these issues.

Mayoral candidate Alex Fidel highlights police state

10 News:

A handful of protesters rallied outside Encinitas City Hall on Wednesday to demand the city restore civil liberties and end what they called the "police state."

The protest was led by Alex Fidel, whose Facebook page says he is running for mayor. Fidel claims Encinitas and other cities get money from the Department of Homeland Security which they use to "beef up" police and fire departments.

"And it doesn't come for free. It comes with strings attached," said Fidel, who claims one of those strings is police militarization. "We don't want our children to grow up in a war zone on their streets."

Fidel used an incident from last year as an example. In that situation, a young man shot and injured two San Diego County Sheriff's deputies who were investigating a stolen car.  Within minutes, the neighborhood filled with police from several surrounding agencies.  The SWAT team was called in, and hours later, 22-year old Evan Kwik turned the gun on himself.

Fidel said there might be criminal neglect on the part of deputies for not calling in the psychiatric emergency response team, which is trained to deal with people with mental health issues.

True dat. And don't forget the Leucadia Big Brother Cam.

Meet your first mayoral candidate

... the only declared mayoral candidate so far, Alex Fidel.

His campaign page on Facebook:



Fidel can be heard in this internet radio interview (starts about 02:05:00) discussing issues including the Federal Reserve, militarization of our local police and fire services, Agenda 21, and legalization of marijuana.

Fidel's positions on issues stem from his broader green-libertarian political philosophy. He has not, to our knowledge, weighed in directly on many of the contentious local issues keeping Encinitans up late at city hall. How does a libertarian weigh a bar owner's right to do business against the neighbors' rights to peace and quiet? How would an anti-Agenda-21 libertarian push back against state-mandated high-density development?  What would Fidel do about Encinitas' pay and pension practices, His Excellence Gus Vina, and comic attorney Glenn Sabine?