Where I Stand on our Important Issues

A New Face for the Encinitas City Council-

I will bring positive energy, a spirit of cooperation, and unity to the Encinitas City Council. Our council has too often been distracted by petty personal feuds and hyper-partisanship. I pledge to focus my efforts on the needs of our city instead of disparaging the personal character of those whom I may not agree with on specific issues. My track record with numerous boards and foundations in Encinitas demonstrates that I get the job done by helping my colleagues arrive at a consensus. When council members do not work together, they actually decrease the chances of a successful outcome. Finally, council members need to approach each issue on an individual basis with an open mind. Too often, council members have opposed each other based on a history of personal conflicts instead of considering the merit of their colleagues' ideas. Because of my approach and work ethic, I have earned the respect of an overwhelming majority of those whom I have worked with even though they may not necessarily agree with every position I have taken.

Public Safety-

Public safety is my highest priority, and my positions on this topic have earned me the endorsement of the Deputy Sheriff's Association. I am the type of person who believes our laws should be respected, and I expect them to be enforced. I respect the opinions of our public safety officials because I believe they truly have the best intentions in mind for our city and citizens. I also support public policy that imposes harsh penalties for the worst offenders of our public safety and trust.

Fiscal Responsibility and Taxes-

I understand that tax revenue is not the government's money or the city's money…it is your money, and , I pledge to use it wisely. I will not tie your money up with frivolous complaints or attorney's fees. I will promote the judicious use of your revenue to ensure that basic city services are provided and to improve the quality of life that we have come to expect in Encinitas. In general, when the tax burden or fear of impending additional burden decreases, the economy is stimulated, money begins to circulate, and as a result, incoming sales tax revenue actually increases! I have and will continue to promote local tax strategies that help our small businesses through our economic downturn and incentivize investment in environment-friendly programs which would likely have a good return on investment, such as incentives for electric car charging stations.

Pension Reform-

Most candidates seem to be in agreement that pension reform is needed because our current system is not sustainable. We cannot afford in the short-term, medium-term, or long-term to end up in the position that the City of San Diego is in. I am certain we can solve this problem while still offering our city employees extremely competitive and appealing salary and benefits packages. I am also certain that I can work together with all of the current council members and future council members to get this job done. As the CFO of a physical therapy business, I am in charge of our pension plan. We have dealt successfully with our pension plan even though health care reimbursement has declined sharply during the last 5 years. Budgeting, short-term, medium-term, and long-term planning come easy to me. It's all about basic math, thoughtful planning, and working together in a cooperative manner with all other council members.

General Plan Update-

The Encinitas General Plan serves as the "blueprint" for the development of our city, which includes community goals, policies that shape long term development and the protection of environmental, social, cultural and economic resources. Communities cannot stay the same way forever. We need to encourage reinvestment and improvements to our communities while maintaining a careful balance of preserving community character and quality of life. If we fail to reinvest and improve, residents and businesses will leave. Community input in this process is critical. Encinitas needs council members that are willing to listen to the most important advisors … YOU the citizens.

Health of Kids and Seniors-

Kids are 33% of our population and 100% of our future. I strongly support the safety and health of our children as well as open spaces where children and families can play together. Childhood obesity is a national epidemic which predisposes our children to future health care risks and strains on our health care system.

Open spaces, such as the Hall Park Property, allow kids to exercise and play, as opposed to destroying our cityscape or each other. I support the lighting plan with an appropriate 9 PM curfew for public safety reasons and to maximize the positive impact of the park. I am also a strong advocate for seniors' needs. I have run a senior exercise and fitness program for almost 10 years. We do have many great services for seniors in Encinitas, but I believe we have fallen short in providing adequate transportation services for seniors in order to meet their basic daily and health care needs. I am interested in developing a private-public partnership to correct this shortcoming in our city's services. With my background in fundraising for charitable organizations, I am confident I can get this done for Encinitas.

Small Business-

Small businesses are the backbone of our economy at the national, state, and community level, but we have not been doing all we can at any of these levels to help the small businesses in Encinitas. Small businesses generate a large percentage of the revenue and the jobs our city needs to support our infrastructure and programs. If our small businesses continue to fail, the quality of life, services, and public safety in our community will be threatened. Small businesses have to be performance and service-oriented because they generally receive no entitlements and no bail-outs. As a result, they tend to be the most efficient and productive part of our workforce. I am proud to be the CFO of Gaspar Doctors of Physical Therapy and am undoubtedly the best prepared candidate to deal with small business concerns related to our sagging economy, excessive tax burden, and the poor climate for small business that currently exists.

The Environment-

Our beautiful environment and coastline are the jewels of Southern California. Because I work in the healthcare industry, I fully understand that our environment has a major impact on the health and quality of life of all living things. I will protect the land and sea while still supporting reasonable sustainable growth for our citizens and our economy in order to support our city services and infrastructure.

Water District Rates-

As a proponent of following laws, rules, and city ordinances, I was disappointed when the Council recently voted to remain at drought response Level 2, because the City ordinance clearly defines that our current response should be Level 1. The San Dieguito Water District reluctantly admitted that rates are higher in Level 2 than in Level 1. It concerns me that while several reasons were given in support of remaining at Level 2, the ordinance was not referenced in the staff report or by the council members prior to voting. This lack of transparency may cause some citizens to feel they are being penalized with an unfair tax or that the City is bailing out the Water District.

Everyone can agree that we should be conserving water. However, it is very important to follow the rules and to be transparent with you, the water rate payers. We could have remained at Level 2 with little public concern if the Council had not ignored the ordinance, had voted to change the ordinance to address long-term water shortage concerns, or had at least been transparent with the surcharge on the Level 2 water rate.

Wayside Horns-

Encinitas should continue to pursue the Wayside Horn Technology to keep our citizens safe and improve quality of life. Our city is behind schedule compared to other cities in pursuing this technology. This may be because there has not been adequate focus or cooperation among the council members. I will support this technology and work with whomever is elected to the Council in order to ensure it is put in place on a permanent basis. Again, we can all achieve more for our city if we work together.

Healthy Dogs-

Dogs, just like people, need a place to exercise to maintain their health and quality of life. The yards of most citizens in Encinitas are insufficient to allow adequate exercise for dogs. Consequently, I am in favor of improving off-leash dog park availability, especially the large planned facility at the new Hall Park Property. I will not support curtailing off-leash dog hours for the facilities that are currently in place after the Hall Park Property opens. We need more open space for dogs and people!

Open Government-

I am in favor of changing the current guidelines to place an item on the agenda for a council meeting from 3 to 2 council members. We should spend the time to hear the thoughts and needs of our citizens and council members, even if they are in the minority. I trust that items proposed for the agenda will continue to be focused on our city's needs and not based on politics, personalities, or hyper-partisanship.