CARLSBAD — Locally recognized business owner, Marine Corps veteran and fire captain Kevin Shin has announced his bid for the District 2 seat on the Carlsbad City Council.
Shin first arrived in North County after enlisting in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1997. He served for 13 years and became a Carlsbad resident and homeowner in 2007.
Wearing several hats, Shin currently works as a fire captain for the Culver City Fire Department and owns The Switchboard, a Hawaiian and Korean fusion restaurant; KNVS, a bar and restaurant space that doubles as an art gallery; North County Roastery, a coffee shop; and Haetae, a Korean street food lounge – all attached to the boutique Fin Hotel in Oceanside.
Shin has also served as a board member for the Oceanside Museum of Art, KOCT Station, Oceanside Chamber of Commerce and The Nowell Family Foundation, a nonprofit inspired by late Sublime frontman Bradley Nowell that provides addiction recovery services to members of the music community.
Shin has been recognized several times for his accomplishments. Earlier in May, Rep. Mike Levin (D-San Juan Capistrano) named Shin along with Ilima Martinez as his Constituents of the Month for their creation of the Southern California Asian and Pacific Islander Festival in April.
Also, this year, the San Diego Business Journal and Asian Business Association awarded Shin with the 2023 Asian Pacific Islander Leaders of Influence.
In 2022, Assemblymember Tasha Boerner awarded Shin the 76th District Small Business of the Year title.
Shin hopes to continue in public service as a council member after his upcoming retirement from the fire department.
“We’re entering a new phase of the city,” Shin said. “Politics have become very divisive, and based on my life experiences, I feel that I could be a good leader for this community and bring people together.”
Shin, a registered Democrat, said a big driver for his council campaign is his young daughters, ages 8 and 10.
“This is their community – this is where they’ll grow up and how they’ll see the world,” Shin said. “I want to make Carlsbad a great place for kids.”
Among his priorities for Carlsbad include public safety, which goes hand-in-hand with his years spent as a firefighter. Under this scope, Shin hopes to find “humane ways to help the homeless and those affected by homelessness.”
“I understand viscerally what the homeless issues are,” he said. “As a fire captain, I’m the one responding the vast majority of the time to calls, and I know how it feels as a business owner. It’s going to take a comprehensive approach to be able to find solutions.”
Shin also believes the city needs to be cautious in its approach to development – especially as staff and council work to update the city’s growth management program. Along with that growth comes protecting Carlsbad’s environment and ensuring its natural landscape remains clean and protected in a “tangible way for residents to be able to keep moving forward,” he noted.
Shin said diversity, equity and inclusion are also important and need to be part of the city’s framework for civic engagement.
“We should cherish the fact that we’re all different, and there’s a beauty in that,” Shin said. “Throughout the nation there’s this back-and-forth about who we are as individuals – we need to be learning about different cultures and respecting each other’s thoughts and opinions at the same time.”
Shin hopes to set a good example for both his children and the community.
“The coolest heads always prevail,” Shin said. “I want to be an example of what people are looking for.”
District 2 is the city’s largest district by land area, encompassing Tamarack Point, Calavera Hills, Robertson Ranch, Rancho Carlsbad, Carlsbad Ranch, Bressi Ranch, Kelly Ranch, and parts of La Costa Greens, Rancho Carrillo and Poinsettia.
The seat is currently held by Councilmember Carolyn Luna, former chairperson of the city’s Planning Commission, appointed earlier this year after the seat was left vacant last November by now-Mayor Keith Blackburn.
Kevin Sabellico, vice chair of the Carlsbad Planning Commission, also announced his campaign for District 2 earlier this month.
