Starting in the seventies, I was a hardcore defender of Encinitas. I was a bastion of anti-development. But I eventually realized there was a political rub. You see, as a card-carrying left-winger, I don’t believe in excluding people based on economic standing.
Somehow I hadn’t realized that also applies to housing. Even in my beloved Encinitas.
I realized it may have been wrong to protect this place from other people who might want to live here. I finally understood that NIMBYism is inherently right-wing. That was the rub.
Local politics is supposedly “nonpartisan.” But every decision we make is political.
When you eat a McDonald’s burger or buy an electric car, you’ve made a political decision. Let’s stop pretending local politics is any different. Bruce Ehlers’s position and the current council align with Republican Party values. Bruce was even endorsed by the San Diego County Gun Owners political action committee, or PAC. So, those of us who consider ourselves “liberal” but support the current right-wing council are fooling ourselves.
Bruce Ehlers is a nice guy, certainly less extreme than the other council bros. (Kudos to Joy for persevering!) But his anti-housing rhetoric has not been honest. Yes, it got him elected, and it’s easy to understand why. New housing is going up all over the place. I don’t like it either. So, it’s been easy for Bruce to say, “I’m going to put a stop to that and protect Encinitas from development.”
But that’s a rhetorical trick, the kind that inflames folks who are upset about the changes happening around them. The truth is that Bruce and the current right-wing council have done little to stop the dreaded development.
That’s because little can be done. It’s largely a romantic endeavor, a Don Quixote sort of thing. Truth is, there’s more housing being built because people want to live in California, because there’s a homelessness problem, because there’s a housing shortage.
California has recognized this problem. And it’s hard to fight the state. Encinitas has been sued five times and paid a million dollars trying. The council also knows that the state can impose a “builders remedy” if we fail to meet their numbers. (That’s when developers can act without limits on their building designs.) So far, it’s all talk.
On the other hand, Rimga Viskanta, Brad Lefkowitz, and Arielle Golden are being honest about housing. Their words may not have the same romantic gleam, but they’re the truth. Rimga is such a “high-road” character; she may think what I’m saying here is too divisive.
But I stand by my conclusion: there’s no such thing as a NIMBY, anti-California voter who is also a progressive.
If you’re OK with renaming lakes, distorting the truth, and disenfranchising American voters, then I understand why you’d be a NIMBY. But if you’re generally progressive, don’t be fooled: the current Encinitas City Council’s values are those of the Republican Party.
If your values lean more leftward, vote for Rimga, Brad, and Arielle.
Darius Degher
Encinitas
1 comment
Glad to see this author’s perspective. Mayoral Candidate Ehlers was a Republican until 2016. Before he ran for local public office as District 4 City Council candidate, he switched to No Party Preference (NPP). He knew the majority of Encinitas voters were Democrats. City of Encinitas current District 4 council candidate, Marco San Antonio, is now identifying as a nonpartisan Independent politician. There is no “Independent” category in our state. San Antonio is a registered Republican. He has been invited to speak at the September 22 nd, Carlsbad Republican Women Federated Club luncheon. His title is: “a key 2026 Republican candidate running for local office.” Why is he hiding his Republican party affiliation? Readers, be cautious when a candidate says that they are an “Independent”. That is a false statement in the State of California.