ENCINITAS — In a pivotal night for Encinitas politics, early election results Wednesday morning indicate a changing of the guard as candidates from a newly ascendant political coalition hold significant leads over their Democratic-backed counterparts.
As of Wednesday morning, results in the city’s mayoral race show challenger Bruce Ehlers (12,775) leading with 52.32% of the vote, ahead of incumbent Tony Kranz (11,644), who trails with 47.68%.
The trend continues in both City Council races, with the District 1 candidate, Luke Shaffer (3,686), securing 56.54% of the vote over his opponent, Allison Blackwell (2,833), with 43.46%. In District 2, Jim O’Hara (2,718) leads with 55.70% of the early voter results, compared to Destiny Preston (2,162) with 44.30% of the share.
As of this report, no candidate has conceded. The Encinitas mayor is elected for a two-year term, while each of the four city council members serves a four-year term.
Measure K, a proposed one-cent sales tax increase that could generate $15 million annually to fund infrastructure projects like storm drain repairs and pollution reduction, appears likely to fail. A majority vote is needed to pass. Early results show that 52.07% of the votes cast rejected the measure, while 47.93% of voters supported the proposal.
While much of the candidates’ messaging focused on topics like infrastructure, homelessness and crime, Encinitas voters, by and large, cast their ballots with the tension between state housing mandates and local control on their minds.
Ehlers, a council member and former chairman of the city’s Planning Commission, has centered his campaign on reinforcing local control over development decisions and opposing state-imposed housing policies he deems excessive and impractical.
“This election is about getting us back on course, it’s getting us back to our original general plan, it’s actually fighting for the citizens of Encinitas,” Ehlers told The Coast News. “And we’re about Encinitas, this group, the three of us, are about Encinitas.”
Throughout the race, Kranz stressed the challenges posed by state housing laws and warned of potential consequences if the city does not comply. Instead, he focused his message on mitigating the more substantial impacts of development through infrastructure and city services.
“These results aren’t what we wanted to see, but I think overall, we feel pretty good about the campaign that we ran,” Kranz said in an interview with The Coast News. “It was positive and I’m proud of the work that I’ve done over the last 12 years, and I think most of the community appreciates it.”
Blackwell and Preston said they would make statements once the results have been finalized.
Although more results will be counted in the coming days, Shaffer described the results as “exciting” and added it is time to “make the changes we’ve been talking about.” O’Hara said he is looking forward to “bringing the voices of Encinitas residents to City Hall.”
The Coast News will continue to monitor election results and update our coverage accordingly. As of publication, an estimated 590,000 ballots have yet to be processed in San Diego County.
3 comments
Hector has nailed it. For too long developers and their cronies have purchased over Encinitas like vultures. We thankfully have new leadership to reverse the trend and do all of the things a well run city does. This includes budgeting appropriately, building infrastructure to support growth, making sure there are enough lanes for the increase in vehicles to drive on, cleaning up the homeless problem, which will automatically reduce crime, and clean house at city hall. The city manager should be the first to go. Then the head of planning, the head of traffic and others who have gained too much power and favors at the expense of tax payers.
These three new council members are a much needed breath of fresh air for a city that has been strangling on the toxicity created over the last ten years. Congratulations to Encinitas for finally waking up!
This is great news — the day the citizens of Encinitas reclaimed the vision of our 1986 incorporation as a city. Now it is time for our new leadership to reach out to other cities up and down the state in a united pushback against unrealistic RHNA numbers and punitive Builders’ Remedy (more like Politicians’ Revenge). Buildout is buildout, and population carrying capacity is population carrying capacity, and trying to cram more people into a limited space benefits no one.
As the votes are counted it becomes apparent that there will be a new mayor and new council for Encinitas. The change is needed and is welcomed.
However, the real work that needs to take place is just beginning. There needs to be a changes made at the city manager, assistant city manager and planning departments. Their current mindset is to let their favorite developers and their representatives have their way in Encinitas at the expense of quality of life for the average resident.
The era of the departments cozy relationships with developers, favored engineering firms (one is particular) and land use attorneys has to end. The only way to do this is to replace department heads who have placed the welfare of their favorite developers over the needs of the Encinitas residents.
The new mayor and council need to dig deep and excise the malignancy that currently permeates key city departments.