SAN MARCOS — Two San Marcos districts will vote for the first time ever for their own City Council representatives this November after the city began transitioning to a district voting system in 2018.
Districts 3 and 4 are up for election on Nov. 3, with two candidates running for each district seat.
Current Councilmember at-large Sharon Jenkins is running for the District 3 seat against Democrat Alan Geraci.
Jenkins, a Republican, was elected to City Council at large in 2012 and re-elected at large in 2016.
“My focus is doing what’s best for San Marcos. I think the best way to represent our residents is to look at what’s best for everybody and not just a particular district,” Jenkins said. “I think it’s best to stay nonpartisan and focus on our residents.”
Geraci, a climate action enthusiast, told The Coast News that, though COVID-19 recovery comes first and foremost, climate action is his top priority.
“I want to work on our climate. There are things we can do locally, regionally, at the state level and nationally,” Geraci said. “I want to do what I can locally to protect our climate and take the action that’s needed when it comes to the city’s Climate Action Plan.”
Geraci added that he wants to focus on three issues: clean transportation; affordable and sustainable housing; and climate adaptation and emergency planning.
I’m concerned about some of these housing projects. I think the urban sprawl issue is starting to become a problem here in San Marcos,” Geraci said. “I want to make sure we’re building affordable housing for the people that live here. We need to build homes that people graduating from Cal State San Marcos can live in.”
In District 4, Democrat Neil Kramer and Republican Ed Musgrove are going head-to-head to replace Councilmember at-large Jay Petrek, who was appointed at large in 2019 by the council to fill a vacant seat. Petrek is not running for re-election.
Kramer said his priorities for the city involve limiting big developments.
“People are frustrated with the big development projects that have taken place over the last 10 to 15 years,” Kramer said. “They are infringing on our open spaces, they’re not affordable to the people that are working in the community, they are overcrowding our schools and they’re congesting our roadways.”
Kramer added that the city needs more affordable housing for those who are already in the community.
“If I’m elected, I’m going to protect our hillsides, our open spaces and our parks and trails. I want to fight to curb the big developments and I want to build smarter and more affordable housing going forward,” Kramer said.
