Encinitas mayoral candidates answer voters’ questions at forum

ENCINITAS — Two candidates running for the city’s highest office answered voters’ questions, discussed policy issues and traded friendly barbs in front of an audience of around 100 residents and spectators during a public forum Saturday evening at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church.

The mayoral candidate forum, hosted by the League of Women Voters of North County San Diego, featured incumbent Mayor Tony Kranz and sitting Councilmember Bruce Ehlers, both of whom have decades of public service experience between them.

The candidates addressed issues ranging from development and crime to taxes and infrastructure.

Though at times in agreement with each other, the two candidates clashed throughout the 75-minute forum as they answered various questions submitted by the audience.

Much of the night’s discussion revolved around the ballot measure proposing a 1% sales tax, large-scale housing developments, homelessness, flooding in Leucadia, the infrastructure necessary to address the issue, vehicle traffic and budgetary concerns.

Ehlers kicked off the night by underscoring his commitment to preserving the city’s character and opposing large developments, highlighting the need to “return to our founding vision of Encinitas.”

“Recent decisions by the state and previous councils threaten this vision and irreversibly alter our community character by approving very large and out-of-character developments, converting park land to housing, and attempting to reverse citizen-approved protections like Prop A,” Ehlers said in his opening remarks.

For his part, Kranz resisted the notion of “fighting Sacramento” on housing and development mandates, emphasizing the necessity of complying with state laws while balancing local concerns regarding overdevelopment.

“I was part of a council that voted to fight the state density bonus law, we were sued and we got beat bad,” Kranz said in his opening statement. “And the notion that we can fight the laws coming out of Sacramento is faulty — it will be expensive. We spent $3 million already getting compliance with state law, and it’s critical that we continue to stay on that path.”

When it came time to address the ballot measure, a proposed 1% sales tax hike, both candidates took opposing sides. While Kranz argued the measure would address long-standing infrastructure needs and enhance stormwater facilities, Ehlers remained opposed.

“The one-cent sales tax has the potential to raise approximately $15 million a year, for a total of $150 million over the 10-year sunset period,” Kranz said, addressing the crowd. “And that money is going to make huge improvements to stormwater facilities, both in northwestern Leucadia, as well as some aging stormwater facilities that need work desperately.”

Ehlers, who dissented against the measure during a City Council vote on whether to put it on the ballot, said the tax would be a significant financial burden on residents.

“At a time when we’ve had double digit increases in our sewer rates and water rates, we’ve got almost double-digit inflation, the bottom line is we shouldn’t be doing it now,” said Ehlers in regards to the tax hike. “We should look and wait and see where the economy goes, and not have fixed-income people and lower-income people pay more.”

Both candidates addressed questions about policies regarding unhoused residents in Encinitas. They said homelessness is one of the most pressing issues facing the community and the state at the moment. Ehlers said he is in favor of enforcing anti-camping laws and supporting law enforcement in their efforts to do so.

While Kranz said he, too, endorses enforcement, he would review an upcoming sheriff’s report on the effectiveness of the enforcement policies to better understand how to tackle the issues homelessness poses to those impacted.

Despite feeling like a debate at times, the League’s chair of voter services, Rosette Garcia, told The Coast News that these forums are not a debate. Instead, she said they are an opportunity for candidates to engage with the public and express their views on issues important to the community.

“That’s our guiding principle, an informed electorate,” Garcia said in an interview with The Coast News. “That is absolutely necessary for a healthy democracy.”