ESCONDIDO — Deputy Mayor Joe Garcia, the incumbent candidate for District 2, is again under scrutiny for using the same photo on a campaign flyer that he was reprimanded for using during his reelection campaign four years ago.
Residents in Garcia’s district may have received mailers depicting him wearing a police chaplain uniform as recently as a week before the Nov. 3 election.
Garcia was first elected to District 3 in 2018 and reelected to District 2 in 2022 after redistricting placed his home in that district. He serves as deputy mayor — an appointed position — and is seeking his third term on the City Council.
During his 2022 reelection campaign, Garcia was reprimanded for using a photo of himself in a police chaplain uniform on a campaign flyer.
Garcia served as a police chaplain, not a police officer, in Escondido for 20 years. A police chaplain is typically a pastor or other clergy member who provides emotional and spiritual support to law enforcement personnel.
Garcia has been a pastor for more than 30 years, about half of that time in Escondido.
The city retained attorney Christina Cameron in 2022 to investigate a complaint alleging Garcia violated city campaign laws.
The investigation concluded that because the photo belonged to Garcia, he was not improperly using city resources for campaign purposes. However, because California law states “no officer or employee of a local agency shall participate in political activities of any kind while in uniform,” Garcia was ordered to remove the photo from his campaign website and stop using it in campaign flyers.
Four years later, Garcia used the same photo in a campaign mailer sent to residents as he sought a third term. Some received the flyer less than two weeks before Election Day.
District 2 resident Richard Cannon said he found the mailer confusing.
“My first impression was that Joe Garcia was an active officer with the Escondido Police Department, given the photo of the police uniform, and endorsement from the Escondido Police Officer’s Association,” Cannon said via email.
City Clerk Zack Beck said he learned of the mailer on Oct. 24 and immediately contacted Cameron for assistance.
Garcia has not responded to The Coast News’ request for comment, but he defended his use of the photo in the Escondido Times-Advocate on Oct. 28.
“I made every effort to ensure that the picture in question was in full compliance by blurring portions of the image,” he told the Times-Advocate. “Nonetheless, I understand that the picture has been referred to Special Counsel for a determination.”
According to Garcia, he was told blurring the badge and patch would bring the photo into compliance.
Garcia trailed his opponent, Anthony DiMartino, by 213 votes as of 7 a.m. Nov. 4, with 37.7% of the county’s ballots counted.
