ENCINITAS — Months after she unofficially threw her hat into the Encinitas City Council race, Tasha Boerner Horvath recently officially kicked off her campaign.
Boerner Horvath, a planning commissioner, held her campaign launch party on May 21 in the garden behind Cielo Salon in Leucadia. There, she was flanked by several supporters, including council members Catherine Blakespear, Tony Kranz and Lisa Shaffer and fellow planning commissioners Ruben Flores and Greg Drakos, who have all endorsed her campaign.
“I’m very excited to officially get the campaign started,” Boerner Horvath said. “My candidacy is based on a clear and independent track record of working hard to build effective collaborative groups to do something wonderful for the folks who live, work and play here.”
Boerner Horvath first filed her candidacy papers in October 2015, several months earlier than the next council candidates to file, incumbents Tony Kranz and Mark Muir.
She first emerged in Encinitas through her advocacy efforts at Paul Ecke Central Elementary School, where she championed improving safety conditions around the school. She was appointed to the Planning Commission in June 2015.
Boerner Horvath said the head start in campaigning allowed her to hear from a number of residents about their concerns.
“I spent that time on a listening tour, where I heard from hundreds of people from all walks of life and all five communities about what was important for the future of Encinitas,” she said.
The Nov. 8 election has the potential to reshape the City Council, as four of the five seats are up for re-election, including the mayor spot, which voters decide every two years.
Blakespear has already announced she is running for mayor, Kristin Gaspar will advance to a runoff election for County Supervisor in November against incumbent Dave Roberts, and Shaffer has already announced she will not seek re-election.
Boerner Horvath said she is appreciative of the early support from the current council majority and her fellow planning commissioners.
“The support is important for two reasons — credibility and viability,” she said. “First, they can attest to my performance as a commissioner for the city. Second, their support signals the viability of my candidacy to the voters. (They) are all city leaders, representing a diverse cross-section of political views, life stages, ages, genders and communities in Encinitas. With such a diverse group of people, we will unlikely agree 100 percent of the time. However, they all support my candidacy because I understand the issues, listen to all sides, find creative solutions to our most pressing issues and form coalitions to turn ideas into action and get things done.”
In addition to Muir and Kranz, former Republican Assembly candidate Phil Graham has filed candidacy papers. Boerner Horvath said Graham’s entrance in the race won’t alter her campaign strategy.
“People support me, and ultimately will vote for me, because I care deeply about Encinitas, work hard for all of our city and have already demonstrated that I am an effective leader in our community,” she said. “A new candidate in the race will not change that.”
