Lefkowits launches bid for District 4 seat on Encinitas City Council

ENCINITAS — A small business owner and chairperson of the city’s Urban Forest Advisory Committee has announced his candidacy for the District 4 seat on the Encinitas City Council.

Brad Lefkowits, owner of Waves Landscape Design, will seek to represent Olivenhain and parts of New Encinitas on the council in a role currently held by Councilmember Marco San Antonio, who was appointed in January 2025 and has not yet announced whether he will run for election in November.

“Encinitas is at a pivotal moment,” Lefkowits said in a statement. “I am running to bring common sense and collaboration back to City Hall so we can protect our coastal character, plan responsibly for growth, protect the most vulnerable members of our community and make decisions that are both legally sound and fiscally responsible.”

Lefkowits told The Coast News that many members of the current City Council ran on promises to stop overdevelopment and to make residents “feel heard about those concerns.”

“This council doesn’t have a plan to limit overdevelopment,” Lefkowits said. “They are bound by the exact same state laws as the previous council.”

He said managing growth proactively — including prioritizing safe infrastructure — would be an ongoing focus, adding that he would work to ensure safe streets “for all road users, including cars.”

Lefkowits, who has focused on landscape design in recent years, has served on the city’s Urban Forest Advisory Committee since 2023 and currently chairs it. He has been recognized by the Olivenhain Municipal Water District for water-smart landscaping and said environmental stewardship would be a key pillar of his candidacy.

A founding member of the advocacy group Parents of EUSD, Lefkowits and others were outspoken in the wake of the “Boo Bash” controversy, a Disney villain-themed Halloween drag show in Hillcrest that was advertised on the school district’s website via PeachJar, a third-party digital hub for events and communications. The event made national headlines and fueled misinformation and outrage, prompting the district to remove the online flyer.

“Many of us parents are not offended by the notion of a Halloween party in Hillcrest with a family-friendly Disney villain-themed drag show. We are alarmed and saddened by the harm this false story has afflicted (sic) on our LGBTQ+ community,” Lefkowits and others wrote in an Oct. 26, 2022, commentary published by The Coast News.

Lefkowits also voiced his opposition to removing the Santa Fe Drive upgrades during a rally hosted by state Sen. Catherine Blakespear in August 2025, advocating for keeping the improvements in place.

The Encinitas City Council subsequently voted to remove controversial features along the roadway, with many critics pointing to reverse-angle parking, separated bikeways, lane diets, and a series of “conflict points” that made the corridor stretch more cramped for drivers.

Lefkowits also said he would be a vocal critic of federal immigration enforcement by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“It is wrong to have masked, unidentified federal agents operating in our neighborhoods and detaining people on our streets,” Lefkowits said. “What we are witnessing from the Trump administration should offend anyone who loves this country and respects the Constitution. At every level of government, we need leaders who are willing to say so plainly.”

Lefkowits said residents deserve timely updates on enforcement actions and that he would continue to ask questions to report back to the public, no matter how uncomfortable or incomplete the answers may be.

While he said he would like the city to pursue every federal grant for which it qualifies to help address a variety of issues, Lefkowits said he has been troubled by comments from some current council members who appeared fearful of speaking out against ICE because it could affect the city’s chances of receiving federal funding.

“Our neighbors’ constitutional rights do not come second to federal dollars,” he said.