NOTE: The following resident’s letter to the editor is a written transcription of a presentation to the Encinitas City Council during public comment on Oct. 17. The slides are available at the bottom of the letter, and a video of the presentation can be viewed here.
I’m speaking tonight about two district candidates and their survey responses to Encinitas Bike Walk on the city’s proposed one percent sales tax.
Both stated that if the tax increase fails to pass in November, budget cuts to public safety will be necessary. This was not well received by the public.
Destiny claims she never made that response and that it had been copied onto her page in error from Allison Blackwell’s survey. Allison Blackwell also denies making the statement. If they didn’t, who did?
That’s the background for why I’m here now.
I’m here to discuss behavior that makes me sad for our city. I’m talking about the more than 20 hostile private messages, a.k.a. cyberbullying, that were sent to residents who were concerned about the Bike Walk statements. The candidates attacked people over information they themselves had put out.
In the messages, Destiny called the residents liars, lacking in character and guilty of slander. She demanded public apologies. Allison did the same.
Destiny even went so far as to post a negative message on one resident’s personal Facebook page.
She is young and new to Encinitas and does not yet show the maturity necessary to be an effective council member. However, in a few years, after she has learned about the city’s issues, history, and people, she could possibly be an asset.
I believe that nice people rule. The reactions of these candidates to concerned citizens are not typical of nice people.
We do not need representatives who turn on and attack residents with whom they disagree. They are asking for our votes, but their behavior is objectionable.
Any kind of bullying attempts to intimidate. Encinitas deserves better behavior from the city officials they elect.
Kathleen Lindemann
Encinitas
2 comments
Ms. Lindemann’s condemnations are based on false facts and unsupported opinion.
Lindemann accuses Destiny Preston of “lying” about a statement on a local blog (Encinitas Bike Walk) without bothering to check her facts. The blog originally posted the wrong statement for Preston, it states, which was fixed on October 5. Preston was speaking the truth. And Lindemann had 12 days to confirm her charge before falsely condemning Preston in the public record on Oct. 17.
In the aftermath (hard to read the tiny Facebook screenshots), it looks like Preston was trying to defend herself from *specific* false allegations. For one, Preston objected to a person’s a misquotation as “a lie.” That is reasonable when a false statement damages one’s reputation (is defamatory). She did not call the person “a liar.” (Lindemann: “In the messages, Destiny called the residents liars…”)
As for the actual Bike Walk blog, neither candidate wrote, as Lindemann would have it, “…that if the tax increase fails to pass in November, budget cuts to public safety will be necessary.” Again, that is Lindemann’s creative rewrite, phrased to suggest that Preston and Blakewell were threatening public safety writ large if they didn’t get their way.
Actually, the blog question concerned just new projects from the Infrastructure Task Force. On this narrow scope, Preston and Blakewell reasonably stated that a lack of new funds would likely make it hard to fulfill the *specific* slate of new projects without seeking other funds or delaying timelines. Alas, we’ll find out soon enough they were right.
Lindemann is an unreliable narrator and, here at least, a bully. She owes Preston and the Encinitas public an apology.
Destiny Preston
https://bikewalkencinitas.org/destiny-preston-response-to-encinitas-bikewalk-questionnaire/
Correction: We inadvertently initially posted Allison Blackwell’s responses on both her page and Destiny Preston’s page. This error has been corrected.
EBW: Encinitas will vote on whether to add a 1% sales tax to help fund the infrastructure improvement projects identified by the Infrastructure Task Force, many of which will enhance mobility around town. If the tax doesn’t pass, how will you fund these projects?
DP: I do support the tax measure, unlike my opponent. It will be difficult to accomplish all our infrastructure needs and goals without it. I will also leverage my existing professional relationships with federal and state government agencies to help us attract grant funding. We can also explore additional revenue sources by increasing developer fees and as previously mentioned, exploring the creation of a parking benefits district.
Allison Blakcwell
https://bikewalkencinitas.org/allison-blackwell-response-to-encinitas-bikewalk-questionnaire/
EBW: If the tax doesn’t pass, how will you fund these projects?
AB: It will be very difficult to fund the projects prioritized by the Infrastructure Task Force in any meaningful way. The City Council will need to further prioritize that list each year and decide what to fund. It will mean many less projects each year. Some feel we can find more money within the existing budget, but that will involve trade-offs (e.g., pausing some projects, investing less in public safety (the biggest portion of the budget) etc.). Some feel we should go after more grants and would be more successful with specialized grant writers. I agree that this idea is worth exploring.
I would expect better from this author, a retired school teacher. Wonder when she became so hostile to our younger generation of public service leaders that she justifies her own gaslighting abusive behavior? Her deceitful conduct is “designed to destabilize and undermine her victim’s belief in their own perception of reality of sanity.” I am sure you never would have allowed this conduct from your students. Or maybe you admired the bullies in the classroom and did nothing to protect their victims. Stop insulting other senior citizens of Encinitas with this despicable behavior where you believe elders can spew insults at our younger leaders without being held accountable. Your behavior is described in a word that begins with an H and ends with an e.
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