VISTA — Voters had the chance to ask questions of four City Council candidates this week at a forum held by the League of Women Voters of North County San Diego. The forum featured the first in-person showdown between candidates in the competitive District 3 race.
Voters will be asked to elect two City Council members this November, with incumbent Katie Melendez running for re-election to her District 3 seat against Barragan, a local business owner.
Marine veteran and activist Anthony White and business owner Jeff Fox are running for the City Council District 2 seat currently held by Joe Green, who is stepping down at the end of the year. Ballots will begin to be mailed to registered San Diego County voters the week of Oct. 6.
The Monday forum at the Vista Civic Center was the first time all four candidates were present to share their platforms and priorities. Melendez did not attend a previous forum held by the Latino-American Political Association in July.
Candidates answered audience-submitted questions regarding housing, public safety, economic development, sales taxes, transportation, and supporting marginalized communities. A video recording of the forum will be available on the League of Women Voters of North County San Diego’s website.
District 3
The council’s District 3 seat represents the areas of Breeze Hill, West Vista Village, Melrose and Grapevine. The race has provided another view into existing tensions on the council, which currently has its first-ever Democratic majority of Melendez, Corinna Contreras and Dan O’Donnell.
Melendez called on voters to maintain the city’s progressive policy trend to continue improving the city. She highlighted her track record of securing funding for the city’s Buena Creek Navigation Center and supporting an inclusive environment in Vista.
“This is an important election. We have a progressive majority on the Vista City Council for the first time in our city’s history,” said Melendez. “People who are community oriented will get things done for their community.”
Melendez identified affordable housing, public safety, and community health and wellbeing as her top priorities, noting that the city needs to step up its efforts to meet its Regional Housing Needs Allocation of around 2,500 units by 2029.
Others who have clashed with Melendez over the years, especially Vista’s conservative Mayor John Franklin, want to see things change. Franklin is endorsing Barragan for Melendez’s seat.
Along with being chosen twice as deputy mayor, Melendez has managed to edge Franklin out of a seat on the SANDAG board for two years in a row after she and fellow Democrats voted to change the city code to allow any council member, not just the mayor, to propose representatives for local boards and commissions.
Barragan said her top priorities are improving the quality of life for residents through public safety, including outreach to unhoused individuals, improving streets and roads, and economic development to promote local job growth.
She said a major reason she decided to run was the need for improvements along Emerald Drive, where she owns a home. The city has applied multiple times for funding since 2018, but has not been able to net the $6 million needed to move forward.
“This is one of the biggest reasons I decided to run. We have been waiting for over six years … I know we’ve applied to grants, but we have not been successful in getting funding to improve that road,” Barragan said.
Melendez agreed that Emerald Drive is an important project and noted that she worked with Rep. Mike Levin earlier this year to secure $850,000 for it.
Barragan also identified the need for improvements to the State Route 78 highway, stating that the city needs a representative at SANDAG who will advocate strongly for the long-awaited project.
Barragan said she would represent Vista’s large Spanish-speaking community on the council and advocate for better access and translation services for Spanish-speaking residents and business owners.
Support for law enforcement came up multiple times during the forum, with Barragan boasting her endorsement from the San Diego County Deputy Sheriff’s Association. Melendez has been endorsed by the Vista Fire Fighters Association, and said she has voted to increase the number of Sheriff’s deputies and firefighters in Vista.
District 2
Vista’s District 2 includes the areas of Vista Civic Center, Vista Valley, and the Main Street area of downtown Vista.
Fox said his top priorities are housing affordability, public safety and economic development.
As the owner of a marketing and video production company that works with small businesses, he values supporting local businesses and wants Vista to be known as a business-friendly city.
“We’d like to start a family here in this city, and we want to make sure our children have the same opportunities growing up that I did, or preferably even better,” Fox said. “I think Vista is an amazing city, I think it has such an awesome community, such awesome character, as well as so much potential. I just want to use my business experience to make it the best place it can be.”
White said his background in homelessness advocacy work, particularly for students and veterans, and his own lived experience of homelessness after leaving the Marines have prepared him well to serve residents on the City Council.
He identified housing affordability and accessibility, public safety. and infrastructure development including improved sidewalks and street lighting as his top priorities. He also highlighted the need for more unity in local government to effectively address issues in the community.
“Right now, we see a lot of divisiveness on the local level. We need local leaders who are gonna encourage other people to remember that we’re all neighbors, that we all want the same things,” White said.
Candidates were also asked two yes-or-no questions — whether the city needs more pickleball courts (all four said yes), and whether they support the placement of digital billboards in Vista (White and Barragan said yes, Fox and Melendez said maybe).
When asked whether they would support another sales tax once the half-cent Proposition L sunsets, Melendez said she would like to see voters renew the tax. Barragan and White said they could support it, but are wary of burdening residents, and Fox said he opposes a sales tax unless needed to maintain essential city services.
Campaign finance as of June 30
Melendez — $32,080.07 in contributions, $24,247.53 ending cash balance
Barragan — $17,653.82 in contributions, $12,326.05 ending cash balance
Fox — $13,584.82 in contributions, $10,028.36 ending cash balance
White — $5,211 in contributions, $3,935 ending cash balance
