Coming off the Manchester Avenue exit I have seen numerous ironic political signs, illegally posted. My two favorites are for judge and sheriff, people we expect will enforce the laws, but continue to break them by spreading their cardboard litter over all over this beautiful city.
This year is the worst to date, and it seems that any thrifty builder, like those intent on giving this city an obnoxious facelift, could erect an entire new city from the gaudy scraps, if cities were made of colored cardboard, instead of fake stone and drywall.
I don’t think I am much different than most surfers, dreading politics all year long, riding along in my personal bliss bubble, until some law affects me directly. The message should have been driven home when a surf contest was proposed at Swami’s, and most incumbents voted for it. To my recollection it was only Councilwoman Teresa Barth who voted against it, a courageous move that could have cost her politically. Teresa is also the only Encinitas City Council member who has ever called me by name, or called to ask my opinion on items concerning the surfers of this city.
This is not a paid political announcement, but a call to surfers and other beach users to stand up, dry off and vote. There is too much at stake not to. While we have learned to embrace the Cardiff Kook in spite of its uncoordinated appearance, there is other public art that is just poorly done: a guy in a stinkbug squat going left at Swami’s and those surfer crossing signs, indicating that we as a species are too dumb to know what cars look like, are good examples.
Well, we do know and we are tired of seeing so many of them swirling around here like L.A. at rush hour. Still, some of us are too busy surfing to notice or care about land locked aesthetics. The problems that directly affect surfers are water pollution and an increasingly crowded local lineup.
While everyone has the right to surf wherever and whenever they want, larger surf craft, some of it paddle powered, brings attention to the idea that not everyone is getting their fair share these days. So, it may require laws to control this situation, before the anger that so many shortboarders have expressed to me boils over as they are gradually being shut out of the waves by superior paddle power.
If you enjoy surfing, it is probably not a bad idea to support the candidates that care about the sport and the medium it is practiced in. And don’t take my word for it; research the voting records of the candidates along with each of the propositions. Some of us have proposed a Blue Party, something that could offer beachgoers a greater voice in city and state politics. Until there is a groundswell of ocean users voting, we will continue to be an isolated group, sitting in the rocks, while politicians without a clue as to what your values are, continue to shape your environment.
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