In municipal government, real leadership isn’t measured by bullet points on a campaign website or scripted sound bites at a rally. It is defined by who sits in the council chamber, faces the public and does the hard work of governing when the issues are complex, emotional and raw.
This past Wednesday evening, the Encinitas City Council faced one of those moments.
On our agenda was Item 14B — a lengthy, intense and deeply personal discussion centered on federal immigration enforcement in Encinitas and how our city handles those challenges. For hours, council members sat in a packed chamber listening to our community, navigating raw emotions and confronting difficult legal and human realities.
In the end, despite varying perspectives on the dais, the council voted 5-0 to direct city staff to examine every potential adjustment Encinitas can make in its interactions with federal agents while expanding education and outreach to keep our residents informed.
It was an uncomfortable, honest and necessary discussion — the exact kind of governance local office demands.
What struck me most as I reflected on the meeting the next day wasn’t just the council’s unanimous action, but who was missing from the room.
For months, the challenger slate of Brad Lefkowits, Rimga Viskanta and Arielle Golden has made U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity a cornerstone of their campaigns. They have criticized current city actions, posted policy promises online and pledged to lead residents on this issue. Their key council ally, Councilmember Joy Lyndes — who has endorsed and actively campaigned for their slate — spearheaded bringing this item forward to give these challenges the full public focus they deserve.
Yet, on the most critical night to date when the City Council took up the very issue they claim to prioritize, Lefkowits, Viskanta and Golden were nowhere to be found.
They did not attend. They did not speak. They did not submit a speaker card to share their vision or support the community members in the room. Neither did their primary campaign backers at Encinitas Action, despite months of online commentary.
When the opportunity arrived to engage directly in public decision-making, the candidates who insist the city isn’t doing enough simply stayed home.
Leadership is about showing up. It’s easy to show up when discussions are straightforward, and the answers are simple. But real leadership requires showing up when discussions are tough, emotional and complicated.
This stark contrast illustrates precisely why Encinitas residents need to cast their votes to keep Mayor Bruce Ehlers and Councilmember Marco San Antonio in office — proven leaders who consistently do the work, face the hard issues and deliver real results for our community.
On Wednesday night, Mayor Bruce Ehlers, Councilmember Marco San Antonio and the rest of the sitting council showed up. We had the hard conversations, faced the uncomfortable aspects of the issue head-on and delivered a unified 5-0 vote to protect and inform our community.
If candidates stay home during an election year on an issue they claim is a top priority, what level of leadership can Encinitas expect from them after campaign season? Encinitas deserves leaders who stand up, engage in the tough discussions and show up when it matters most.
Jim O’Hara is a local business owner and Encinitas deputy mayor.
8 comments
Jim, it appears to me that the most aggressive attempt to turn resident’s concerns about ICE into political theater is coming from you. Very disappointing.
Bob Ayers, “fantasy and fabrications” is rich coming from you considering your own history of fabricating that you continue this election cycle: https://thecoastnews.com/letters-lies-conflict-and-dirty-politics-fuel-ehlers-hit-piece/. Whether you were there or not, your recollection of anything carries zero weight.
“Leah Clare,” believe you live in Carlsbad, not sure why you show up to nearly every meeting when Viskanta, Lefkowits, and Golden can’t be bothered.
Two days ago, Encinitas Deputy Mayor Jim O’Hara worked tirelessly to stifle ANY public discussion about protecting our community from ICE, going so far as an attempt to kill the agenda item before a word could be spoken. He called it redundant and a waste of time. You can see for yourself on the City Council video replay at 46:00.
Mr. O’Hara repeated his oft-used and always unsubstantiated claims of partisan politics, political theater and paid activists.
To his credit, he excels at political theater, and is at it again.
Because two days later, he wants credit for the passing of item 14B, though it looked like he was about to vomit as he yielded the mic.
Mr. Oharas seemingly paranoid conspiracy fantasies are in reality made up bullshit. He’s lying for his own political aspirations and wants to take credit for the decency of all the people who wrote in and showed up to voice their support of 14B.
Shame on Jim O’Hara. That’s not leadership. It’s thievery and gaslighting.
Lou Tappet, Lefkowits has attended almost every meeting this year and frequently speaks, Rimga has also spoken at more than one meeting and so has Golden. All of this is backed up by public record.
To Leah Clare’s point. Here is OHara attempting to remove Agenda Item 14 B https://youtu.be/7ZbhTXmCcBo. I would wager that even if Rimga, Brad or Arielle were present at the meeting, he would have dug his heels into the “political theatre” accusation. We have never had such a disingenuous councilmember on our city’s dias. This opinion piece is his attempt to control the narrative of his tyrannical style of governance. I don’t understand why O’Hara repeatedly states (without evidence) that public safety, social and racial justice activists are paid and their only interest is political theatre. When, in reality, it is his contemptuous attitude towards his own constituents who hold him to account that is the real theatre. He is the most divisive person to sit on the dias and will be a major factor in the results of this upcoming election. Even more concerning is that Mayor Ehlers is unable to control O’Hara’s habitual violation of Robert’s Rules and City of Encinitas Code of Ethics. O’Hara’s harmful behavior will not be tolerated by a Mayor Viskanta. VOTE FOR RIMGA!!!
Leah Clare, lame response. This piece is spot on and worth noting that Viskanta, Lefkowits, Golden rarely if ever attend council meetings. No thank you to such unengaged “representatives.”
More fantasy and fabrications from O’Hara. I was present the entire time. First, O’Hara tried to sink the entire topic by making a motion to remove it from the agenda. Then he tried to stop a speaker; twice. Then he tried to derail the topic with his bluster. Finally, he pushed away his microphone and, with the pain of a child forced to eat old broccoli, he voted with the majority. O’Hara’s job is to attend meetings. I was there with the community. The BAR is so easy to raise.
You say this was a necessary conversation to have, yet you tried to during the meeting to have it removed from the agenda. More political theater from you, I guess.