The 80 members of the San Diego County Democratic Party Central Committee unanimously rejected Terry Gaasterland for endorsement, not my local Democratic club. I didn’t even speak against Gaasterland when the endorsement vote took place. I didn’t need to.
It was not, as Gaasterland loyalist Shirli Weiss suggests, because I was supposedly angry with her about her support for a rail alignment that would have tunneled under the Del Mar Fairgrounds. I lost respect for her because, despite assurances by the Del Mar City Council that it wouldn’t support that alignment, she personally promoted it at SANDAG.
Then, a couple of days later, she told the fairgrounds’ Government Relations Committee, on which I served, that she never said it. The transcript of the SANDAG meeting directly contradicts what she told our committee.
In her letter to the editor, “Tired of out-of-towners telling Del Mar voters how to vote” (Oct. 12, The Coast News), Weiss also questioned my legitimacy to speak to Del Mar residents. Would she criticize any of us for contributing to congressional campaigns outside our home districts? Would she prevent people in Imperial Beach from criticizing Tijuana for its sewage overflows? This is America; of course I have a right to speak.
Keep in mind that Weiss did not say I lied or even misspoke. I have simply tried to help Del Mar residents make informed choices about their future City Council members. Having experienced what I have, I would feel I was doing a disservice if I didn’t take a position. Del Mar needs City Council members who can work with elected members of the Democratic Party. Gaasterland has proven she can’t.
Neighboring City Council members and city staff have repeatedly voiced their lack of trust in Gaasterland and her intentions. That kind of widespread distrust and distaste for a sitting elected official is something I have rarely seen — and it should tell you something.
I also lost respect for Gaasterland because, when she last ran for Del Mar City Council, she asked for my personal support, which I gave on her assurance that she was a Democrat. She gave me that assurance emphatically and unequivocally. I agree with Weiss on this: She shouldn’t have to mindlessly vote Democratic on every issue.
However, very early on, and consistently, Gaasterland has shown that her early assurances were, at best, insincere attempts to snooker Democrats into voting for her. She was never a Democrat.
Gaasterland has alienated county Democratic elected officials by repeatedly backing Republicans on key decisions. SANDAG, which will determine the new route of the train tracks through Del Mar, is controlled mainly by Democratic elected officials from across San Diego County.
To effectively represent Del Mar and ensure it receives fair treatment, its representative to SANDAG must be able to communicate with and influence SANDAG’s Democratic members. Gaasterland has burned that trust, again and again.
Del Mar needs City Council members who act with integrity. Del Mar needs City Council members who can build relationships and trust with government officials. Del Mar’s future depends on outcomes like affordable housing mandates and the new rail alignment. On every one of these measures, Gaasterland has proven she is the wrong person for the job.
Michael Gelfand is president of the Rancho Santa Fe Democratic Club, which includes the communities of Carmel Valley, Del Mar, Encinitas, Solana Beach and Rancho Santa Fe.
