CARLSBAD — The vice chair of the Carlsbad Planning Commission is setting his sights on the City Council dais for 2024, announcing his campaign on Tuesday for the District 2 seat.
Kevin Sabellico, a city local who resides in the Rancho Carlsbad/Sunny Creek neighborhood, has spent the past year and a half on the city’s Planning Commission after being appointed in early 2021.
The 25-year-old said he wants to be a part of policymaking on the council to create affordable housing opportunities, keep residents safe on local streets and combat the climate crisis, among other goals. He said his voting record on the Planning Commission shows his commitment to those priorities.
“I have the ability to make a difference and hit the ground running,” Sabellico said. “My parents bought a home in Carlsbad in 1998. My dad was a Coast Guard officer, and my mom worked part-time while raising me and my brother. I don’t think a family like mine could buy a home in Carlsbad anymore, and I think that’s wrong. I want to provide housing for all income levels in Carlsbad, and that’s why I’m running.”
On the Planning Commission, Sabellico has cast votes in support of housing projects with affordable units like Hope Apartments and an emergency declaration for street safety. He also voted in favor of permits advancing improvements at the Carlsbad Desalination Plant.
Outside of the commission, Sabellico has been part of around a dozen local, state and federal political campaigns and currently owns a political consulting business. He was deputy field director for Congressman Mike Levin’s 2018 campaign and campaign manager for Catherine Blakespear’s 2022 Senate bid.
Levin also appointed him as a member of the Electoral College in 2020.
The council’s District 2 seat is currently held by Councilmember Carolyn Luna, former chairperson of the city’s Planning Commission, appointed earlier this year after the seat was left vacant last November by now-Mayor Keith Blackburn.
Sabellico said he would also like to be a voice for the LGBTQIA+ community on the council, noting his disappointment at one council member’s suggestion in July that raising the pride flag at city hall meant that any other flag, including the Confederate flag, could also potentially be raised.
“There are no LGBTQ members currently on the council. I want to stand up for the LGBTQ community,” Sabellico said.
Sabellico said he has built leadership experience from a young age, holding roles as a Little League umpire, altar server at St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church, Science Olympiad coach, and the president of the Canyon Crest Academy School Site Council.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
District 2 is the city’s largest district by land area, encompassing Tamarack Point, Calavera Hills, Robertson Ranch, Rancho Carlsbad, Carlsbad Ranch, Bressi Ranch, Kelly Ranch, and parts of La Costa Greens, Rancho Carrillo, and Poinsettia.
This story was updated at 4:02 p.m. to clarify the name of the neighborhood where Sabellico resides.
1 comment
How did this guy ever get placed on The Planning Commission?
A 25 yr old with no experience whatsoever other than running a blatantly lying campaign for his developer puppet candidate Catherine Blakespear.
There is some serious shenanigans going on in Carlsbad.
This guy should never get elected to City Council or anything else.
If Carlsbad wants a YIMBY/WIMBY Blakespear/Toni Atkins acolyte, here is your guy.
Everyone else needs to make sure he loses.