It's A Wonderful New World

Candace and Cyrus Kamata hosted a party with this theme, It's A Wonderful New World. The idea was to honor publisher Jim Kydd for supporting local voices and encouraging dissent against embedded political power.

The gathering was a rousing success with Pam Slater, retiring San Diego County Supervisor, presenting a proclamation to Jim. Dave Roberts, the newly elected Supervisor gave a speech and posted this photo via Twitter. There were accolades all around and not just for Jim, but for all the people present who contributed time, money, creativity and energy to changing Encinitas political scene.

Songs, music, speeches, gifts and really fantastic food we're told. Congratulations and appreciation all around and well deserved. It takes a community. We invisible but loud bloggers lift a glass in celebration for all and for our own contributions.

Shaffer and Kranz Cleaned Everyone's Clocks

12/4/12  Update: Official, Final Count
12/3/12, 5 pm Updated results w/1,000 votes left to count
Lisa Shaffer and Tony Kranz got some of the highest numbers of votes in the history of Encinitas Elections. And this is without all of the votes counted.

After the polls closed Nov. 6, there were 450,000 ballots to count manually. These were mail-in ballots dropped off at polling places and the San Diego County Registrar of Voters designated offices. With only 7,500 1,000 no more of these mail / provisional ballots left to be counted, Lisa Shaffer and Tony Kranz undoubtedly won the election by a huge margin. Regarding the manual counting that has gone went on for more than 20 days:

"I don't really see a shortcut for all of this. We have to be very meticulous. We have to be very careful. There's a lot at stake. Every vote has to count. And every vote has to count only one time. So, there's really [is] not a very good way that we have around all of this,” said Deborah Seiler of the San Diego Registrar of Voters.

The Registrar said it’s the most ballots they’ve ever had to count. The legal deadline to finish counting all of the votes is by Dec. 4 – a full 28 days after the election. Source

Oddity noted this last week, the count for Lisa Shaffer dropped 2 votes and Tony Kranz lost one vote between Thursday and Friday.  Inexplicable . . .

Below are the last 20 years election counts from the Registrar (earlier years not online).  Lisa Shaffer broke the all time record as the top vote getter with 15,596 15,606. Tony Kranz in second place position garnered 12,251 12,262 to beat all other candidates in 20 years except Maggie Houlihan in '04/'08 or Bond '04.

Encinitas Election Vote Tally 1992-2012

2012

15, 606 - Lisa Shaffer

12,262 - Tony Kranz

9,521 - Mark Muir

2010

11,056 - Kristin Gaspar

10,167 - Teresa Barth

2008

12,488 - Maggie Houlihan

10,373 - Jerome Stocks

9,744 - Jim Bond 

2006

10,875 - Dan Dalager

8,436 - Teresa Barth

2004

13,129 - Maggie Houlihan

12,701 - Jim Bond

11,770 - Jerome Stocks

2002

8,799 - Dan Dalager

8,110 - Christy Guerin

2000

9,946 - Jim Bond

9,414 - Maggie Houlihan

8,881 - Jerome Stocks

1998

9,338 - Dennis Holz

8,202 - Christy Guerin

1996

10,359 - Jim Bond

8,591 - Chuck DuVivier

8,490 - Sheila Cameron

1994

8,840 - John Davis

7,500 Lou Aspell

1992

8,062 - Gail Hano

7,523 - Chuck DuVivier

7,052 - Jim Bond

This 2012 election was an election year to remember, where more people chose to vote than ever before. After the official count is over, the numbers for this year will be adjusted. We will also be looking at the various Registrar reports on what percentage of voters turned out this year, age, party, gender and other demographics will be parsed and studied for clues about what matters to the people of Encinitas. 

Lisa Shaffer and Tony Kranz can be sure they have a mandate from the voters to listen to their needs.  

Good idea, great response & fantastic results

It started with Lisa Shaffer's good idea to deal with the pollution that is the yard sign post-election by asking all supporters to drop off signs at two location. She found organizational support from Councilwoman Barth and other key volunteers and the community of Shaffer and Kranz voters brought 400 signs. These Shaffer signs, towering over little miss Levan, will be repurposed. The paper signs were recycled and the metal stands will be sold back to the local printer.

The added bonus was this great haul of food donated at the sign drop-off site at Lisa's request, shown here in her car, before she headed to the Community Resource Center.

These photos were on Shaffer's Facebook page and are shown here for those not on Facebook and to simply enjoy this progressive approach to make simple acts say large things. I look forward to the model of hundreds of small, simple ways we can all help each other choose easy ways to live deliberately. Gratitude hardly covers it for our new Councilwoman and that dynamic cadre of volunteers.

More Endorsements

Women Leaders Endorse Shaffer & Kranz

Well known to Encinitas resident, Attorney Livia Borak gives a thoughtful endorsement for Lisa Shaffer and Tony Kranz. Livia can be seen on many of the clips at encinitasyouneedus channel of YouTube.  She has spoken often in her role as attorney and as a citizen on many quality of life issues.

Encinitas 101 Official Voice Carris Rhodes is really enthusiastic about Lisa Shaffer's understanding of the relationship between economy, ecology and society.  Carris has been a leading voice in the Encinitas Environmental Commission.

Henri - Politique

Back by popular demand . . .

Councilwoman Barth with constituent cat.

Kook Gathering of Waving Supporters

Tony Kranz was out and about this week with Lisa Shaffer at meet and greets.  These 2 candidates have been going non-stop.  While in Cardiff on Friday Tony let interested people know that sign waving was going to be happening on Saturday.

Well, Saturday was a gorgeous day and a whole crowd showed up - working to perfect their "wave" routine at the foot of the Kook statue.  Honking brought the expected grins and cheers. The dozens of bikes clubs and crowds walking along 101 were especially fun.

Tomorrow morning and afternoon there will be supporters for Shaffer and Kranz on busy commute routes. See you there!

Along with candidates Shaffer and Kranz, Councilwoman Barth was again waving a giant hand at the people in traffic. The Kook location, her recommendation (Good idea) as she and her husband, Don, are proud of the Cardiffian community character.  Community character has grown in framing what is most important in this election.  Images below from Barths FB page.

We Deserve Better

Hat Tip Marty Benson

US of A Map Morphed by Money

The reality that this country, the culture and the entire planet has fundamentally been changed is impossible for millions to grasp.

This campaign season we probably have far more wrong information voters than we have low information voters.  Not only that, there is great fear and distrust.

But, for a growing number of voters it is a time to take on citizenship with the intent to grow.  For you there are so many resources. Check these out.


Imagine our Encinitas Map if each of the 5 communities were animated like the above US map was to show money and interest?  To show density? To show citizen participation or voting? To show wealth . . . integral to the private owners and contributions to the public good?

Anyone have mad cartography skills?  Yet again an exercise in perception to challenge our often rigid view of things.

And to further tease us of erroneous conceptions, a great chart. Friends and family who hate charts, I apologize and assure you that more posts will be up soon.

This partially explains why so many middle class people support the 1% when the programs and policies promoted by the 1% are guaranteed to hurt the middle class as well as the working poor. Seeing oneself higher in a higher percentile in the above chart might guarantee no response to verifiable facts.  Turns out for 10's of millions of us - we just aren't that special even if we are white, wealthy and working.

via Common Dreams

Smithers, Bring Me An Election

h/t Tengrain

Shaffer & Kranz Buy Local - Stocks & Muir Don't

Dennis Lees, whose campaign finance research findings a week ago caused a stir, chose to confront Jerome Stocks.

Stocks wrote a post at SD Rostra  that rewrote the UT endorsement and then commented on that post (can you say self-obsessed?) defending, complaining he was a victim, accusing and of course snarling true facts™ (not true facts).

Lees brings out a whole other dimension of Stocks dubious campaign finance behavior besides the previously documented outside donations:

"Talk about disconnected from the community. First off, historically, over 2/3rds of Stocks campaign donations came from outside of Encinitas. About 4/5ths came from from developers. Only about 1/5th of his donations came from Encinitas.

Second, let’s look at campaign expenditures. Stocks has spent only about 1/10th of his campaign expenditures’ expenditures in Encinitas (about $1,700). In contrast, over 4/5ths of Lisa Shaffer’s campaign expenditures have been in Encinitas (more than $29,000) and nearly 60% of Tony Kranz’s were spent in the city (more than $12,000). And the majority of their contributions are from Encinitas.

What does this say about who is in touch with the voters and businesses in Encinitas. Who supports Shaffer and Kranz? Who do they support? And who is in touch with the business and “voters” from outside the city?"

The Buy Local logo is from the city website.  You would think that incumbent council members would have attempted to do the right thing.  You would be wrong in this case.

When asked, Lisa Shaffer said that she would have liked to spend all of the donations in Encinitas, saying she only spent outside when nobody in town could provide the services.We have said this repeatedly all year long.  Our chosen candidates walk the talk.  

Stocks, Muir and Forrester don't even talk to the community (Mo Muir aside). Their campaigns are best characterized with the icon here.  

By the way, the big box stores are located here, but they are not local businesses. Shaffer discovered a local print shop that actually sent out all of the work, thereby negating the reasons for support spelled out below. It isn't about punishing businesses - as one of Stocks' troll patrol claims.  This is about strengthening businesses that live and invest in Encinitas.  This conversation needs to continue.  The current super majority have closed out these kinds of conversations and the public is hungry for them.

Top 10 Reasons to Support Locally Owned Businesses

1. Local Character and Prosperity
In an increasingly homogenized world, communities that preserve their one-of-a-kind businesses and distinctive character have an economic advantage.

2. Community Well-Being
Locally owned businesses build strong communities by sustaining vibrant town centers, linking neighbors in a web of economic and social relationships, and contributing to local causes.

3. Local Decision-Making
Local ownership ensures that important decisions are made locally by people who live in the community and who will feel the impacts of those decisions.

4. Keeping Dollars in the Local Economy
Compared to chain stores, locally owned businesses recycle a much larger share of their revenue back into the local economy, enriching the whole community.

5. Job and Wages
Locally owned businesses create more jobs locally and, in some sectors, provide better wages and benefits than chains do.

6. Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship fuels America’s economic innovation and prosperity, and serves as a key means for families to move out of low-wage jobs and into the middle class.

7. Public Benefits and Costs
Local stores in town centers require comparatively little infrastructure and make more efficient use of public services relative to big box stores and strip shopping malls.

8. Environmental Sustainability
Local stores help to sustain vibrant, compact, walkable town centers-which in turn are essential to reducing sprawl, automobile use, habitat loss, and air and water pollution.

9. Competition
A marketplace of tens of thousands of small businesses is the best way to ensure innovation and low prices over the long-term.

10. Product Diversity
A multitude of small businesses, each selecting products based, not on a national sales plan, but on their own interests and the needs of their local customers, guarantees a much broader range of product choices.

© Institute for Local Self-Reliance.

Make it Stop

A sentiment we can all relate to at this point.

FORT COLLINS - A 4-year-old Fort Collins girl expressed her frustration over the seemingly never-ending presidential campaign.
9NEWS viewer Elizabeth Evans said she and her daughter, Abigael, were listening to NPR on a trip to the grocery store Tuesday when she started tearing up.
The mother asked Abigael why she was crying and she responded, "I'm tired of Bronco Bamma and Mitt Romney."
This little girl may have captured a sentiment many voters feel less than a week away from Election Day.
Elizabeth says on the way back from the store she switched the radio from NPR to Neil Young.

Via Crooks & Liars 

5 Distinctly Different Council Members = No on K

North Coast Current Online, 10/31/12 

Councilwoman Teresa Barth

Proposition K – Shall the voters of the city of Encinitas directly elect a mayor and four City Council members? Sounds like a great idea. But is it?

Most cities have a directly elected mayor. I would argue that Encinitas is not like most cities. Twenty-five years ago, residents of five very different communities came together to protect the unique character of each area from the over-development zeal of the then county Board of Supervisors. They came together not to be the same but to maintain their differences. Just as they saw Encinitas as a coalition of communities, they wanted the council to be a collaboration of diverse opinions and perspectives. 

Unfortunately, over the years partisan politics slipped into the process of the annual selection of mayor and deputy mayor. Individual council members have seen their role as one of power assuming greater authority for themselves and those who support them. 

The impartial analysis included in the ballot statement describes the duties as established by “custom and practice” and performance of certain ceremonial functions. It makes the position of mayor sound as though it’s really not very important. 

Currently, the “custom and practice” actually includes some very important duties. The mayor and city manager determine the council agenda, providing the mayor an opportunity to prevent some issues from coming to the council and to promote his/her pet projects. The mayor makes appointments to regional and state boards, chairs the city’s Housing Authority, the Encinitas Financing Authority and is the city’s representative to the League of California Cities. The mayor is the spokesperson for the city to the media. 

The solution is not to create a new, more powerful and potentially expensive position that will open the door even wider for special interest money to influence local politics. The answer is simple. Codify a rotation system to take the petty politics out of the process. This will create certainty not only for the council members but for the public and the city staff as well. 

I believe this will set a positive tone sending a clear message that the council is working together in the best interest of the city, not their own personal agendas. 

Join me in voting no on Prop. K. 

Teresa Arballo Barth is an Encinitas City Councilwoman

Please visit North Coast Current and view all the posts.  We can't have enough independent news sources in our community.

People Looking Us In the Eyes - and Smilng

This is what makes waving signs, taking to the street corners a lot of fun.  The opposition is now simply dumping thousands of dollars into a river a hatefulness and lies via the hit pieces and perversions via mail, phones, email and opposition owned publications and blogs.  Whatever might be illegal - yet alone just hateful - won't be sorted in the next 5 days. This is the vested interests way to pour money into a race to pollute the debate.

So lets get out in force and wave! Support Dave Roberts, our best pick for San Diego County Supervisor.  Plus we continue to support Lisa Shaffer & Tony Kranz for Encinitas City Council.  And we are having a great time doing it.  Good people . . . good times.

Heard in the community Monday afternoon . . .

If anyone has had campaign signs stolen from their private property, please report it to the police as it is a crime! Please make sure to include who the signs supported in your report. It is important that they have record of it. Encinitas 

• Station number is (858) 565-5200. 

• Web site  

The plot sickens by Monday evening . . .

Community person reports:
The officer just came out and said due to the high number of sign theft reports in our area, he is not allowed to take any reports. He said "it was decided at a higher level" that the campaign candidates themselves would have to report all stolen signs and to contact them to report the incidents if they wish.

Community activist:
I am surprised that they have decided they are "not allowed" to take reports of stolen personal property from Encinitas individuals. Is that legal? Does anyone know?

I know I gave a campaign contribution and asked for a sign. Doesn't that make it my property?

We are in full agreement and urge people to make the call, make notes of date, your stolen sign message and what you were told by police. The activist spearheading this hasn't gotten back to us with permission to use the name and email address to report these. But, stay tuned as more decisive action may be forthcoming.

And, let us state the obvious.  Who again is endorsed by the Sheriff's Union?

Celebrity Endorsement - Sort Of

Joss Weldon

Guest Post: Olivier Canler

The official series at EYNU, Tuesday is Dues-Day is over but the habit lingers.  This still feels like a good day to dig into an issue with some depth and we've chosen to let this increasingly well known New Encinitas neighbor share his point of view.  So, today there is a guest post from Olivier Canler reprinted in it's entirety from the Patch.  Do go to the original article for the additional images posted there.

Encinitas General Plan Update and Council Election

Much has happened since the March 7 reboot of the General Plan Update. The Element Review Advisory Committee (ERAC), the General Plan Advisory Committee (GPAC), the planning commission and the public workshop have been working on alternative plans. The public workshop results were presented in front of City Council. 

What we can expect from all these exercises is that the growth of high-density units will be more spread out with some "hot zones" for growth such as El Camino Real (yes it's back), Encinitas Blvd, the four corners area in Olivenhain, the strawberry fields off the I-5 Manchester Exit, various empty lots in Old Encinitas and Leucadia and what the planners call "underutilized lots" meaning agricultural or low density residential areas currently occupied by our dying agriculture and flower industry in Encinitas. One of the recommendation from the ERAC should be of concerns to all of us: This committee reached a concensus to allow zoning up to 45 units per acre (read 5 story tall buildings in Encinitas). They do add that such development would have to be context-sensitive -meaning fitting with their immediate environment—but it hard to believe that such density could not affect our community characters. 

Residents from all areas of Encinitas have started the Encinitas-Right-To-Vote Initiative which, if successful, will close a loophole in our current General Plan. This flaw allows a 4/5th majority of our council to approve density increases, and you the residents and voters of Encinitas, can't vote on this. We think that the voters in Encinitas should be allowed to vote on major up-zoning changes, typically dictated by the General plan Update. More about this initiative can be found at www.EncinitasRightToVote.com. There you'll find information about when and where you can sign this initiative. If you had enough with traffic, pollution and are concerned about the stress that added density brings to our daily lives, you need to sign the initiative. Would you rather live in Encinitas or UTC or Newport Beach? In fact 98 percent of residents according to a recent city survey like Encinitas just the way it is. 

With our council elections right around the corner, we strongly urge all residents to consider the candidates very carefully and pay attention to their views on future development in Encinitas. This is critical for the future of our town and probably the most important issue during this election. 

I attended all three forums for council candidates, and here are my recommendations: 

-Lisa Shaffer and Tony Kranz are the preferred candidates. They will listen to the residents, are concerned how the General Plan Update can change our communities, and are supporting the idea of having the community being engaged in a meaningful way in future land-use changes. They both want to maintain our beach-town character, and want to preserve open spaces and our precious natural resources. Beyond the General Plan they are very familiar with issues facing our city. They will bring fiscal responsibility to our council. 

In contrast, Jerome Stocks and Kevin Forrester are pro-growth and are backed by special interests made of developers (most are out-of-town). They have very little regards for what residents want when it comes to growth. Mr. Stocks has been quoted saying things like, "This is just a planning exercise, none of these units have to be built", or "I'll try to respect community character". Mr. Forrester, a realtor and attorney, specialized in mitigating land-use disputes, is more blunt: He does not believe the public should be involved in zoning exercises adding that these exercises are best left to the "professional planners". He wants to expedite the planning process. Here is what Mr. Forrester said to the Union-Tribune: "The biggest challenge facing the city of Encinitas is re-establishing the policy-setting role of the City Council in land-use planning, and avoiding the takeover of planning by a vocal minority of Encinitas citizens". Characterizing the people behind the Right-To-Vote Initiative as a vocal minority is offensive and a gross distorsion of the facts. In reality, most Encinitans are deeply concerned about further developments in our town. 

Both Mr. Stocks and Mr. Forrester strongly oppose the Right-To-vote initiative.
Mark Muir is all over the map when it comes to zoning changes. He takes credit for the reboot of the GPU (when the vote was unanimous and it did not take a genius to understand that this plan was vastly unpopular). He is not in favor of density bonus but does not support the Right-To-Vote Initiative. He is also aligned politically with Jerome Stocks and Kevin Forrester. We can't trust Mark Muir. 

The other candidates, Barb Yost, Brian Ziegler, Thomas Brophy, are all concerned about zoning changes. Their hearts are in the right places. All three support the Right-To-Vote initiative but are newcomers on the Encinitas public scene. I would encourage everybody to visit each of these 3 candidates website and decide for yourself. 

Peter Schuh, the ninth candidate, is a complete unknown and has not shown up to any of the candidate's forum. 

Vote for Shaffer and Kranz for sure! Pick your third wisely. It's time to change our council so that a meaningful dialogue can take place between the residents of Encinitas and their representatives.

Stolen Moments: Spotted at Cafe Ipe

Teresa Barth takes a coffee break during campaign. 

We Write Letters, We Blog, We Publish

Signs on steroids

Rachelle Collier, Leucadia

Each election cycle, our candidates put up signs to indicate endorsements. I would like to call attention to the fact that some candidates have what I call signs on steroids. 

But what is more telling than the size of the signs is their location. I have noticed that they are mostly on nursery land and empty lots. Now, anyone can put signs up to endorse their candidate. Tony Kranz and Lisa Shaffer signs are up throughout many neighborhoods in people’s yards. 

This tells me that the community of Encinitas endorses Tony and Lisa. The signs on steroids are on locations with the potential to develop. Anyone who pays attention to local politics knows that there is a disconnect with what neighborhoods want and what is being built in our fair city. No one can stop development and everyone wants business to thrive. 

We live in a very special place and development should fit the community character. We should not change our character to suit the development. There is a reason that most of us moved to this incredible place. If you value this unique area, please vote for Tony Kranz and Lisa Shaffer. 

We Blog

Around the same time this letter to the Coast News editor was posted, blogger Encinitas Undercover printed this picture that perfectly illustrated Rachelle's point with another version of this same essential story captured in a headline.  

Very good stuff.  The first comment was from a well informed local describing some history of this location.

"This property was owned by the Browns, who always supported Stocks, Bond, and Dalager. The property was sold to City Ventures and is zoned RR-1 (Rural Residential 1 house per acre). A call was made to City Ventures, who responded that the Browns still have the right to give permission for the signage."

For more go here . 

Wave signs, read blogs, write letters and talk to friends, because we are all educating our community one step at a time and bringing change. And, in the in-box we received the plea by the North Coast Current Online Publisher Roman S. Koenig via his point of view editorial at his own paper. Read the whole thing by all means.  The following is just a taste. We disagree strongly only with his recommendation on Encinitas Proposal K.  Please vote no.

We Publish News

Leave Jim Kydd alone. 

Some of you might find this statement surprising coming from the editorial director of the North Coast Current, especially those of you who have chosen to use recent coverage in this publication as a passive endorsement of typical Encinitas-style “hate politics.” I found it fascinating in the past couple of weeks how the Current, in its work to cover news and provide civil discourse, had cuffs and chains thrown at it for this town’s mud pit of rhetorical nonsense. 

[. . . ] 

This whole rhetorical battle over encinitaselection.com certainly has its amusing moments. The most amusing comes from an exchange in comments Oct. 27 between posters Jack Lane and Vikki St. Mary. 

Lane accused the “blog” North Coast Current of being part of a leftist conspiracy against Jim Kydd: “This latestest (sic) critique of Jim as a person and his publication is typical of the vitriol that come from the Left and its need to smear and define others.” To which St. Mary replied: “So there is a liberal media conspiracy against the liberal media?? You are confusing please explain.” 

St. Mary’s call is right on, although I would say our publications are ultimately more centrist (not to speak for Jim Kydd, though). 

The Coast News and North Coast Current are on the same page when it comes to Encinitas City Council endorsements. The Current, like Coast News, supports Lisa Shaffer and Tony Kranz, and does not support conservative incumbents Jerome Stocks and Mark Muir. However, the Current supports Propositions K and L, largely attributed to the council’s conservative majority. Much of the “vitriol,” as Lane puts it, is in the comment sections of the Current, Patch and blogs from supporters of conservative candidates such as Stocks. 

All of this goes right to St. Mary’s reply to Lane’s cliché interpretation of recent events. 

A leftist plot by one centrist publication against another? I think not. 

Roman S. Koenig is editorial director and publisher of the North Coast Current. Columns are the opinions of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of North Coast Current ownership.

Quote of the Day - Candidate Lisa Shaffer

"If you want to replace campaign yard signs that have "disappeared" overnight, consider making your own on poster board or foam core, saying "Someone took my sign for SHAFFER FOR COUNCIL" or for KRANZ FOR COUNCIL". I have foam core that I'm happy to provide. Email me at Lisa@Shaffer4Council.com if you want some."

Update 

The original quote should have by this note from Shaffer: 

More reports this morning of my campaign signs being stolen out of people's front yards where they were placed with permission. This is a sign of desperation - some folks must think that if they try to hide the extent of support for Tony Kranz and me, it will help their candidates. But it doesn't work. We are running a grassroots campaign with real people supporting us because we work hard, we tell the truth, and we play by the rules. Too bad all the candidates can't say that. If you vote by mail, please send in your ballots soon so they will be counted in the early returns.

This idea can be found in other election places and races. Although Lisa Shaffer's idea isn't fraught with scolding or accusation like the sign below.  (We all know the toxic thinking supported by the opposition in this town.)

Looks like this kind of bad behavior is shared by Republicans in Atlanta (and in cities across the country).

Ocean Beach Crowds, Green Event, Support for Change

Great Weekend of Citizen Participation