PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID ENCINITAS, CA 92024 PERMIT NO. 94
THE COAST NEWS
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MAKING WAVES IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD
VOL. 25, NO. 40
DEC. 23. 2011
Committee members appointed
THISWEEK PARDON OUR DELAY
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By Wehtahnah Tucker
elected to the council in 2010, will serve as deputy mayor in 2012. In Solana Beach, Joe Kellejian took over from Lesa Heebner to begin his fifth time leading that city since he was first elected to the council in 1992. “I can’t thank you enough for your dedication and your hard work,” Kellejian said to Heebner, who completed her second stint as mayor since being elected in 2004. “This has been an exceptional year for … not only you but for this council as a
ENCINITAS — Unlike previous years, there was little discussion and no dissent on the mayor’s appointments to regional and local boards and committees. City Council approved Mayor Jerome Stocks’ recommendations unanimously during the special meeting Dec. 19. Stocks said during the meeting that he sent a prior email to the council with his proposed appointments and asked if anyone had requests for changes. “A few did,” he said. In a departure from the normal voting procedure, each council member left the room during the vote on their appointments. The change was in response to a letter sent by the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission to the city stating that it was not appropriate for each council member to be present during a vote on committee assignments due to the potential for personal financial gain. Some of the committees afford a stipend per meeting. There was little change in the 20 appointments, with newly appointed Council member Mark Muir gaining 11 new assignments. Last year, Council member Teresa Barth was stripped of her regional committee assignments by a council majority during a contentious meeting. During last year’s meeting, then-Deputy Mayor Stocks motioned to have firsttime Council member Kristin Gaspar replace Barth as alternate representative on the San Diego Association of Governments, (SANDAG) and North County Transit District Barth was demoted to SANDAG second alternate while Stocks remained as the city’s representative. Stocks kept those appointments in place this year. Unlike Stocks, thenMayor James Bond said he did not speak to anyone on the council prior to the meeting in 2010 except Gaspar
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San Elijo Hills resident Joel Hendrickson, portrays Moses as he parts the Red Sea during the Horizon Christian Fellowship church’s presentation of the Living Nativity. The annual event was revamped this year to include new scenes and an ice skating rink. Turn to Page B1 for more photos from the event. Photo by Daniel Knighton
Coastal cities select new mayors By Bianca Kaplanek
COAST CITIES — Del Mar and Solana Beach ended the year with new leaders as the county’s two smallest cities held the annual mayoral rotations during their final meetings of 2011. Carl Hilliard was selected Dec. 12 to lead Del Mar for the next year. It will be his second time serving in that position since being elected to the council in 2004. He replaced first-time mayor Don Mosier, who joined the council in 2008. “Don is not the mildmannered laboratory scientist one might expect,”
Hilliard read from a lighthearted resolution of commendation for Mosier, “but rather known only as motorcycle mayor in San Diego County, where friends and acquaintances can recognize him from blocks away as he drives toward them wearing his distinctive yellow and gray motorcycle jacket and snow white beard. “During Don’s short oneyear term as mayor the city has suffered bad luck, such as losing a city manager, suffering a bomb scare, street closure and a communitywide power outage, thus motivating the City Council to rotate the mayorship to
avoid further catastrophes such as floods, tsunamis and earthquakes,” Hilliard read before presenting Mosier with the traditional plaque and gavel. “I can’t take credit for all the bad things that happened,” Mosier said. “It’s been a distinct honor and privilege to serve as Del Mar’s mayor this past year.” “Don has been a fantastic asset to this council,” Hilliard said. “He brings a depth of knowledge and wisdom that has been enormously helpful. He’s a great resource … and he’ll be a tough act to follow.” Terry Sinnott, who was