Local Elections Bring a New Process and New Players

LOCAL ELECTIONS BRING A NEW PROCESS AND NEW PLAYERS

Next month Oceanside will hold its first City Council election under the new district format. Last year, under the threat of lawsuit, many communities including Oceanside, moved from “at-large” to district format for council, school board and hospital districts. This year City Council Districts 1 and 2, the northeastern and northwestern segments of our city, will have the opportunity to decide who will represent them for the next four years. The process of converting to districts will be completed in 2020 as districts 3 and 4 will hold elections for the first time. After that, the Mayor will be the only “atlarge” representative on the council.

The Chamber recently held candidate forums for both districts, with all five District 2 candidates and all four District 1 candidates participating. We were pleased to have full participation from the candidates and a great turnout from the community. See page 14 for the full story and an overview of the candidates’ positions on some key community issues.

District elections present a new challenge to our City as the candidates each only answer to about ¼ of the City’s voters. It is critical to the future of Oceanside that whoever is elected will balance the needs of his or her district with the overall welfare of the City.

On a related note, several of our long-time elected officials will be leaving office in the next few months. Thank you to Oceanside City Councilmember Jerry Kern, County Supervisor Bill Horn, Assemblymember Rocky Chavez and Congressman Darrel Issa for their many years of service to our region. We look forward to continuing to work with those who will fill their seats for the upcoming term.

Here’s a quick overview of some other key business issue that are on our radar…

For restaurants, coffee houses, etc., the issue of single use materials, specifically straws, continues to be a hot topic. AB 1884, which calls for straws to only be given out upon request, had already passed the State Senate and Assembly as of this writing. Several municipalities have implemented, or will consider ordinances that would go beyond the state legislation. We have reached out to the City Council and our local eateries to make sure there is ongoing communication between business owners and city leaders as decisions are made on this issue.

The issue of getting and keeping sand on our beaches continues to be a key

economic development and quality of life issue. It is great to know that the Army Corps of Engineers has secured a 10-year permit for dredging the Harbor, meaning that we should get sand on our beaches for the upcoming summers. However, a long-term solution that keeps sand on our beaches is still lacking. Watch for the Chamber to become much more engaged on this critical issue in the coming years. It is not just of importance to our tourism industry, but to the overall quality of life to everyone that uses Oceanside’s beaches.

Measure Y, formerly known as the SOAR Initiative, could potentially impact our city for decades to come. If you are not already familiar with this issue, please read the story on page 6. Measure Y would set a dangerous precedent by treating zoning decisions in South Morro Hills differently than the rest of the City. The measure would place land use decisions, impacting the livelihood of our local farmers, into the hands of the general public.

The November 6th ballot includes critical issues for Oceanside, so please get out and exercise your right to vote. With council districting, each race could come down to just a few votes. Make your vote count!