Mayor — City of Oceanside
Get the facts on the California candidates running for election to the Mayor — City of Oceanside
Find out their top 3 priorities, their experience, and who supports them.
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In this forum, co-sponsored by the Oceanside Coastal Neighborhood Association, learn about the views of Oceanside Mayoral candidates in the November 3, 2020 election. Recorded 9/16/2020.
Featured candidates are: MARCHI, FELLER, RODRIGUEZ, GARCIA, HOWARD, SANCHEZ, CHÁVEZ
Missing candidates are: ALVAREZ, MAJOR, McGEE, TURGEON, URIDEL
In this second Oceanside Mayoral Candidate Forum, co-sponsored by the Oceanside Public Library, learn more about the views of Oceanside Mayoral candidates in the November 3, 2020 election. Recorded 10/6/2020
Candidates
Esther C. Sanchez
- Address affordable housing and homeless issues - Our...
- Economic development - Oceanside has the lowest jobs...
- Environment - We need to strengthen and implement...
Christopher Rodriguez
- Public Safety is my top priority
- End Oceanside's Homeless Crisis
- Thriving economy and higher paying local jobs
Jack Feller
- Strong financial recovery for residents and businesses...
- Maintaining a strong police department. Public safety...
- Providing housing for all income levels. This includes...
Rob Howard
- Regional coordination and resource development to...
- I will include environmental science and engineering...
- We need to use science and work with our business...
Rocky John Chávez
- Rebuild small business In the COVID environment
- Position Oceanside to be on the front on renewable...
- Have the city partner with local school boards to...
Ruben Major
- Help to Resolve the Homeless Crisis
- COVID-19 and Economic Support/Development
- Public Safety / Emergency Services Support
Fernando Garcia
- 1. Homelessness. I want to help people exit the homelessness...
- 2. Police Education and Training. I want to make our...
- 3. Improve our city's infrastructure to accommodate...
Encourage this candidate to share their information on Voter's Edge.
Fabio Marchi
- revive the local economy, promote business
- better budget allocation, fiscal responsibility, government...
- tough on crime with city accountability, promote housing,...
Encourage this candidate to share their information on Voter's Edge.
David Joseph Turgeon
- Find a way to lower property taxes for home owners.
- Find a way to get a fund started to get 4 jetties...
- No L Stop the selling off of our city to big developers.Find...
Encourage this candidate to share their information on Voter's Edge.
My Top 3 Priorities
- Address affordable housing and homeless issues - Our council majority has shown no progress in the last 4 years. As mayor, I will lead in building shelters, day centers, bridge and affordable housing with services in the right places.
- Economic development - Oceanside has the lowest jobs to housing ratio in the county, with 76% of our workforce traveling an average of 26 miles to get to work. We need to attract job centers for Oceansiders with livable wages.
- Environment - We need to strengthen and implement our Climate Action Plan, fast-track our CCE, preserve and expand parks and open space, especially fields for our youth, and ensure the viability of our farmlands. I am NO on L.
Experience
Experience
Education
Community Activities
Biography
Council Member Esther Sanchez was born and raised in Oceanside, part of a 5 generation Oceanside family. Daughter of an immigrant, she won a scholarship to Brown University where she received her BA in Urban Studies. After college, she completed graduate work in Urban Planning at SDSU and UCSD. Esther then attended UC Hastings College of Law, earning her JD and passing the bar in 1986. Esther worked as an attorney for San Diego County for 20 years, first as a Deputy County Counsel, then as Deputy Public Defender.
Dissatisfied with her city’s participation within the community, Esther ran for Oceanside City Council in 2000. Her first years were committed to building a second senior center at El Corazon, transitioning OPD into a community-policing model; addressing at risk youth with after school programming; economic development of the city and within depressed neighborhoods; affordable housing and homelessness; creating additional parks and playing fields; and public participation in government, especially with respect to creating liaisons with communities of color and the city’s LGBTQ community.
Throughout her life, she was involved in community organizing and activism, beginning with the United Farm Workers at age 18. She has served on the board of the Eastside Neighborhood Association for 21 years, President of the Oceanside Noche Mexicana Planning Committee for 15 years, and actively attends neighborhood meetings throughout Oceanside.
Esther is running to lead the city as Oceanside Mayor to address those issues that the council majority has ignored – affordable housing and sheltering our unsheltered; transitioning from a bedroom community to a vibrant economy with new businesses and livable wage jobs; and addressing climate change and preservation of environmental resources, including parks and open space. She is also committed to addressing concerns regarding lack of recreational facilities and fields and to addressing concerns regarding public safety and systemic racism.
Please visit her website at Esther4Mayor.com
Who supports this candidate?
Organizations (4)
- San Diego County Democratic Party
- Sierra Club of San Diego County
- Citizens for the Preservation of Parks & Beaches - Oceanside
- SEIU-UHW & CNA
Elected Officials (1)
- Congressman Mike Levin
Questions & Answers
Questions from League of Women Voters North County San Diego (3)
What are the three biggest challenges facing this region in the decade of the 2020s, and how would you use this office to help our community prepare for (and meet) those challenges?
I have legal background and policy experience. I have 20 years experience serving on the Oceanside City Council, leading throughout my council career on difficult neighborhood and environmental issues.
How do your plans to address the many causes and impacts of homelessness balance the rights and needs of all?
Political Beliefs
Position Papers
I stand for a Strong Local Economy
Oceanside's economic and environmental future stand at a crossroad. This essay is about the need to ensure the economic viability of the city by changing its course now - from a bedroom community to an economically sustainable one, with livable wage jobs.
Oceanside has the county’s lowest jobs to housing ratio (.83), severely impacting our city’s ability to become economically and environmentally sustainable.
Over 76% of our city’s workforce commute daily to job sites outside of the city, travelling an average distance of over 28 miles, contributing to the city’s net annual “leakage” of approximately $647 million in revenue and increasing traffic congestion.
Oceansiders should not have to get on the freeway to get to work.
While our small business community has historically been the backbone of our city’s economy, strong leadership is needed to create employment centers in Oceanside and reverse the course of our city’s economic future– to create a larger daytime population that will support our small businesses and at the same time create livable wage jobs for Oceanside families, cutting down on freeway congestion and GHG.
The good news - after years of lobbying for economic sustainability policies, the city finally adopted the first ever Economic Development Element of the General Plan in April 2019.
Strong leadership is needed NOW to implement our Economic Development Element – to encourage 21st century “green” companies to locate in the city’s remaining vacant land zoned industrial and commercial to create employment centers.
Oceanside is blessed in having a wonderful, synergetic relationship with Mira Costa Community College, which has always risen to the challenge of training our city’s workforce.
For Oceanside to become truly economically and environmentally sustainable, the city needs to be the master of its fate. As Mayor, I stand for a Strong Local Economy, for local residents and businesses, with strong policies that will protect employment areas and clearly delineate where higher density housing will go.
About 38% of our city’s developable land is housing only, 10% commercial/industrial and 26% institutional.
For too long, we’ve allowed developers to determine Oceanside’s fate, changing the zoning of valuable vacant land zoned for employment centers into higher end housing, creating a larger and larger gap in the city’s ability to provide acceptable levels of service. Many parts of our city are already experiencing longer public safety response times, less access to park space and programs, and increasing and unbearable congestion.
I stand for a Strong Local Economy for Oceanside and Oceansiders. Stand with me.
Esther
I Stand for Strong Housing Policies for Oceanside and Our Region
This essay is about the need to have a very specific plan to address our housing needs.
Ensuring affordable housing in Oceanside has always been a high priority for me. Affordable housing includes housing for seniors, veterans, disabled, individuals, young families, first-time home buyers, working families including hotel and restaurant workers, and housing for our teachers, college students, and city and school employees.
I have worked hard with staff, property owners and affordable housing specialists to create rental and home ownership opportunities for Oceansiders. While proud of creating over 1,000 affordable housing units, including Lil Jackson Senior Community, La Mision and Mission Cove, it should have been more. Proceeds from the forced sale of the Laguna Vista Moblie Home Park leasehold, originally acquired using housing funds, were redirected elsewhere. In lieu fees were lowered to almost zero over 10 years ago, only recently changed, suggesting that the private sector would build on site affordable housing units motivated by streamlined processes, waived environmental requirements and higher densities. Very few units have in fact been created by the private sector. Even as recently as this year, the council rejected offers of partnering with affordable housing specialists to build much needed units.
We should be closer in meeting our state-mandated requirements, called "Regional Housing Needs Assessment" (RHNA). RHNA requires our city to build a total of 5,443 housing units: 1,268 very low/extremely low income; 718 low income; 883 moderate income; and 2,574 above moderate income. Lack of leadership and council policies have interfered with reaching our goals, policies that I disagreed with then and now.
That same failure to address our housing needs by past majority councils is amplified in how that majority has address our homeless issues. Over the last 3 years alone, our city's homeless population seems to have doubled and become more visible, especially downtown and in the San Luis Rey Riverbed, but also within our neighborhoods. While state and federal laws may have exasperated the situation, it does not excuse the fact that Oceanside, with the highest number of homeless individuals in the North County, has failed to create any shelters above and beyond the Women's Resource Center's shelter for victims of domestic violence.
Recent pressure by voters have forced our current council majority to finally begin addressing our affordable housing and homeless issues, but it's too little, too late, with existing failed policies. We need new Leadership, new council policies, new partnerships. We need to plan where our affordable housing, including mental health units, day centers and shelters with onsite wrap around services should be built, acquire properties, and encourage partnerships with new policies that work. We need to coordinate food recycling programs sponsored through Green Oceanside, such as Oceanside Kitchen Collaborative, to provide food to our homeless, seniors and other food insecure people and families.
As Mayor, I will ensure we have all stakeholders at the table to create new innovative policies that work, in a very public process.
I stand for Strong Housing Policies for Oceanside. Stand with me!
Esther
I Stand for Saving Our Planet
The city's environmental resources have especially been neglected or ignored by the council majority for a very long time. There is very little open space and farmland left in Oceanside. This essay is about the critical need to ensure the protection and long-term conservation of Oceanside's precious environmental resources well as the need to strengthen and implement our Climate Action Plan, including implementation of a CCE JPA.
The one critical area that has been the most neglected or ignored by city leaders is our city’s environmental resources.
The city participated in SANDAG’s planning process for habitat conservation in the late 90’s/early 2000’s, but never adopted our city’s subarea plan. Adoption would have clearly delineated areas for building and construction and would have given the city the power to issue Wildlife agency permits, cutting through the approval process and cutting costs. The City of Carlsbad wasted no time in adopting their own subarea plan, taking advantage of state funding facilitating maintenance and acquisition.
As council member, I was able to jump-start our zero waste and recycling programs, knowing that state mandates were on the horizon, giving our city time for significant public outreach. City staff partnered with OUSD in implementing zero waste and recycling goals – and in the process created and empowered a whole generation of activists – our students.
Our students, our kids, who in just a few years will become Oceanside voters, are demanding to know what city leaders are doing now to “save our planet.”
We need a strong mayor to lead in creating and implementing a plan for our city’s environmental sustainability.
We need to strengthen and implement our Climate Action Plan, which has not been completely incorporated into every aspect of our general plan and zoning laws.
We need to move forward with deliberate speed on Community Choice Energy and form a Joint Powers Authority with like-sized cities that will benefit our residents via purchasing 100% clean energy for our residents/ratepayers, with revenues to be reinvested right back into our communities for solar and electrification, especially for our senior communities and poverty neighborhoods, as well as to ensure rate stabilization.
We need to update our Local Coastal Plan, address sea level rise and adopt environmentally sustainable plans for preserving sand on our beaches such as city and regional sand replenishment programs and "living shoreline" dunes.
We need to adopt and fund our subarea plan, cutting down on the planning process and costs.
We need to dedicate El Corazon as parkland, stop the incremental loss of the park to residential use not part of the park plan that was adopted years ago.
We need to preserve what little is left of our farmlands, ensure their economic sustainability through a planning process and plan adoption that includes infrastructure to support agri-tourism but is not development-inducing, water program, farm to table programs, educational projects, etc. through a very public process.
We need to do more on environmental justice issues, including investing in community gardens, educational and community development projects, partnering with OUSD and Mira Costa Community College, and environmentally sustainable micro-economic and nutrition programs, including farm to table projects.
We need to adhere to Smart Growth policies, build housing near existing infrastructure, transit and services, and not change our general plan each time a developer convinces three council members that it’s ok if our city is not economically sustainable.
We need leadership now. We need action now.
I stand for strong leadership and strong policies that will ensure the environmental and economic sustainability of Oceanside.
Stand with me. Vote YES4Esther for Oceanside Mayor.
Thank you!
Esther
Candidate Contact Info
My Top 3 Priorities
- Public Safety is my top priority
- End Oceanside's Homeless Crisis
- Thriving economy and higher paying local jobs
Experience
Experience
Biography
I first arrived in beautiful Oceanside via the United States Marine Corps and have been here 18 years.
After serving two combat tours in Iraq, I became a realtor and started a small firm committed to helping Veterans obtain home ownership. Blessed in my business, I was able to purchase a farm in South Morro Hills that I manage with my wife Sarah and seven children ages 1 to 21.
As a Veteran and farmer, I understand hard work, patience and accountability. I place a priority on public service in my community.
As a small business owner and past board member of the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce, I understand fiscal accountability and the importance of supporting small businesses and creating jobs in Oceanside.
I have a vision and a plan that will end Oceanside’s homeless crisis, enhance public safety and support small businesses suffering the impacts of COVID-19.
As your Mayor I will prioritize the residents of Oceanside over development and work to bring relief to seniors, Veterans and hard-working families through SMART growth planning and housing policies. I will cut wasteful spending, always balance city budgets and maintain “rainy day” reserves.
I would be honored to earn your vote.
Videos (1)
Candidate Contact Info
My Top 3 Priorities
- Strong financial recovery for residents and businesses devastated by the pandemic. Obtaining local control to open businesses and get people back to work as soon as possible.
- Maintaining a strong police department. Public safety is very important, I will not support defunding our police.
- Providing housing for all income levels. This includes solutions for housing our homeless population.
Experience
Experience
Candidate Contact Info
My Top 3 Priorities
- Regional coordination and resource development to address homelessness in Oceanside. Prioritize children, families, and veterans for services.
- I will include environmental science and engineering into city planning. I will work to protect our air, water and green spaces. NO on Measure L
- We need to use science and work with our business community to protect our residents and workers. This is the first step in reaching our goals of economic recovery.
Experience
Experience
Education
Community Activities
Biography
Growing up my family believed in the importance of being active good neighbors and staying civically engaged. These personal values have been what’s driven me to service in the US Navy, as a mentor and leader in the NAACP, and as board member of my church. In addition to my volunteer work, I have served on Oceanside’s Police and Fire Commission and advised the City Council on matters of public safety. I’m currently serving as a Member on the City of Oceanside Measure X Committee, which is responsible for oversight of the sales tax revenue Oceanside voters approved to allocate towards public safety and essential city services.
As a Nuclear Power Plant Operator for the last 30 years, I have gained first hand understanding of the roles technology and innovation play in powering local economies. My strong background in energy management has prepared me to take on the challenges that impact our environment, infrastructure, and future development. My training as an emergency response leader has provided me the opportunity to navigate the complex relationships between business, government, and the community in order to deliver safe and reliable energy services to the public.
As a proven advocate for working families, I am committed to ensuring equal opportunity to jobs that are safe and pay a living wage. As a fifteen year Committee Co-Chair for the California Utilities Diversity Council, I advised on how to improve diversity and inclusion in the employment process within California's largest public utilities. I believe in the strength that comes from collaboration, and that we have a responsibility to hold our public institutions accountable to serving and representing the needs of all residents.
In all of my efforts, I have centered the importance of creating a sustainable future for the next generation. Whether it’s helping develop and coordinate the Energy Technology Associate Degree program at Mira Costa College, or chartering the Youth Council while serving as President of San Diego North County NAACP, I am dedicated to helping shape a future where our youth can thrive. This means creating real pathways for Oceanside’s youth and students to access skills and career opportunities, mentor-ship and leadership development
Who supports this candidate?
Organizations (6)
- Oceanside Democratic Club
- Earl B. Gilliam Bar Association
- San Diego La Raza Lawyers Association
- San Diego Building Trades Council
- San Diego Veterans Democratic Club
- San Diego - Imperial Counties Labor Council
Elected Officials (1)
- Assemblymember Dr. Shirley Weber
Individuals (7)
- Former Oceanside Councilmember Chuck Lowery
- Doug Oden
- Val Warner-Saadat
- Carl & Ann Wood
- Janet Bledsoe & Stephen Lacy
- Robbie & Keith Hass
- I have over 100 individual endorsements - Please see www.RobHoward4mayor.com
Questions & Answers
Questions from League of Women Voters of California and Elect Justice CA (2)
How formerly incarcerated individuals are integreated into our community is critical to prevent recitivism. integrating them into our community provides oportunities for them as well as opportunities for our community to access their talents. I am currently mentoring at MiraCosta where our formerly incarcerated students are taking their first steps into re-integrating into our community. How this happens make all the difference in their success or failure of their transition.
As with the MriaCosta college program, we need to actively engage in the process of providing skills training, mentorship and opportunities to transition these folks who are now our neighbors.
Questions from League of Women Voters North County San Diego (3)
1. COVID Recovery - COVID has created an economic crisis made worse by a divisive political crisis. As Mayor, I will focus on leading our city through the crisis by focusing on our economic development. I will focus on providing the necessary support for business growth, ensuring we place specific attention to the needs of our micro businesses (20 or less employees) and their employees.
I will work with staff to ensure we are bringing in the necessary resources to support our recovery. Staff has shown the ability to solicit grants to support public safety and environmental efforts. I will work with staff to ensure we have the necessary staff to support implementing local community enhancement programs based on revenue generation. I will work with staff to ensure we are highlighting specific economic sectors to support the recovery. I will lead collaboration with our education and community organizations to communicate opportunities within the city to spur local employment opportunities.
2. Housing/Homelessness - I will advocate for targeted homeless program support based on measuring outcomes. We much clearly define the different causes of homelessness to allow effecting program support. We need to address housing shortages, mental illness, substance abuse and employment. This has to be a regional effort and I will lead collaboration with local cities, county, state and federal agencies on our homeless crisis. We have a plan for a village with mini homes, and wraparound services. I will champion updating our general plan so that we know how we reach our housing goals. We will also update our land use ordinance, increase affordable housing stock (smaller, multiunit affordable housing using infill and possibly closed school campuses).
3. Climate and Transportation Action: This pulls all issues together: We have a lack of accessibility of public transportation. It is too difficult to use public transportation in our day to day lives (work, shopping, school, etc.). We need to increase mass transit through our position on SANDAG, incentivize public transit use. Oceanside could expand their climate education through incentivizing composting to reduce waste, work with the environmental community to develop farm-scaping and other similar projects.
Having lived and worked in the Oceanside region, my wife and I have raised and educated our children, volunteered for several organizations, and served as a mentor at the local community colleges. I know and respect my community.
Part of my life experience has been my time as a leader in several organizations. For example, in my union, I have been elected to positions including, steward to president. I have served as the chief negotiator for several employment contract agreements, so I am familiar employee pay, benefits and pensions. I currently serve as an executive board member of the San Diego - Imperial Counties Labor Council. This experience provided me an opportunity to work with people from various backgrounds ethnicities. These same folks ranged from ultra conservative to radical left. As the employment committee co-chair of the California Public Utilities Commission's Diversity Council, I had the opportunity to work with regulated utilities, telecoms and small businesses on procurement, recruiting and local employment. What has made me a good leader is that I have learned to focus on the issues, look for win-win situations, and be able to recognize "potential" unintended consequences.
After 6 years in the Navy and 32 years as power plant operator, certified firefighter, and emergency response director, I recognize the complexities associated with the planning process and contracts.
My diverse background and experience has prepared me to lead the City of Oceanside.
Getting them into a permanent home with wrap around services is the first priority. Once they are housed, then we can provide services for mental and physical health, substance abuse, job skills training, access to job opportunities, childcare and transportation.
Political Beliefs
Political Philosophy
Building Trust - As a leader, it is critical to operate from a position of trust. Respecting the community and engaging even those that may not agree with you on every issue allows a leader to represent the entire community they represent. Our elected officials are our representatives. They must operate in a manner that maintains public trust by speaking for the community. When we include the entire community, we have more support for moving our city forward. It is critical that we have representatives interested in pulling the city together.
Building Partnerships - Unifying Oceanside and the surrounding community around a shared set of goals and aspirations will take more than rallying around people we agree with or by out spending our opponents. It takes a willingness to bring together people who have an interest in a prosperous Oceanside but may have a different idea of what it takes to get there. None of us have all the answers but the more people involved, the closer we are to creating a path forward together.
Building Community - Our city is a wealth of diversity including diversity of thoughts and ideas. A willingness to listen is a critical skill necessary to bring those diverse and innovative ideas into the public space. Moving the city forward requires us coming together, listening to each other and dedicating ourselves to working collectively, even when we disagree.
Videos (1)
Rob dicusses the issues of Oceanside. Tune in to see what is on the minds of residents and what Rob can do for the city.
Candidate Contact Info
My Top 3 Priorities
- Rebuild small business In the COVID environment
- Position Oceanside to be on the front on renewable energy: sustainable, reliable and affordable are the measures of success for energu
- Have the city partner with local school boards to improved education in our communities.
Experience
Experience
Education
Community Activities
Questions & Answers
Questions from League of Women Voters of California and Elect Justice CA (2)
I was very active in criminal justice reform in Sacramento and would continue my advocacy as the Mayor in Oceanside.
People who have served their debt to society should be allowed to re-enter society. As a Catholic, I believe in forgiveness.
COVID is a challenge to everyone and we need to continue to follow appropriate public health guidance, all people have a roll to play in addressing this pandemic.
Questions from League of Women Voters North County San Diego (3)
My 3 challenges are:
- restore our Economy/small business in a COVID environment
- position Oceanside to adapt to a carbon free energy while protecting the rate payers. Energy needs to be reliable, sustainable and affordable
- communities and property values are defined by their education institutions. I would reinstate the Mayors partnerships with local school districts, Mira Costa Community College and California State University, San Marcos.
My unique experiences clearly shows my qualifications for the office of Mayor. I have served locally (Council Member), state (Assemblymember and Governor Cabinet) and nationally (USMC). Additionally I currently serve as the Chair of the Governor's Military Council (GMC). The GMC makes recommendations to the Governor on policies to support the 33 military bases and installations in California. Additionally I serve on the board for the Association of Defense Communities (ADC) which reviews policies by DoD that impact local communities (Camp Pendleton-Oceanside).
Homelessness needs to be addressed with compassion. I would reintroduce the regional partnerships with county and cities to address the medical, social and economic drivers that influence homelessness.
Candidate Contact Info
My Top 3 Priorities
- Help to Resolve the Homeless Crisis
- COVID-19 and Economic Support/Development
- Public Safety / Emergency Services Support
Experience
Experience
Education
Biography
COVID-19 has dramatically impacted our community. In order to get us through this crisis and back on track as quickly as possible, we need someone with disaster management and emergency preparedness leadership to guide the way forward into what would otherwise be an uncertain future. Ruben has been a Paramedic for nearly 20 years and is an EMT/Paramedic trainer of the largest emergency medical services recertification training program worldwide.
Ruben was homeless as a kid, but worked his way out through education and now works to resolve the homeless crisis in Oceanside in a way that keeps our community safe as an advocate for affordable housing. Ruben has experience as an incident commander of large scale, mass casualty incidents, in the healthcare field working in the hospital, on the ambulance, and as an EMS Supervisor/EMS Battalion Chief. Ruben has been serving the community and public safety his entire adult life. Ruben has a law degree and master’s in military history.
Ruben has experience as an educator creating protocols for Novel Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19) response, as well as working to ensure thousands of EMS agencies and fire departments across the country are providing their responders with the appropriate protective equipment to protect their first responders. Ruben will not be corrupted by special interest PACs or backdoor political deals, but rather will work to ensure the residents of the city of Oceanside are properly represented to the fullest possible capacity.
Questions & Answers
Questions from League of Women Voters North County San Diego (3)
What are the three biggest challenges facing this region in the decade of the 2020s, and how would you use this office to help our community prepare for (and meet) those challenges?
What experience in government, business or other life experiences do you have that would make you an excellent Mayor?
I care about this issue not just because I care about our community, but also because I know what it is like to wonder where you’re going to sleep at night. My mother was only a teenager when she had me, and we faced extreme poverty in my early years after my father abandoned us. Eventually, we became homeless. I am incredibly blessed to have been able to find a way out of that situation and achieved success in life, but I recognize that not everyone has access to the things they need in order to be able to rise out of poverty.
Whether you advocate for governmental and law enforcement intervention or privatization, nonprofits, and charity solutions, all of the options to address homelessness must be viewed through the lens of a recent Supreme Court Decision (Martin vs. Boise), which effectively affirmed that if cities do not provide sufficient shelters for the homeless, people are legally allowed to live in public and sleep outside.
Currently, we do not have enough shelter beds in Oceanside. Last year, one of our local shelters experienced a 40% rental rate increase. Subsequently, the shelter was unable to reopen. This has resulted in a loss of 50 beds to service the homeless population here in Oceanside. Because of this closure, as well as a lack of focus on the shelter element, our shortage of beds means that homeless people are allowed to live in public. For this reason, I am an advocate for tiny homes because I believe this can serve as a short-term stop-gap measure to address the homeless crisis here in Oceanside and meet our quota requirement to get people off the streets. I also think we need to be looking at other cities for best practices and innovation, like “Housing First” initiatives or 3-D printing of homes. Oceanside has spent far too much time, effort and energy focusing on law enforcement–ticketing and citing the homeless–rather than a comprehensive solution which involves advocating for our fair share of grant funding to address the issue from the county and state. The vast majority of homeless people do not want to be unsheltered. But many suffer from mental health issues, addiction, or have financial challenges like past evictions that make getting housing more challenging. We need more resources to be able to help these people get back on track in their lives. But in the last HEAP grant, designed to tackle homelessness, we only received approximately $200,000, when our apportionment should have been closer to $1 Million — we didn’t spend enough time working to get funding. Our city cannot afford to house the world’s homeless population, but we can be proactive in dealing with the state and county to get our fair share to address the problem and we can be smart about how we allocate that funding. Most importantly, we must address this with the compassion and empathy we would want to be met with if we ourselves were struggling.Videos (4)
Ruben supports rent stabilization at the mobile home parks as well as going on the offensive to ensure that seniors are protected against homelessness and losing this very important law to which helps to protect our senior residents.
Ruben Major for Oceanside Mayor September 11th Message
Oceanside Firefighters want PPE, secure pensions & fair pay, NOT huge giveaways to building developers. I cannot accept the endorsement of Local 3736 until they disavow the unpopular North River Farms development & give back the money they took. We the people cannot be bought by big corporations.
Candidate Contact Info
My Top 3 Priorities
- 1. Homelessness. I want to help people exit the homelessness by restructuring the Homeless outreach teams with more social workers, case managers, mental health professionals to better understand the reason a person entered homeless cycle to develop
- 2. Police Education and Training. I want to make our Officers the most professional public servants our city deserves. Return to community Policing.
- 3. Improve our city's infrastructure to accommodate growth. (Smart and transparent growth).
Experience
Experience
Education
Biography
I am a three-time cancer survivor and retired U.S. Marine with multiple tours of duty to Iraq, Afghanistan, and other Middle-Eastern countries. I decided to retire in Oceanside with my wife and daughter because of its closeness to many outdoor and entertainment activities such as beaches, hiking, cycling, parks, restaurants, shopping. etc makes our City such a great place to live.
I am an immigrant from Monterrey, Mexico. I am proud of my roots, just like I am proud of our great country.
I also strongly believe in public service. As a United States Marine I served my country proudly. Today, I volunteer my time working for my community as a member of it's board of Directors and assisting wounded veterans suffering from PTSD. Now, I want to serve you.
My goal is to motivate my fellow citizens to vote this upcoming election and to raise awareness that politicians serve the people and not their big donors. I have zero ties to big donors, developers or special interests. So when you vote for me, you're voting for our city. I don't want your money! I want you to register and vote for a candidate that will serve you.
Please allow me to prove to you that I am the right person for the job.
Questions & Answers
Questions from League of Women Voters of California and Elect Justice CA (2)
There are state and county plans that in conjunction with volunteer businesses allow for employment and rentry into society.
With help from the State, County and volunteer groups, job programs are critical to avoid these groups to enter the homeless cycle.
Questions from League of Women Voters North County San Diego (3)
Homelessness
Police training and education on community relations and cultural awareness.
Stopping the senseless developments creating more traffic to our city.
Leadership and Management experience as a US Marine for over 20 years in different capacities ranging from Chief instructor of a Marine formal school, to Joint planner working for variuos High level commands.
With a Masters Degree in Public Polic and Adminsitrations and a Bachelors Degree in Organizational Management, I have the education background to work with local government.
By restructuring the Homess Outreach team by removing the police officers and replacing them with a case manager, social worker, and mental health provider we can establish contact and work with each individual person to address the cause of why the person is in the homeless cycle and develop a specific exit strategy for every single individual.
Political Beliefs
Position Papers
Oceanside's biggest humanitarian challenge (homelessness)
The number of homeless people in Oceanside is increasing due to many circumstances. The solution depends on finding out each individual circumstance that lead each person into the homeless cycle.
Our city is a great place for families to enjoy the outdoors, enjoy the many local food, beverage, and entertainment businesses. There are trails, beaches, parks, and other cultural and historic places to visit as well. In all, our city is a great place to live.
Due to our weather, the current pandemic and many other factors, our city has a fair share of problems too. First, the number of unsheltered people in our city tops 500. Same goes for Vista and Carlsbad. The homeless live with our public spaces with no where else to go. A Federal appeals court said it is unconstitutional to punish people for sleeping on the sidewalk when there aren’t enough shelter beds or housing available as an alternative. The ruling did not address the issue of how many beds are required or how to handle many unsheltered at a time.
So, the issue is enforcement in the most humane, socially responsible and caring way possible. I think that building homeless shelters is a temporary fix that does not address the long-term regional situation of the more than 1500 unsheltered in the tri-city area. The more beds, the more people will come creating an economic and social burden on the city beyond its capability to handle. Without an exit strategy, the issue will remain the same.
In order to solve this issue, we (the community, volunteer groups, County, and City Government) must understand the root or cause of the situation. In order to do this, we need people to make contact with each homeless person and evaluate the reasons for that person being homeless in the first place. i.e. (substance abuse, mental health, runaways, physical abuse at home, financial hardships, etc.) Yes, not everyone will want the help, and yes, we need to make contact with every single one. It will take time and a lot of work, but it’s a first step in the right direction.
The City of Oceanside already has an outreach team for the homeless. However, its manned with mostly police officers that cannot solve the immediate needs of the homeless individual. However, if we were to substitute those police officers with licensed social workers, mental health providers, and case managers, I believe we could help the unsheltered in a much better and permanent way. I believe that if we were to identify the cause of why a person is homeless, we can identify a solution to help that person exit the homeless cycle permanently. Finally, moving the outreach teams to the Fire Department would better serve the homeless and liberate those officers to take on law enforcement task elsewhere in the City.
By,
Fernando Garcia MPPA
Candidate Contact Info
Candidate Contact Info
My Top 3 Priorities
- revive the local economy, promote business
- better budget allocation, fiscal responsibility, government accountability
- tough on crime with city accountability, promote housing, cut the red tape
Candidate Contact Info
Candidate Contact Info
My Top 3 Priorities
- Find a way to lower property taxes for home owners.
- Find a way to get a fund started to get 4 jetties built to get our sand / beaches back.
- No L Stop the selling off of our city to big developers.Find a way to insure local labor is used on up coming development projects.
Experience
Experience
Education
Biography
San Diego Native. 53 yrs More info search David Turgeon Oceanside
Who supports this candidate?
Featured Endorsements
- My nieghbors and friends of Oceanside.
Questions & Answers
Questions from League of Women Voters of California and Elect Justice CA (2)
BLM . Every1 deserves a second chance.
Every1 needs education on how to get a job and a safe place to sleep.Where to get help with this transition back into society and on there way to become good law biding citizens.If not,dont pass go back to prison.
Questions from League of Women Voters North County San Diego (3)
Save our Sand.Build 4 Jetties.Open to any suggestions ideas to brain storm.Jobs that pay above poverty level. Affodable housing. Homeless,drug addicts,thieves living in our bushes.
Walk my dog everyday.I see things every day that can be improved to help Oside be a better place to live for all.
Open to any suggestions ideas to brain storm. Lots of open areas to create homeless outreach programs, tent cities ect, to help those in need, 3 or 4 step program can live in tents get free food place to shower use restrooms.You have the option to live in a tent and be homeless,drug addict,ect or move on to the next step.Help getting employment above poverty level or Mental health help,Once employed,help getting help finding affordable housing.
Political Beliefs
Political Philosophy
We are all a part of Oceansides future. Lets make a future we can be proud of.
Position Papers
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Videos (1)
BLM A peaceful BLM march in Oceanside,Nothing to be scared of , like boarding up windows ect.sending the wrong message.