ENCINITAS – After collecting over 17,000 votes as the 2020 mayoral candidate, Julie Thunder threw her hat back into the political world, this time taking a District 3 seat on Encinitas City Council.
Thunder, a retired defense software developer and a nearly 40-year-old Cardiff resident, said she was an exceptional candidate who appreciates the responsibility that comes with holding office in local elections.
“What makes a good leader is someone who cares about people in the community he represents. Period. And yes, said Thunder The Coast News. “I take care of every home I see. I care about them more than any party politics or government mandate, and I think it is the job of a council member to represent the people who voted for you. This is the only voice you have that matters the most. This representation should be of utmost importance to the chosen person. (The voters) elect you to represent them directly in the development of our city, and I firmly believe that our city should grow in a more thoughtful way, rather than throwing it on all three-story blocks. “
Over the decades, Thunder has raised four daughters, managing competitive soccer teams for several years, serving as a board member of the Cardiff Soccer League, and managing the surf team at La Costa Canyon High School.
The Thunder campaign focuses on the belief that what the people really want is for the city to retain its unique character and vitality.
“Thanks to my personal roots in this community, my deep desire is to slow down the changes that are taking place,” said Thunder. “There are people who have been living here for a long time for a reason, because they love many things. It’s frustrating when new people come to town and have all these ways to change it. Change is inevitable, but we can slow down these changes and keep Encinitas and Cardiff as the cities we fell in love with and preserve the parts of our city that matter most to us. I can see that the current leadership is trying to change everything. “
Thunder was critical of the current council, which she characterized as a priority state policy and reform at the expense of the needs of Encinitas residents, especially regarding housing density and homelessness.
“I think the current leadership in our city seems to value the views of other political leaders more than the desires and needs of the people of Encinitas,” said Thunder. “And I’m just tired of it. At this point in my life, I have energy and time for this person to say that I am ready to get up and be a change, to stand up to people. “
The most important issue in her campaign will be to maintain local control of housing rules and regulations, Thunder said. He is strongly opposed to state laws such as Senate Bill 9 and Senate Bill 10, which he says prioritize targets for housing density over the ability of a community to maintain their unique character.
SB 9 allows homeowners to build a second unit on their plot of land or divide the property and build up to eight units at a market price (depending on municipal ordinances) on plots previously designated for single-family housing. SB 10 allows local agencies to pass a regulation allowing up to 10 housing units on any residential plot if they are in a transit-rich or urban area.
Thunder voiced support for the Brand-Huang-Mendoza Tripartite Initiative, a grassroots referendum to amend California’s constitution to allow local jurisdictions to circumvent state housing laws (the tripartite initiative was seen as a symbolic rebuke to both housing bills).
Thunder also criticized the current council, including District 3 councilor Joy Lyndes, for not resisting the state and defending local control, which she said was the biggest problem facing Encinitas and one of the main reasons. for which she chose to run.
“Our city is facing difficult times,” said Thunder. “There is great pressure to become a densely populated coastal city, similar to what you see in Orange and Los Angeles counties. While I understand the need for change, I also believe that we must do everything we can to preserve the elements of Encinitas that initially attracted us. The first change we should make is to change our leadership so that the interests of the people of Encinitas become the main political concern. This is one change that has to happen now – time is running out. “
With Encinitas’ behavior, he swears he would be better to obey the townspeople than the current city leadership, which Thunder described as being out of touch with his constituency.
Joy Lyndes
In 2021, Councilor Joy Lyndes was appointed to District 3 to replace former Councilor Jody Hubbard, who resigned for health reasons. While Lyndes believes she has already achieved a lot while in office, she said that it was her career as a landscape architect before sitting on the council that really determined her approach to the position when it comes to preserving what’s unique about Encinitas.
“I think one of the most important things for me is to preserve our culture, history and character,” said Lyndes. “I am a landscape architect and have spent my entire professional career designing real estate to draw from the context and truly express the uniqueness of the community. I think experience tells us very well about this process. In fact, I feel this is my greatest asset.
“I am not sure if the community has looked carefully and critically at how we maintain the culture, nature and ecology we love. It doesn’t matter what your political background is, because in the end we agree that we are a special piece of the world. So we have to ask, “Why aren’t we keeping it?” We just have a lot of work to do to develop good policy around it as we move forward in the future. ‘
On the council, Lyndes said she initiated a discussion on how the city can best identify and protect its culturally important spaces for future generations. She pledged to continue this struggle if re-elected for another term.
“We have to look at natural history, our cultural history and express it in politics, so when we develop in the future we have rules that tell us where to grow, not to develop, something tells us what is valuable in our character as the city, said Lyndes.
Lyndes also boasted eight years of experience with the city’s Environment Committee, where she played a key role in promoting meaningful policies that promote environmental management and protection. Lyndes also helped launch Cyclovia Encinitas, an annual open street event to promote mobility and the city’s climate action plan.
She also played a key role in initiating the city’s Environmental Excellence Award, an award given to local businesses, non-profit organizations and individuals who profile such entities and are leaders in conservation efforts.
“Serving two terms in the Environment Committee has been an amazing experience and we’ve done a lot for the community,” said Lyndes.
On housing, Lyndes said the city needs to balance the need to provide more affordable housing for middle- and low-income families with the idea of preserving spaces of cultural importance. Lyndes supports the city’s current expansion with additional housing units, the ADU. In December, the council passed an ordinance allowing one ADU per base unit on a designated lot.
“I am really focused and I stand behind the idea of affordable housing,” said Lyndes. “We are losing families outside of our community because we don’t have enough choice as to how people can stay in our community. I like the direction we’re going with ADU, I think people like it. We have the opportunity to look at the housing available a little wider and explore options that work in different parts of the community. “
Overall, Lyndes said she was excited about the prospect of serving a full term as District 3 representative.
“When you look at what I’ve already done for the city, I think one of my strengths is that I can solve problems, I really like the position,” said Lyndes. “To be a great leader, you need to have a clear vision and be passionate about it, but you also need to be able to think and listen broadly. A good leader understands the passion and vision behind the direction set, and you are also open to hearing a wider range of community feedback that is valuable to improving that direction as we move forward. ”
Bruce Ehlers
Bruce Ehlers, chairman of the Encinitas Planning Committee, is currently running unopposed this year for a seat on the District 4 Council after Deputy Mayor Joe Mosca recently announced that he would not run for reelection.
Like Thunder, Ehlers said he was running because he was concerned about the direction of the city under the leadership of the current council, especially with regard to maintaining local control of land use and development decisions.
“Recent decisions by our city council and state have severely weakened and invalidated local land use and management controls,” said Ehlers. “Within a few short years, the low-density zone was replaced by proposals of three, four or even six floors with 30 to 45 units per acre.”
In particular, Ehlers denounced the board for what he called tacit support for SB 9 & amp; 10 and opposition to the Tripartite Spatial Development Initiative (only Councilor Tony Kranz voted for a resolution that would support this initiative).
“What is happening now is a threat to this city from our own council and a threat from the state,” said Ehlers. “Our council did not protect us against this threat, so they became part of it. Their actions [on SB 9 & amp; 10] were largely silent on Brand-Huang-Mendoza, and all five but Kranz were against the position to support it. Given the outrageous nature of our state legislature to attack local control, I really saw this initiative as one of the few ways to regain control. ”
In 2013, Ehlers was the lead author of the voter approved Proposition A, also known as the Right to Vote Encinitas initiative. Prop A was seen as an attempt to regain local control of Encinitas’ density requirements, requiring a public vote to increase zoning density and building height above two stories or 30 feet.
After adopting the proposal, Encinitas City Council led a number of efforts to overturn Prop A, arguing that a voter-backed initiative unduly restricts the city’s ability to meet state density requirements. Both of these efforts – Measure T and Measure U – were rejected by voters. In March 2020, the city of Encinitas filed a lawsuit to invalidate Prop A, but a judge upheld the initiative approved by voters.
“The Council was against Prop A and then backed the T and U measures,” said Ehlers. “In all three cases, public opinion won, but it is very clear how out of sync the council is with the people of Encinitas, as evidenced by these majorities.”
Ehlers, who serves as chairman of the city’s Planning Committee, also said he was frustrated by the city’s failure to invest in cheaper housing, despite repeated opportunities to do so.
In June 2021, Encinitas City Council approved changes to the city’s city code to require inclusive housing of 15% for very low income units or 20% for low income units throughout the city. However, Ehlers said the action ignored the Planning Committee’s original recommendation to require a 50% inclusion of the worldwide housing rate.
Not only has the city missed the opportunity to provide low-income residents with much more affordable housing, but, according to Ehlers, the council’s actions have now exposed Encinitas to the risk of not meeting the minimum affordable housing requirements as required by Regional Housing Needs. An assessment that identifies each city’s affordable housing needs over an eight-year cycle.
“I ended up with 15-20% of affordable housing instead of 50%, so what is it? The council has to explain it, ”said Ehlers. “They certainly serve some interest and they are not the people of Encinitas. That’s a question the mayor should answer.
In the case of homelessness, Ehlers called for stricter enforcement of existing city laws to better protect residents. He also advocated greater investment in mental illness and drug addiction services at the heart of the city’s homeless population.
“Homelessness as a problem is dominated by the majority of the homeless population who are mentally ill and / or addicted to drugs,” said Ehlers. “This kind of addiction needs to be dealt with more, and the city can’t do it all on its own, so I would tackle it 100%. And then we also need to take more services from the county and use those resources.
“The flip side of this is that I believe we have to enforce our local laws, that we cannot allow people to commit petty crimes or seize parks. To do this, you have to facilitate services to get them off the street, but at the same time, a lot of these people don’t want to get off the street at all, and we really can’t just let them go crazy like that. “
Overall, Ehlers stressed the need for greater transparency and accountability at all levels of city government. In particular, he criticized the city’s record-keeping policy, which he said gives officials too much discretion when it comes to deleting documents such as e-mail correspondence that should be publicly available upon request.
“The records that are not kept bother me,” said Ehlers. “When the city reviewed and reviewed its data retention policies, it decided that each person can choose which records can be kept and which can be deleted when it comes to email. I am absolutely against the current retention policy. I am in favor of sharing these emails 100% and there should be no discretion as to what to keep and what not to. “
Ehlers also expressed dissatisfaction with the way board meetings are conducted today, arguing that board members are rushing too quickly with agenda items without giving a chance for public comment or a more thoughtful and balanced discussion.
“I am a firm believer in doing business in public,” said Ehlers. “I am a supporter of cooperation and compromise. I believe in conducting discussions in a public forum. Recently, I have been scared by a lot of points where one person will speak first, then there will be a request immediately, the second, there is no discussion at all, and then they will pass it on – no discussion, no caring about what the audience says, no question of employee report. I just don’t think it’s fair. I’m frustrated with this and that’s why I’m taking off because I’m frustrated that the City Council isn’t doing what most people want.
