The filing period to run for City Council opened Monday, July 18, and potential candidates are already lining up to pick up their papers.
The current mayor, Catherine Blakespear, is running for the state senate seat in the Nov. 8 election. people considering running for the District 4 seat on the city council, the city clerk’s office said.
On Wednesday afternoon, July 20, three people pulled papers to run for mayor – Michael “Myekah” Blobe, Cindy Cremona and Tony Kranz.
On his campaign website, Blobe describes himself as a singer/songwriter and the interim vice president/treasurer of the advocacy organization Barefoot is Legal. He has worked in the retail and hospitality industries.
Cremona owns an executive recruiting firm and has been an advocate for the Voice Our Neighborhood initiative, a campaign seeking to place a local housing control measure on the state ballot in 2024, her candidate’s website said.
Kranz was first elected to the council in 2012. He works for a printing company and has emphasized his Encinitas roots on his campaign website, noting that he moved to the city as a child in the 1960s and attended local schools.
In addition to the mayor’s position, two of the city’s four council seats will be up for election in November, along with a city-sponsored ballot measure that proposes taxing cannabis and hemp businesses.
Rep. Joe Mosca, who currently represents the city’s 4th District, announced earlier this year that he would not seek re-election in the fall, so the race has generated interest. As of Wednesday afternoon, July 20, two people have received nomination papers – Stacie Davis and Dan Vaughn, the clerk’s office said.
Councilor Joy Lyndes, who represents the state’s 3rd district and was appointed to the position in February 2021, was the only person who picked up the papers to run in that race late Wednesday, July 20. The 3rd district primary covers the Cardiff region of the city. .
The initial deadline for submitting completed nomination papers is August 12, but if the official does not file, the deadline will be extended to August 17.
The position of mayor is for two years and candidates must be a resident of the city, a registered voter and at least 18 years old.
City Council positions are for four years. To run for one of the two council seats, a candidate must live within the district’s boundaries when nomination papers are issued. A “residency freeze” would later create an “emergency vacancy” for that council seat, unless the person finds a new home in the district within 30 days, the city’s website says.
People can pick up nomination papers at the city clerk’s office by appointment from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and on Fridays when City Hall is open. City Hall is closed next Friday, and August 5. To make an appointment, email khollywood@encinitasca.gov or call (760) 633-2603.
To view municipal boundary maps and other election-related information, visit: https://encinitasca.gov/Government/Municipal-Elections
