At the January 22nd City Council meeting, community leader Julie Thunder announced that she is running for mayor of Encinitas.
She has been involved in Encinitas issues for decades and has expressed growing frustration with the manner in which the City is being run. She contends that current City leaders have more regard for regional issues than for local Encinitas issues.
I want to Keep Encinitas a Beach Town, not a Big Town.
Julie Thunder
As Mayor of Encinitas and an independent, she says she will answer to the residents, not special interests, state bureaucrats, or any political party. If a project is controversial or has negative impacts on a neighborhood, she says she will work to find consensus before proceeding and that she will pay special attention to the residents affected, “respecting the sacrifices all residents have made to live here and honoring the affection they have for Encinitas.”
I support long term community planning vs. short term city council planning. This Mayor and Council plans first, then doesn’t listen to resident input. I will listen to residents first, then work with fellow councilmembers and the City Manager to plan for a solution that works best for all.
Julie Thunder
On the homeless parking lot issue that caused such a controversy in Encinitas, she says that North County Citizens Coalition (NC3) asked the City to reject the JFS program because the state-funded grant prevents them from properly screening enrollees and that JFS is advertising the lot throughout Southern California, making this a regional plan that will be open to all.
We should be working with other North County cities to develop a regional needs assessment and consider cost-sharing before choosing Encinitas as the location for a regional facility.
Thunder on the regional homeless parking lot
As to the woman who testified that her rental property on Saxony recently lost a valued tenant because of the parking lot, Thunder said that is why residents asked repeatedly to place the lot in a commercial/industrial area, and that she feels compassionate toward nearby homeowners who may see a drop in their property values.
Thunder was frustrated last year watching the Mayor and Council “botch” the Housing Plan by accepting more housing units than were required by Sacramento. Although, she says she wasn’t surprised, given the statements the Mayor has made about making housing denser in areas it already exists and near the coast. Thunder says, “If all 15 high-density projects imposed upon us by the Mayor get built, we will surely lose our small-town vibe and our traffic problems will be magnified greatly.”
When asked about the City’s lawsuit against residents over Prop A, she called the action ‘dystopian’ and said she has always been a supporter of the Citizens Right to Vote Initiative.
Thunder says that a safe and clean environment are extremely important to her as her husband and daughters are surfers and she’s seen firsthand how polluted water can make people and wildlife sick. Also, she said she would immediately reverse the recent decision by the Mayor to dump raw storm water runoff into Batiquitos Lagoon.
When asked if she’ll continue running her newsletter, The Encinitas Current, she said that her co-publisher, Mark Muir, will assume her duties and that they may look for additional help.
Mayor Blakespear has big city aspirations. I have Encinitas-only aspirations and will protect the small beach town that I love.
Julie Thunder
BACKGROUND: Julie Thunder is a 35-year resident of Encinitas. She has a B.S. degree in Applied Mathematics from San Diego State University and a high school teaching credential. She worked in the local defense industry before leaving corporate life to raise her family. Thunder is the publisher of The Encinitas Current, a monthly newsletter that covers local issues. She and her husband, Kevin, raised their four adult daughters in Encinitas (photo).
Julie Thunder is registered as an independent.
For further information, her campaign website will be available soon.