ENCINITAS HAS STRONG LEADERSHIP
Our top-notch mayor and City Council are delivering sensible, competent, and trustworthy leadership - serving our Encinitas community and neighbors well.
Mayor Catherine Blakespear and Council members Kellie Hinze, Tony Kranz, Jody Hubbard, and Joe Mosca
Encinitas is financially sound, with a budget surplus and a coveted AAA bond rating. Important city improvement projects including parks and trails are gaining momentum. We finally have a certified housing plan that brings us into compliance with state law for the first time since 1992. Our community is helping its most vulnerable residents. And we live in one of the safest cities in the County.
A large majority of residents approve of the mayor and Council's performance:
We live in paradise, and 70% of residents agree that our quality of life is stable or getting better. Encinitas is moving forward in spite of a fearsome recession and a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic.
Let's double down on proven leadership in 2020 by re-electing Mayor Catherine Blakespear, District 2 Council member Kellie Hinze, and District 3 Council member Tony Kranz.
Let's double down on proven leadership in 2020 by re-electing Mayor Catherine Blakespear, District 2 Council member Kellie Hinze, and District 3 Council member Tony Kranz.
You would think that preserving our paradise would make this election a slam dunk.
Unfortunately, there are storm clouds on the horizon.
Unfortunately, there are storm clouds on the horizon.
TROUBLE IN PARADISE!
Julie Thunder is running against Mayor Catherine Blakespear this year. Electing Julie Thunder would be a BAD IDEA.
Julie Thunder announces her candidacy for mayor in January
Julie Thunder is a polarizing figure in the community. Her former political ally and a past candidate for state and local office had this to say about her:
"Julie Thunder is NOT on your side. Encinitas deserves a mayor with integrity, moral clarity and leadership skills. Julie Thunder lacks these qualities."
These words come from Phil Graham, a pillar of the community who ran for State Assembly in 2018 and Encinitas City Council in 2016. He was initially listed as an endorser on Julie Thunder's campaign website. No longer. Why? Because of Julie's tacit support of an illegal and dirty robo-calling campaign smearing him in the 2018 election, masterminded by her political mentor and partner Mark Muir. Julie didn't support Phil Graham when principle was at stake... she turned on him for the sake of political expediency.
Even more concerning is that Julie Thunder is trying to conceal her true colors from Encinitas.
"Julie Thunder is NOT on your side. Encinitas deserves a mayor with integrity, moral clarity and leadership skills. Julie Thunder lacks these qualities."
These words come from Phil Graham, a pillar of the community who ran for State Assembly in 2018 and Encinitas City Council in 2016. He was initially listed as an endorser on Julie Thunder's campaign website. No longer. Why? Because of Julie's tacit support of an illegal and dirty robo-calling campaign smearing him in the 2018 election, masterminded by her political mentor and partner Mark Muir. Julie didn't support Phil Graham when principle was at stake... she turned on him for the sake of political expediency.
Even more concerning is that Julie Thunder is trying to conceal her true colors from Encinitas.
She touts her "independence" as a major asset on her campaign website and Facebook page. But in truth, she has a well established partisan affiliation that she's working really hard to hide, which gives the impression that she has a hidden agenda as well.
Julie Thunder changed her voter registration from "Republican" to “No Party Preference” just over a month before launching her mayoral campaign. Obviously this is an attempt to deceive and deflect scrutiny.
She has a long history of endorsing and working tirelessly to elect Republican candidates to political offices at all levels.
She was endorsed by Trump-supporting, right-wing Michael Schwartz, Executive Director of the San Diego Gun Owners PAC, who said that the election in Encinitas was "one of the most important races in the county". He also called our current council "ridiculous":
Her campaign treasurer is Briana Baleskie, co-founder of a Trump-supporting "Build the Wall" PAC and also treasurer for Republican Supervisor Kristin Gaspar (who voted proudly for Trump in 2016).
Julie Thunder associates with far-right activists like Crista Curtis (who led aggressive protests in favor of re-opening too early and harassed the mayor by leading a mob to her house) and Kim Spada Morris (who fought against the Safe Parking Lot for 25 cars for unsheltered residents). Below is a Facebook post thanking Julie for attending a Republican event, with a picture showing her hanging out with her Republican friends:
Thunder is also co-publisher of a so-called "community news" website which is actually a partisan political platform. She's partnered up with scandal-ridden Republican Mark Muir to publish "The Encinitas Current". Mark Muir and his family are embroiled in FCC and FPPC investigations into an illegal and deceptive robo-calling campaign during the 2018 State Assembly election.
On the merits, Julie Thunder's campaign is one of grievance. She's against a great many things, including long overdue improvements to Leucadia, projects to help our most vulnerable residents, and the certified housing plan getting the city out of a legal quagmire. She led a divisive fight to stop the Cardiff segment of the Coastal Rail Trail (a battle which she fortunately lost - the Cardiff Rail Trail is now an enormously popular community gem). It's not entirely clear what she is actually *for* other than to try to take Encinitas back to the 1980s.
True leadership isn't about pointing out what's wrong and saying "NO" to everything - it's about having the political courage to find the path forward, to make hard decisions, and to take a stand on principles. Julie Thunder has shown no sign of these traits.
True leadership isn't about pointing out what's wrong and saying "NO" to everything - it's about having the political courage to find the path forward, to make hard decisions, and to take a stand on principles. Julie Thunder has shown no sign of these traits.
The hugely popular Cardiff Rail Trail - which Julie Thunder fought against for years. She is the candidate of "NO"!
Finally, it's worth noting that Julie Thunder has no experience in government. She's never even served on a commission. She has decided that any office short of mayor is apparently beneath her.
Don't vote for Julie Thunder. She's a divisive force in our community, earning a public rebuke from a former political ally based on issues of character and integrity. She's the candidate of "NO". And she's hiding her true colors, masquerading as an independent while it's crystal clear that she's been a hard-right Republican for years. Over 75% of Encinitas voters care about the partisan affiliation of their officials and candidates, even for technically non-partisan offices such as Mayor and Council member.
So... know your candidates for mayor:
So... know your candidates for mayor:
Julie Thunder isn't alone in her attack on our mayor.
A wave of intense and toxic negativity has built up, directed at our City Council, churned into existence by a coalition of narrowly focused special interest groups:
A wave of intense and toxic negativity has built up, directed at our City Council, churned into existence by a coalition of narrowly focused special interest groups:
- One group stridently opposes the planned "Streetscape" improvements along Coast Highway in Leucadia, even though the majority of Leucadia residents strongly support the project.
- Another group is upset about our recently certified housing plan to meet state requirements for future housing needs; their choice would have been to plunge our city into a hopeless legal war against the State of California that would have cost residents many millions of dollars in legal fees, forgone grants, and penalties.
- Still another group is primarily focused on fighting the city's efforts to help our most vulnerable residents, determined to get rid of the small Safe Parking Lot for unsheltered residents (for up to 25 cars) that opened in early 2020.
Our Council is under attack by these special interest groups. The target isn't just Mayor Blakespear. These groups also want to unseat Council members Kellie Hinze and Tony Kranz (who are also up for re-election this year).
The 2020 campaign cycle has become toxic as Julie and the groups supporting her have chosen to take the low road, relying on false accusations, half-truths, distortions, and misinformation in attacks on our current mayor and City Council. They have been intensely negative from the start.
If Julie Thunder and her slate of candidates win in November, they will take Encinitas backward. They will stall desperately needed and highly desirable community improvements, declare a legal war on the State of California over housing, and terminate projects that assist our most vulnerable citizens. The stakes for these local elections are high.
Let's not choose to go backward. Let’s not kill projects with broad community support that make our city better, or pick expensive legal fights we can’t win, or turn our backs on our most vulnerable residents. We need to re-elect Catherine Blakespear, Kellie Hinze, and Tony Kranz.
This website (and its corresponding Facebook page) were created to set the record straight in a time of increasingly inflamed rhetoric, half-truths, and distortions. Voters deserve to know the real story. If you see an outrageous claim made about our mayor or City Council online or in glossy mailers, and you have a gut feeling that what you’re reading just doesn’t feel quite right, then please do your homework. Be informed, vote smart, and keep Encinitas moving forward!
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