With six days until the election, I’m spending time personally reaching out to Encinitas residents. These direct conversations are refreshingly insightful and rewarding!
This morning I spoke with a newly registered Encinitas voter who had absorbed a lot of negative information from a private Facebook group about the homeless parking lot that the city had approved.
He was happy to learn facts about the Safe Parking Lot:
- Many people pulled together to make it happen
- There’s been no increase in crime because of the lot
- The city has not spent taxpayer money on the parking lot and is not profiting from it
- It’s more than just a parking lot – social service workers help people get back into housing and better their circumstances
There’s a lesson to be learned from this – it helps to be aware of where you’re getting your news and information. The more rabid the language, the greater chance you’re in a one-sided echo chamber. It’s hard to escape the comparisons between local and national realities here.
All of us have a role to play as ambassadors to communicate facts. I encourage you to reach out directly to your networks to dispel myths, help educate people, and spread the word about the great work we’re doing in Encinitas. I welcome your help!
Nearly half of Encinitas ballots have been cast
The chart above shows the number of people who have already voted in Encinitas – 47% as of yesterday. The number of Encinitas ballots received seems to have flattened in the last four days. If you haven’t turned your ballot in yet, please do so! You can drop it off or mail it. We still have 53% who have yet to vote!
If you prefer to vote in person, you can do so at several polling places in Encinitas, including the Encinitas Library starting Saturday. These are “super polling places”, which means that voting in person will take place for a four-day period through Tuesday.
On election night, this expanded in-person voting window will impact which votes we see tabulated first. Your location for voting in person is printed on your ballot and if you go to vote in person it’s better to bring your mail ballot for the most efficient processing.
Unlike past elections where the first election night results posted shortly after the polls close at 8 p.m. included only mail ballots, the first report this year will also contain polling place precinct ballots that were delivered back to the Registrar of Voters Office from October 31 thru November 2.
Overall, this means more ballots will be included in that first wave of reported results, which might provide a more accurate picture in closer races.
There’s still time to register and vote
Did you know that there are 250,000 county residents who are not registered to vote, but are otherwise eligible? If you’re one of those people or you know someone in this category, residents can still register and vote up to and through Election Day in a process called “conditional voter registration.”
If you know someone like this, please encourage them to register and vote, and help them understand how to do it. More info is here at www.sdvote.com.
We’re lucky – voting is easy here
As I read about the hurdles some other states have put in the way of voting, I feel so grateful for our state of California and our County of San Diego, where officials work to make it easy for people to make their voices heard through their votes. Allowing people to vote in person for a four-day period makes so much sense. So does sending everyone a ballot in the mail during a global pandemic.
There was a time in this country when only property-owning white men could cast a vote. Seeing how far we’ve come in valuing the vote, regardless of gender, skin color, disability, illness or wealth, gives me confidence and hope in the progression of our American ideals.
Given our nation’s pitched struggles over voting, and the resultant constitutional, congressional and judicial protection of the right to vote, it can be disheartening to see the voter suppression that’s happening in other states right now.
But states like California and counties like San Diego are leading the way. We are very lucky to live here!
The state of our city is strong, check it out
Speaking of lucky to live here, this year’s virtual State of the City address hosted by the Encinitas Chamber of Commerce last night went extremely well. My theme was “In It Together” and here’s a snippet from the speech, which included details about the city’s finances, the pandemic, infrastructure projects and sustainability:
“Despite 2020 being a tumultuous year, I am proud to say that the State of the City is strong as we actively prepare for the challenges ahead. Returning again to my ‘In It Together’ theme, I can say with great certainty that if COVID has taught us anything, it is the interdependence we have on each other for our survival and success. How much we rely on one another to keep each other safe, how much we rely on our businesses to provide the goods and services we need, and how important it is that the City work in concert with all of its partners.”
You can watch my address here.
I hope everyone is staying well and grounded in these stressful times that can feel very intense and unsettled.
In ongoing service,
P.S. You can still volunteer, contribute and interact
Our campaign is finishing strong with sign-waving on key streets nearly every day. If you’d like to wave signs with us, please click here to send an email to our volunteer coordinator Kris Powell.
Join us to deliver door hangers this Saturday morning at 10 a.m. We’re handing packets to volunteers on the sidewalk near the Encinitas library (not inside the parking lot). Saturday will be the very last day you can help us distribute these door hangers – please join us! You can sign up here.
We’re so close to the very end of our hard-fought, months-long campaign. Every dollar matters. If you can contribute to help push us on to victory, please do so here!
We’re doing our Final Forum online this Friday, October 30 at 5:30 p.m.
We’re doing our Final Forum online this Friday, October 30 at 5:30 p.m. to answer questions and talk about the issues that concern you in Encinitas.
Along with me, the two candidates who represent District 1 and District 2 are on the ballot. I support these fellow incumbents, Kellie Hinze and Tony Kranz, who have both ably represented their districts and our city. Tony has been in office almost eight years and Kellie for almost two.
Click the invitation above or click here to make your reservation and submit a question, if you like.
