Encinitas mayor candidate Alex Fidel answers 10 questions

Editor’s note: Each of the candidates has received the same 10 questions. Their responses have been unedited and will be posted online as they are returned.

 

Alex Fidel

Occupation: Peace activist, freelance journalist

Age: 23

Previous government experience: Worked on the 2012 presidential campaign for libertarian candidate Gary Johnson, active supporter of Prop. F, the proposed medical marijuana storefront initiative.

 

1: What prompted you to run for council or mayor?

I went to council in 2013 as a resident to ask them to pass compassionate medical cannabis regulations ahead of the 2014 elections because people who are suffering from terminal illness don’t have all the time in the world for the inaction of corrupt politicians who treat their lives as a game. I went in respectful, explained the issue of cannabis being a powerful medicine from a scientific, compassionate, and rational policy basis. I was ignored. Councilman Kranz personally called me back to yell at me and tell me that what I was advocating for was not important. If I had a child that had a few hundred seizures a day, being told that is not important would be the most evil thing in the world. I realized then they don’t represent the people, and that they are power mongers hiding behind thrones. I witnessed their rubber stamp of the police state with the armored vehicle incident in 2013. The Constitution says that no one should have their life taken without due process of law. A non-fatal shooting of an officer before fleeing the scene does not justify a manhunt. Michael Brown, an innocent civilian, gets shot, there is no indictment of the officer. Officers get shot, it’s a bloodthirsty feat of revenge. I don’t advocate for harm towards civilians nor police, but the disparity is clear. They should seek to bring in suspects alive and give them due process and apply a sentence for the crimes. No matter how heinous the crime, people should be brought in alive unless they are actively murdering people. Witnessing their budget catastrophe, and how they were eco-friendly in name only, plus their inaction on many key civil liberty issues, made me realize they were corrupt, owned by corporate America and the two party system, so I decided to run to give voters a truly principled alternative who values all human life equally, who values liberty, and who doesn’t think politics is the game where one’s soul is the price of getting elected.

 

2: What do you feel are the three biggest priorities for the next city council, and how as mayor or council member would you help the council achieve those objectives? 

1. Reign in the spending, salaries and pensions: Cut spending on law enforcement, bloated city pensions, bloated city salaries, corporate welfare to DEMA & similar orgs, unneeded pet projects, and liquidate all debt while not taking on any new debt, put savings back into taxpayers’ pockets, education, safety nets, roads, and infrastructure. Government should be half the size it is today and could still provide basic services;
2. Respect the Constitution and civil liberties: We take an oath to uphold the Constitution, time to live by that. Make sure that due process has no asterisk next to it, prosecute police officers for violation of civil liberties with the punishment of being stripped of their duty & banned from the force, end the enforcement of the War on Drugs to end this racist mass incarceration trend in private prisons in America, use the 10th amendment to nullify the NDAA/Patriot Act/NSA. The city currently accepts grant $ from Homeland Security and the contract that comes along with it requires enforcement of the Patriot Act, which is unjust and anything but patriotic, instead of enforcing it they should be standing against it. Ban drones in our skies. Fire City Attorney Sabine and replace him with an activist attorney who would charge Sheriff Bill Gore with treason for violating his oath to the Constitution
3. Protect the environment — for realsies! We are dealing with pseudo-environmentalists in the council and amongst many of the candidates who only stand for the environment when it scores them political brownie points. I am the only candidate who doesn’t play political games with the future of this planet. I’m the only one who advocates a complete ban on GMO seeds, a complete city-wide ban on Monsanto/Dow/etc. pesticides (Councilman Kranz is only proposing on city property, an extreme insult), ending water fluoridation, nullifying patents on Nikola Tesla’s free energy technology, allowing for industrial hemp farming (hemp paper, hemp fuel, hemp clothing, hemp food, hemp plastic, hemp houses, etc.), removing restrictions on 3-D printing so that cars that run on hemp fuel can be printed on 3-D printers that use hemp plastic to create objects, and firing City Attorney Sabine and replacing him with an environmental activist attorney, who will engage in class action lawsuits against TEPCO Fukushima, Monsanto, etc. We have to stand up for the environment now, not later. Playing politics is pure evil.

 

3: In 2016, the electorate will vote on the Housing Element Update, which is currently in its preliminary stages of public input. What do you think the housing element should reflect in terms of density, housing types and community character? 

I think we should vote down the housing element and nullify any and all federal and state housing mandates. We also need to address the source of this problem, which is the easy money policies of the Federal Reserve, a privately-owned banking cartel. These housing projects, whether they be low-income state-mandated communities or mcmansions/suburbia, we are building more home supply than there is demand. We could use more organic farms, that grow hemp which creates an abundant economy with all the products that hemp creates, creating sustainable and green jobs for young people who are instead turning to the retail consumption industrial complex with underpaying jobs, slaving for corporate America. We need to replace our reckless consumption-based economy, which is the housing bubble, with a production-based economy, which is a booming organic hemp industry and all the auxiliary jobs it creates with the processing of raw materials, creation of endless amounts of products, and the marketing of those products. That will help our economy grow and improve the standard of living for many people who are currently in economic decline. The housing market and the dollar itself will collapse at some point.

I support amnesty for this issue, but to me, I think having the government be our rulers is not a good thing. How much do we want them involved in our lives, telling us how we should use our properties as long as we don’t harm others or pollute the environment. I think we should just ignore all state and federal mandates, and repeal plenty of absurd municipal codes. The current zoning makeup is already very pro-developer and pro-corporate/bank. We have either houses or strip malls. An economy cannot sustain when it is solely on reckless consumption. To me, amnesty is the government saying they’re not illegal anymore, but I don’t want them to take the extra step and dictate as to what those must be used for.

 

4: The City Council recently received a report that showed that nuisance complaints stemming from the city’s downtown bar scene had decreased since increased enforcement began during the summer, but it also showed that two of the largest alcohol-serving establishments, Union and Shelter, consistently missed the mark during inspections. What do you feel needs to be done to continue to improve the downtown night scene and specifically what needs to be done in regards to the two bars that have been out of compliance?

Instead of passing draconian laws, we should hold the bars accountable for over-serving people and for not dealing with problems. I also think we should address the root, which is the retail consumption industrial complex. Is our economy really that un-diverse that all we have to offer are endless amounts of bars? That stems from the fact that banks, through lending practices, mold our society and economy. They give first dibs to bars for loans. If we nullify legal tender laws, allowing for different, debt-free forms of currency to take root, our Planning Department could be less cronyist and give permit priority to companies who are organic food co-ops who rent the property with alternative currency instead of bars who get loans from the big banks. As someone who does not drink, I think that these problems would not exist if we had organic juice bars and cannabis lounges. Cannabis is far safer than alcohol, and does not cause rowdy, irresponsible behavior. Let’s legalize cannabis and allow consenting adults to engage in the responsible consumption of cannabis as long as smoke does not affect anyone else and is contained in the premise. A non-violent activity aught not to be criminalized, and people should live and let live. A glass of wine is okay, but handcuffs for an herb that grows naturally upon this planet is not? Busybodies need to mind their own business and stop having the law use violence on non-violent people.

 

5: The City is currently in the process of closing escrow on the purchase of the Pacific View Elementary School site for $10 million, which it will pay for with debt financing that will amount to $24.4 million (this includes the financing of the lifeguard tower) over the life of the bond repayment. Briefly state your position on the purchase, and, moving forward, what should the city’s next steps be with the site, and what priority should be giving to accomplishing those steps?

The city should cancel the purchase and return all funds to the taxpayers. The state should be getting rid of property, not buying more. I am against corporate privatization of resources, so I think the rightful owners of formerly state-owned property are “We the People.” Instead of selling it, just make it a freedom zone, where people can get together and organize the use of the land in a decentralized, voluntary manner, where anything goes as long as no one’s rights are violated and no crimes are committed. I envision organic gardening, use for the arts, hemp farming, 3-D printing for community needs, charity events, and more, but that is up to the people to decide, not the state nor I. The government’s role in society is to settle disputes. If conflict arises, people can call lawyers, or in the case of violent crime or environmental pollution, call the police. Otherwise, we should not be afraid of freedom and the notion of community. Our society is becoming more and more cold towards each other by the day thanks to mass media and electronic devices, having a former state property be freed up for the people to get together and be creative with its use to serve community needs, it will increase a sense of community. I am against state-owned resources because we know how Communism fails, but I am also against corporate privatization, selling off to the highest bidder, because we know how Capitalism fails and exploits.

 

6: How would you rate the city’s efforts with road and infrastructure maintenance and how much of a priority would it be for you as mayor or council member?

Horrible. It would be priority number 1 because we’d cut spending in the areas I mentioned above, to put it into the $50+ million the city is behind on actual road repairs. Legalizing hemp would allow us to make our own local hemp-based concrete to provide green-friendly materials for roads while creating local green jobs.

 

7: What action should the city be taking to address the Leucadia rail crossing issue. Should the tracks be lowered similar to Solana Beach or should there be level crossings, and how much of a priority should this be for the council?

To reduce noise of the trains and increase safety of the trains, yes, but as far as pedestrian crossings, crossing the tracks at any point should not be criminalized. It does not save people from themselves, it is just another racket for police to rake in the $ and for the government to act like they are your master.

It is a mandate to represent the people. Just because it is not a strong mayor position does not mean that the mayor cannot stand up to the powers that be. The current political class is spineless and exists along this rigid and false left vs. right paradigm, which is designed to divide & conquer the masses so that the corporations and banks can pillage our land and economy. The two party system is really a one party system, Gaspar and Kranz are identical to me. If you have someone who really stands against banker-controlled politicians and political parties, then you will have change even if the position is not a strong mayor position. If you have someone who is spineless, a sellout, and continues this unjust system as it is, you obviously won’t get much. Change isn’t reliant on electing one single person, it is reliant upon every one of us being the change we wish to see. That means hundreds of people flooding city hall, demanding a reduced budget, respect of civil liberties, and the pursuance of real environmental issues, not halfway measures. If we keep relying on political demagogues for change, we shouldn’t be surprised that our kids and grandkids don’t have futures.

 

8: The performance of several high-ranking city staff members, namely the City Manager, City Attorney and high-ranking planning department officials, has been a steady talking point during the election. How would you rate the performance of these staff members, what can be done to improve their performance, or do you believe at this stage they are irredeemable?

Gus Vina and Glen Sabine should be fired. I think that many more corrupt city employees and managers would meet the same fate. What is the government other than the strong arm of corporate America? What are these city officials other than employees of corporations and banks? We The People are the ones who are in charge here, and who they should be working for.

 

9: Why should people vote for you?

People should vote for me because the two-party system is the illusion of choice. I have integrity and refuse to sell my soul for the sake of anything. Our world is in pretty dire straights, and the more we continue being complicit in this ridiculous illusion, the sooner the chickens will come home to roost, and only then will we wake up and snap out of it. Let’s rise up peacefully, powerfully, and united as one people to the powers that be before it is too late. By creating a green economy of hemp and organic agriculture, it won’t matter if the dollar collapses because we’ll have a resource-based economy. Then it won’t matter if the grocers that sell Monsanto food close their doors and their shelves go empty, we’ll have plenty of community gardens and general non-GMO agriculture to avert that crisis. The government is preparing for social unrest and will bring martial law, like in Ferguson, to the streets of Encinitas to protect the haves from the have-nots. I don’t want to see that day happen, I don’t want to see fellow human beings pitted against each other because the wealthy few that own the entire financial system gamed it to be that way. We can thrive without their constructs. We just have to get involved, make peace, love, liberty, and justice our guide, and ensure a better, brighter, peaceful future for our kids and grandkids, rather than focus on greed and instant gratification. It is the duty of every generation to leave this planet better than we found it. Change is not reliant on electing one person, it is up to each one of us to stand for this non-violent revolution for freedom that is taking place all over the country. You never waste your vote when you vote with your heart. You only waste your vote when you vote for another liar in a suit. Don’t vote for Republicans and Democrats ever again except for truly principled exceptions like Ron Paul or Dennis Kucinich. Repeal CA’s Top Two primary system. Make the two party system obsolete, they’re corporate controlled parties that have hijacked our country for the benefit of a few, so declare your independence!