Why I am running for Encinitas City Council

I am Julie Graboi and believe I am the best qualified candidate for Encinitas City Council.  Speaking plainly, Encinitas needs responsible leadership that serves its residents. Others might make the same claims, but do they have a record of going to City Hall to stand for what they believe in?  I do.

In asking for your vote, I’m going to share with you specific examples of how I have been engaged in city leadership to protect our community character, and I will present four important issues that concern us all.  But first let me introduce myself.

I have lived in our beautiful city for 25 years.  In addition to being an educator, I have run a small business with my husband.  I’ve raised my family here, and like many of you, I feel grateful to call Encinitas my home.

I treasure our small town community character and believe that what makes Encinitas special is worth protecting. I am sure you agree!

Over the past four years, I’ve attended weekly council meetings and believe Encinitas is at a tipping point. Who we elect in November will play a key role in the direction our city takes as we move into the future.

Today, our community character is threatened, the city’s finances are moving in the wrong direction, and our quality of life is in jeopardy.   City leaders seem more interested in serving special interests rather that our own citizens.  Moving forward, we can choose responsible spending and sensible development, or we can continue to increase debt and increase zoning to promote high density projects. The following are some of my concerns:

 

Encinitas needs to protect community character.

I believe part of what makes Encinitas special is our small town community character.  This includes our parks and beaches, our many diverse neighborhoods, our local merchants and our arts and culture community. Today, city leaders very often put the interests of the development industry before those of our residents and that concerns me very much. Throughout the city, density bonus projects have been allowed to invade our neighborhoods, and nothing is being done to stop these ever increasing developments.

I was a leader in passing Prop A which gives all of our citizens the right to vote on proposed zoning, density and height changes that affect the quality of our lives. When the city proposed increasing densities in my neighborhood I helped lead efforts to protect our property rights and took on the Desert Rose development and won. We need leadership that preserves our small town identity and represents the rights of all.  If you agree, vote for me.

 

Encinitas needs a General Plan Update that serves our residents, not special interests. 

City leaders are continuing the General Plan Update and will recommend zoning changes that will increase housing densities throughout Encinitas by a process called a Housing Element. The city has targeted what they call “Infill Opportunities” in many neighborhoods.  It is essential that any changes to the General Plan protect our existing community character and don’t promote uncontrolled density increases that will result in more traffic and less open space. As a concerned resident, I attended the General Plan Update workshops and recommended that our city leaders put the needs of residents before the profit agendas of out of town developers.  If you agree, vote for me.

 

Encinitas needs responsible spending. 

City leaders have proposed raising our taxes, increasing resident fees and installing parking meters while continuing to spend unwisely.  As a concerned resident, I spoke against wasting tax dollars.  As a council member, I will work to spend our money wisely. Citizens need responsible spending, not increased fees.  If you agree, vote for me.

 

Encinitas needs to protect our quality of life. 

Protecting our quality of life means spending our tax dollars wisely, serving residents and protecting our community character from ever increasing traffic caused by more and more development at densities not called for in our General Plan.

Prop A has put the power of change in our hands. Let’s use it wisely.

I am running for city council because I have the experience, knowledge and the will to move the city in the right direction — focusing on the needs of our residents.  I am asking for your vote to elect me as your next city council member so that your voices can be heard as we fight to preserve our community character and protect our quality of life by protecting our neighborhoods from over-development.  If you agree, vote for me. You will have a strong voice at City Hall.

Julie Graboi is an Olivenhain resident and candidate for Encinitas City Council