LA MESA CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATES SHARE DIVERSITY OF VIEWS

View forum:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7V44cS5UCY

A version of this forum, edited slightly for length,also aired on the East County Radio Show on KNSJ.  Hear audio.

By Miriam Raftery

October 7, 2024 (La Mesa) – All four candidates vying for two open seats on the La Mesa City Council spoke out on their goals and priorities if elected during an Oct. 3 forum on Zoom moderated by ECM editor Miriam Raftery. They addressed issues including housing and homelessness, restoring remote public comments, policing and public safety, district elections and campaign finance reform, and infrastructure to protect against extreme storms such as January’s floods.

Candidates opened with introductions, experience and top goals if elected.

Genevieve “Gen” Suzuki is an attorney, journalist, former editor-in-chief of the La Mesa Courier, and community volunteer:

 “I’m a family law attorney with more than a decade of experience dedicated to help families navigate challenging times with compassion and expertise.” She added that she has served on the Community Services Commission and the La Mesa Park and Recreation Board of Directors.  “I’ve strived to make our community a better place for everyone.” She’s served as a PTA president; she and her husband have two children. 

Her platform includes affordable housing, addressing homelessness in a humane and compassionate way, assuring that police and firefighters are supported, enhancing community services and growing the library to attract everyone.

 Kristine Alessio is a former La Mesa Councilmember, planning commissioner, land use attorney and small business owner with a background in real estate and land use.  She was born in La Mesa, raised her daughter here and has served as a board member on the East County Boys and Girls Club and East County YMCA, as well as current director of La Mesa History Center.

“My goals for La Mesa are really, really simple,” she says. “Fix the roads, more law enforcement/public safety, and maintain La Mesa’s small town character..  Regarding state regulations on affordable housing, she notes, “I’m probably the only one here who has ever built affordable housing in La Mesa,” she says, emphasizing her experience adding that she will be happy to serve with any of the other candidates running.

Lauren Cazares, policy advisor at the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce who has volunteered on the La Mesa Community Police Oversight Board and other groups. 

“We have a really great group of folks here running for La Mesa City Council...the biggest thing we all have in common is we all love this community and we want to give back to it,” she says.  She emphasizes her experience  with the Chamber, specializing in environment and sustainability, education and workforce issues, small business and economic development. A lifelong La Mesa resident and second generation La Mesa homeowner, she lives in the northwest area of the city.  “I’ve got a lot of experience working in the bureaurcracy” and “skills to advocate on the outside and get things done on the inside, she says.

Priorities include assuring police and fire have enough staff, improving day to day life for La Mesans including streets, housing, and the homelessness crisis.

Shawn Townsend, is CEO of Reflection Training Gear, a personal trainer, and a former clinical exercise physiologist at Nellis Air Force Base.

“What I do is seek out dysfunction and I correct it, as a personal trainer,” he says. He wants to bring this skillset to city hall to solve long-term problems such as housing and homelessness. “I’m a doer,” he says,

“My platform is getting all 18 cities on the same page” to solve problems such as homelessness and housing. “I really don’t like the term affordable housing,”

 he says. “I like the term reasonable...you work two jobs and go to school and can’t live independently, there’s something wrong.”

Q:  Do you support or oppose Prop L, the sales tax measure, and why?

Alessio:  “I support it with conditions. Having been on the city council, I have seen the helpfulness that Prop L brought to us. However, the money needs to be conditioned on it being spenti n the right place.Right now, the city of La Mesa has a 60% increase administrative staff...why is that?” 

Cazares: “I definitely support Proposition L,” she says, adding that she’s endorsed by the police and firefighters union. “My platform is a clean and safe La Mesa, and Prop L is critical” for police, fire, and infrastructure maintenance. “La Mesa truly is the jewel of the hills because we have this sales tax,” she says, crediting the sales tax for enabling La Mesa to have better roads and sidewalks than neighboring cities.  She clarified that Prop L merely extends an existing tax; it is not a new one, and is needed due to a lean city budget.  “We need to be staffing up,not staffing down,” she adds.

Townsend:  “I support it 100%,” he said, adding that supporting police and firefighting is “obviously a good thing.” While he agrees that oversight is essential, he believes the sales tax should be extended. “If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.”

 

Suzuki:  “I am also endorsed by our police officers and our firefighters,  and  I absolutely support Proposition L.” She notes that the original bond provided for a citizens bond oversight committee, which will continue with Prop L.  “We need to keep La Mesa, La Mesa,” noting that you can see the difference in roads when driving from  La Mesa to San Diego. Supplying our police and firefighters to save lives is important, she believes.

Q:  How would you balance the need for new housing especially affordable housing vs. concerns of some residents over increased traffic and density, abolishing affordable homes to make way for new higher end condo? Also do you have any ideas to streamline the process to make it easier to build housing?

View our prior article on the four candidates.

Cazares:  A Gen Z member, she says it’s important to have young people represented on the Council. She bought a condo initially because she couldn’t afford a house, building equity. “Home ownership is the number one path to generational wealth and we all deserve that opportunity,” she says. She wants to speed up the permitting process and work with city staff to streamline the permitting process.  She notes the state has bills that allow streamlining to build in transit priority areas and wants La Mesa to be more creative.

“I live on probably one of the densest streets of La Mesa. It is all condos about 2-3 stories high and it’s a beautiful area. I don’t think everyone needs to live in condos, absolutely not. We need to build more single family housing as well. But what I want to prioritize is infill and mixed use housing,” adding that she hopes to see mixed use at Grossmont Center when it undergoes redevelopment.

Shawn: Collectively we have to do it. La Mesa is nine square miles. I’m not going to support a bunch of dumping in La Mesa when you have other cities. He wants apartments based on the size of each city in the region. He also wants adequate parking spaces per unit to be required of builders.

Suzuki:  As a family law attorney, she’s seen her clients struggle to afford housing. “We need to make sure that people can afford to rent and still have money to go out and spend in the community...I agree that we need diverse options,” she says, adding that her own family can’t afford to upgrade to a larger home. “We need to start working with developers and start coming up with options” such as public-private partnerships and mixed use to help make housing more affordable. She also proposed adding a hotel to Grossmont Center on top of retail to provide housing, including for visitors to hospital patients at Sharp Grossmont, also bringing funding into the city.

Alessio: The primary driver of housing costs is delay. With my Cantera project currently going on in La Mesa, there was a seven-year delay. Now imagine the carrying costs on that, and imagine who they’re going to get passed on to.”  Cantera  is detached housing at $730,000 for a 2 bedroom, 2 bath, she says, then invited Suzuki to move there. “You can do it. The problem, again, is delay.”

She says she is in favor of  but states adamantly, “I am in favor of mixed use, but I am also in favor of preserving single family neighborhoods. You don’t get to build three stories in a place that has always been single family...I am completely opposed to that.” She agrees that you also have to have places to move up. “We do need multifamily housing, but we have to be very careful where we put it.”  The key is design guidelines such as Coronado and Santa Barbara, she says, adding that La Mesa currently has essentially no design guidelines. ”We have a design review board with no guidelines.”

Q:  Do you believe that La Mesa should restore remote public comments which the council banned after anti-Semitic comments disrupted a single meeting?

Townsend:  I think it should be restored, I’m 50-50, I mean there’s pros and cons...it was disturbing at the time...I could ban it or reinstate it.”

Suzuki:  I’m for restoring it as an attorney who practices remotely and also loves the way that the courts have adapted it so that we can all appear remotely and save our clients funds. I think there is a huge benefit to it. We need diverse viewpoints and also we need to make a way for people who cannot attend a meeting to be there, and if they want to offer comments, we should allow them to.”

She also wants to see guidelines. ”There are ways to mute people; we can shut them down after two minutes, hate speech is not allowed....there is no reason to exclude people.”

Alessio: “I think that public comments should be allowed via Zoom,” she says, noting that we’re in a new era and that this candidate forum is recorded on Zoom. “I don’t have a problem with it. What I do have a problem is the entire city council sitting there listening to the anti-Semitic and hate speech and not doing a darn thing about it.” She acknowledges that elected officials are not allowed to respond to public comments, but adds, “That’s just not right. You can get off the dais, I did as a Councilwoman, and I addressed the public.”

She adds ,“Every person on this Council, whether it’s Shawn, or Lauren,  me, or Genevieve, get off the dais, go to public comments,and denounce it.”

Cazares: “I 100% support restoring public comments.” She spoke at a Council meeting asking members to restore public comments and also denounced hate speech as disgusting, while voicing support for first amendment rights.

“That being said, there are times that things are so inappropriate and so out of line that they do need to be addressed,” she said. She notes that some people work unusual hours, have children or pets or other reasons why they can’t come to public meetings.

Q: What more do you think the city should do to address the homelessness problem, and also how well do you think existing efforts such as the HOME program are working?

Suzuki:  “The HOME program is fantastic,” she said. “It absolutely needs to be supported so the good people of the HOME program can continue their efforts.” She wants to address homelessness in a humane way, adding that having kids has changed her perspective; homeliness should not be sent miles away. “We need to create a center where we can provide housing first” for safety, then add wrap-around and rehabilitation services to provide help that they need.

“Anyone can become homeless,” she says, “and to approach it in a way that isn’t kind or compassionate isn’t sustainable.” She says as she’s canvassed the precincts, residents have been supportive. “We could be a model of how to take care of our unhoused and make sure that they have the services that they require.”

Alessio:  She agrees that the HOME program is working, but notes that the homelessness problem is complex. “My own half-sister was homeless. She was homeless for a long time. She did not want help.” She says mental illness, drug addiction, and people losing homes they can no longer afford are all part of the problem. The causes are multi-faced and there is no single cure.

She supports a ban on camping in public places such as San Diego has done, but with a carrot and stick approach. The carrot is the HOME program. “It’s fabulous with a tremendous success rate. The stick is you have to go into it.”

She recalls a homeless woman recently killed, and asks what may have happened if she’d agreed to into the program. “It’s not just a roof over their heads..If they’re offered a roof and a bed, and won’t go into it, what do you do about it?” She wants humane treatment, noting that stray dogs and cats are treated better than homeless people. ”The reason is we have control over the dogs and cats.” She wants to see the state work to fix the problem, but that this must be a balanced and compassionate approach.

Cazares:  Cazares says this is close to her heart, and that she has a family member who has been homeless for years. She notes that many homeless people have serious addiction or mental illnesses, while others had a medical emergency or lost a job. “I am really in support of CARE Court, a state initiative...I worked for the Mayor of San Diego when he was in support and that was moving forward; it’s kind of a no-brainer—involuntary mental health treatment for folks that need it.”

She does not support a camping ban overall, but would consider limits on things such as distance from schools.  “We don’t have another option, and sending folks to jails and getting a criminal record is not what we should be doing. We need to focus on getting people mental health treatment and getting people a home.” She wants to expand the HOME program and work with other East County cities to get shelters built.

Townsend:  He says he moved here from North Carolina and that it was a “shock” to see so many homeless here. “Nobody should call a sidewalk their home in La Mesa. That is just insane.” He proposes to “offer them a shelter—in jail...We we offer more to criminals than we do to people who can’t really afford to have a home. Offer a 60 day period in jail with no criminal record...Encampments, just enforcing the rules that we have on the books.”  He says addiction and mental illness are around 80% of the homeless, which must be addressed.

 “If they don’t want to get off the books,that’s when we enforce existing laws like trespass,” he states, adding that he’s talked with business owners who say they want to leave La Mesa due to the homeless problem.  He also suggested that La Mesa should increase maintenance to keep brush down and less inviting for the homeless to encamp there.  He also wants a collective effort with all cities in the area to address the homeless problem.

Q: Should La Mesa have district elections and/or campaign finance reform?

Alessio:  She supports having the city pay the $1800 fee for candidates’ to have ballot statements, and wants limits on campaign contributions.  As for district elections, she notes that the current slate of candidates is diverse and represents all parts of La Mesa, but this has not been historically the case.  District elections would assure representation of each area that have their own “charm and character” so “I am a big fan of campaign finance reform and district elections.”

Cazares: I am in favor of both. The reason we don’t have district elections in La Mesa....is because we were not threatened with a lawsuit.” That’s largely because La Mesa has a history of electing Latino candidates, such as former Mayor Art Madrid and Lauren Lothian.”  She lives in a dense area, which is different than the village or the base of Mt. Helix.  She also “definitely” believes we should talk about reforming campaign finances in La Mesa.

Townsend:  He questions whether district elections would limit who runs, but adds, “That’s something I’m probably going to have to learn more about to make a really good decision....it just seems like we should leave it like it is for now,” but consider changes if information becomes available showing that’s needed.  As for campaign finance reform, he says the high fee for a ballot statement is “kind of like a poll tax to me.”

Suzuki:  “I’d have to look into it more because I like the idea of La Mesa not having districts,” she says, noting that it would be challenging to draw district lines. One district may not have anyone interested in running,and while district elections can help spur diversity, she is disinclined to adopt district elections right now. She does support contribution limits and waiving ballot fees. “It should be easier for people to get into this race.”

Q:  It’s been four years since La Mesa had racial justice protests and a devastating riot.  Has enough been done since then to restore trust in policing and to keep our streets safe?

Cazares:  She calls the riot “devastating and shocking,” adding that she serves on the police oversight board which was formed due to a grand jury recommendation, not the riot. “We are making some really great strides with the oversight board, with the complaint form that we just updated...I don’t think we can say that we’ve done enough, but our police officers are doing everything in their power to be out in the community” such as at schools and events. She praised Chief Ray Sweeney and said everyone wants to see these relationships continue to improve.

Townsend:  “I think it’s important the police maintain that police dialogue,” he says. He recalls watching the march over I-8 following the altercation between a La Mesa Police Officer and a young African-American man at a trolley stop that sparked protests, along with the George Floyd protests nationwide. “Nobody’s perfect; we have to supply our cops with the know-how to deal with the public and descalate situations,” he says, adding, “I love the La Mesa Police Dept.”  That said, he recalls an officer approaching him while parked in front of his house, due to a call reporting a suspicious vehicle. “Issues like that shouldn’t happen” without probable cause.

Suzuki: :That night I was with my daughter in her room, she was school age and she was very scared.”  But she sees positives that emerged, including attention on how to address social justice as well as people coming together the next day to help repaint and restore La Mesa. “We really all came together.  I think Chief Sweeney has done a fantastic job of addressing what we need to do,”she says, adding that went along on a ride-along and was impressed with the officer’s caring approach. Changes “are working.”

Alessio: She says the police department has made “great strides.”  The night of the riots, she recalls she was downtown in a terrifying scenario. “I was watching the Randall Lamb building burn down and someone was swinging a baseball bat at my head.”  While she praises the police efforts as “fabulous to build better community relations” which she supports, one area she wants improvement by police is assuring homeowners and the business community “that can never happen again.”

Q: What ideas do you have for revitalizing areas of  La Mesa that doesn’t always get enough attention as well as enhancing La Mesa’s downtown village including any types of new businesses you might like to attract to the city?

Alessio:  “The downtown village is the symbolic heart of La Mesa and I think we need to protect it” with uses compatible to what’s there.  As for the rest of La Mesa, she notes she is endorsed by the Chamber of Commerce East and recognizes the need for key investments.  The key is not which kind of businesses, but to make things easier to start new businesses. It shouldn’t take months or years, she says. “The key is making our city business friendly” and “I think you will get a lot more businesses in La Mesa.”

Cazares: I’m also endorsed by the East County Chamber of Commerce and I worked for the San Diego Chamber of Commerce...I’m the daughter of small business owners and I really believe it should be easy to start a business in La Mesa, and cheap, and timely” but it’s not right now.  She also opposes “unfunded government mandates” by the state and cities. “I want to support enhancing our economy” and diverse businesses by streamlining business regulations “which I know how to do because I worked in the bureaucracy” as well as working with workforce programs in schools.

Townsend:  I’m the only candidate who has run down every street in La Mesa...I’ve seen a lot.” He criticized outsourcing of the building department and wants those decision brought in-house.  “I actually had a problem with a permit” building at his own home.  He says it’s expensive to pay a contractor whose rented equipment sits idle. H wants to make the process more efficient.

Suzuki: “This is probably one of my favorite questions,” she says, adding that her “secret goal is getting a Korean barbecue in the village!”  She adds ,”I love the direction our business is going in,” naming diverse restaurants and businesses. Noting the popularlity of Oktoberfest, she asks, “Why don’t we have a German business?...I am a pro business candidate” who formerly owned a business. She agrees that it should be easier to open businesses here.  “I know what it’s like to own a business in La Mesa...I actually loved it.” She wants to see more restaurants and a “North Park, South Park” feel.

Q:  In January we saw some of the worst flooding across San Diego and East County in decades.  Has La Mesa done enough to improve infrastructure to protect La Mesans against future flooding and climate change?

Townsend:  He doesn’t think La Mesa has had too much trouble with excess rain. “There’s no drainage problem with stagnant water for a long period of time...I think La Mesa infrastructure can handle not a major flood” but the normal rainfall.  He says he’s seen some homes on his runs that could flood, but says overall, “the city has done a pretty good job” with its storm drains.

Suzuki:  I know that La Mesa has done a good job of infrastructure improvements...but it is an aging city so we need to keep up and also make sure our infrastructure improvements are green, like our climate action plan.” She wants to be sure there is outreach to help community members help themselves during emergencies, such as with sandbags and being sure drains are clear. She praises the city’s CERT (community emergency response team) effort which can help with flooding or other disasters. But it’s important to get in front of problems so you don’t have to react when they happen.

Alessio:  Infrastructure isn’t sexy, but it’s important, she says.  Her storage business in Spring Valley flooded due to the county not clearing a storm drain. “It was underwater, and it’s not anywhere near a flood plain...the county as ill-prepared for what happened” telling her she would have to drive 120 flooded storage units’ contents elsewhere.  She wants La Mesa to be ready for extreme weather, including extreme heat and flooding. “Having suffered through it myself, if elected I will make sure that we have a plan so that if people’s homes are businesses are flooded, ”even if that’s unlikely, “we are prepared to help them.”

Cazares:  “There actually were buildings that flooded in La Mesa,” she said, noting that an apartment building next to her flooded and displaced 30 families.  It is “harmful and hurtful” that the City Council did not acknowledge that.” She wants mandatory inspections, noting that the rain was not severe enough to cause the flooding of the building next door.  She also wants to promote permeable surfaces for roads and keeping storm drains clear.  “Those people never should have been displaced and they should have received help.”

Q:  Who are your most important endorsements and can you please disclose any potential conflicts of interest which might require you to recuse from votes?

Suzuki: “My most important endorsements are my kids and my husband. I am proud to be endorsed by Heartland Fire and Rescue, our firefighters,” she says, as well as La Mesa’s Mayor Mark Arapostathis, Coiuncil members Jack Shu and Colin Parent, the San Diego Democratic Party, San Diego Labor Council, Sueprvisor Monica Montgomery Steppe, and others. As for conflicts, “I’m hoping no one has any family law issues!”

Alessio: “My favorite endorsement is someone who I never thought I’d get along with, who I fought with cats and dogs when I was on the Council is someone who knows the most about La Mesa...and that’s our former Mayor Art Madrid.” She says she’s come together with Madrid and concerned citizens over a billboard proposal, and found they agreed on priorities for  La Mesa.  Potential conflicts of interest would include anything near her housing project or her home.

Cazares:  As a paid lobbyist for the San Diego Chamber, she has not lobbied in La Mesa for any paid projects, but she would recuse if any projects of the Chamber’s came up before the Council, such as on energy projects that she’s worked on. She’s proud of endorsements by La Mesa’s police and firefighters, by the East County Chamber of Commerce and the Labor Council. “I think you can be pro business and pro union.” She’s also endorsed by the Mayor, Democratic city Council members, Congresswoman Sara Jacobs and other poiliticians.

Townsend:  “No conflict of interest.”  His most important endorsement is Patrick Hays, an Alpine attorney and  former FBI agent whom he meets with several times a week.

Closing statements

Alessio: She thanked ECM for inviting all candidates to the forum and praised each of the other candidates, citing their individual strengths. “I hope if I am elected, whoever I serve with, I will be your friend and a mentor,  and I will be proud to serve with any of you...This is the best candidate group in all the times I’ve been with...in terms of good-hearted, honest people.  I wish everyone the best of luck.

Cazares: She also thanked other candidates and ECM for offering an opportunity for all candidates to participate. “It shouldn’t take money or personal relationships” for the public to hear from everyone running. “I’ve been running for over 500 days” since Colin Parent decided to run for Assembly. “I’m doing this because I want to give back to the city that raised me. My parents lived the American dream...and I want everyone to do that,” adding that she wants everyone to have an opportunity to buy a home. “We’ve never elected an LGBTQ resident in East County” she said adding that if elected, she will be the first.

Townsend:  “I’ve been running since June or July.” He notes that La Mesa has had only two mayors since Jimmy Carter was President. “I bring a different take...I know La Mesa has some dysfunction and I want to find out...I’m a trainer...we’re going to get things in shape and do everything we can to make La Mesa a better place to live. When I say I’m going to do something, I’m going to do it no matter what...I have a passion to always execute goals,” he says adding “I just want to make a huge difference” in the lives of people he has trained in La Mesa and other residents. “I enjoyed this group that we have here,” he said, pledging to work with whoever is elected.

Suzuki:  She says she appreciates the forum and appreciates the experience of walking door to door. “I’m a member of the sandwich generation” caring for her family including her elderly mother. “It’s deepened my understand of the challenges that we face.”  As a member of the AAPI community, I’m also committed to bringing diverse perspectives to the table,” she adds. She encourages everyone who sees her walking in her big hat to approach her.  As a native Hawaiian she has the “aloha” spirit and looks forward to meeting more constituents. “We really are the jewel of the hills,” she concludes.