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October 12, 2022 (La Mesa) -- La Mesa Mayor Mark Arapostathis is a life-long La Mesa resident, a teacher once honored as a County Teacher of the Year, and Director of Theatre Arts at La Mesa Arts Academy. Known as Dr. A, he holds a doctorate in education from USD and SDSU. He served on the La Mesa City Council and headed up the La Mesa Arts Alliance before becoming mayor, and now he’s running for reelection.
In an interview with East County Magazine also airing on KNSJ radio, he spoke about his accomplishments, key issues and challenges facing the city, and his goals if reelected. View the full interview by clicking the image above, or scroll down to read highlights.
Achievements
Q: What do you consider your most significant accomplishments as Mayor and before that, on the City Council?
A: “I think that the programs that we’ve initiated in the past eight years as mayor, but even before that, as far as public safety, building a new police station and fire station, increasing the number of public safety officers. The JPA with Heartland Fire has helped streamline a lot of what we do and the join use between the fire departments in Lemon Grove and El Cajon provides better service…
As we came out of COVID, and it’s been so hard on businesses and some didn’t survive, that we’re using the money that was given not only to help existing businesses and relaxing some of the restrictions on outdoor dining, but also creating the LEAP program, the La Mesa Entrepreneur Assistance Program, to foster new businesses with a grant program of up to $20,000. Those are things that are seeding the garden and trying to get new businesses to grow.
The other thing that I’m really proud of is the parks program in La Mesa….We have so many parks in La Mesa and we’re renovating the parks in La Mesa. That goes along with beyond maintain safe streets…having events and cultural events is part of what government does to make sure citizens not only have a safe life, but a happy life.”
Climate change
Q: Climate change is an issue impacting the whole world, and one that many cities are taking action to address. Can you please share what steps you’ve supported for La Mesa to do its share in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and what more if anything you would like to see done in La Mesa to help protect our environment for future generations?
A: It’s important to know, first of all, that the climate action plan is state mandated and so the city of La Mesa is required to adopt a climate action plan. I was happy and proud that our city manager was able to get ahead of that before it was imposed on us, that we drafted a climate action plan and the entire Council was on board with that and we all had input. Staff obviously did the heavy lifting on that. Then we hired a climate action manager…she is making sure that we’re compliant and taking the next step. I think I La Mesa, some of the things you’re seeing around are trying to dovetail with as technology is created to reduce greenhouse gas effects and make it more plausible for people to themselves to reduce their carbon footprint, electric vehicles and solar charging stations, the city of La Mesa is going along with that. If you drive around, you’ll see many more houses that have solar, I think that’s an enormous first step for many people. I have solar myself. The idea of harnessing the sun, we have it especially abundant here in San Diego County; there’s also a cost savings…those are some of the things we’re trying to encourage.
Also we’re slowly trying to change our fleet vehicles so they’re not burning gas. My only caution is the environment isn’t anything without the people in it.…I just want to be sure we’re doing it in a way that we bring everybody along…if you talk to people and bring them along and show them it’s done in a reasonable way that they can comply with, they’ll realize that this is helping the environment…Back in 1973, the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act…when you drove through Los Angeles in the ‘70s and you’d see the smog…cars created all that smog and human beings have been able to mitigate that. When I was in high school, sometimes we wouldn’t run a mile because of the smog problems. We can’t solve the world’s problems…but we’re taking steps that are reasonable and when you look at our plan and compare it to the rest of the cities around us and the county, we are out in front…to move forward to protect our environment.
Homelessness
Q: Homelessness has been on the rise across our region and is often cited by residents as their top concern. What steps have been taken to address homelessness, and what more do you hope to do if reelected?
A: Homeless had been addressed by public safety, mostly, our police and fire department in a way that did not prevent them from doing their other jobs, but it did hinder it. So our HOME program, that’s Homeless Outreach Mobile Engagement is something we started about 24 months ago. What we found is through research and dialog and looking at best practices…around the nation…other cities found success getting people who are chronically homeless permanently housed is the goal….The first thing we decided to do is to triage the homeless. Every person who is experiencing homelessness is not the same…our clinicians make contact, and the HOME program is a slow process, you can’t just sweep people up, the Boise ruling (a court decision)…
Q: What is the answer for shelters, when everyone wants people off the streets but nobody wants the shelter near them?
A: The county has the money, the county has the land…right here in the county of San Diego. We’d like to see the county step up and present solutions. Wherever the shelter is, it’s going to have to have wraparound services. That’s where the chronically homeless and some of the people that are homeless are going to have to go for treatment, or be in facilities that deal with mental health.
Then we have the next step, people that are going to be homeless. We’re working on a rental assistance program… There’s families that I know through my work in the school district that have come to me, they’re weeks away from becoming homeless because of something that’s happened that is unscheduled. We’ve been helping people with rental assistance so they’re not living in their car and find them more affordable housing, such as moving from a three bedroom apartment to a two bedroom apartment, things of that nature. If we can capture it before it happens there will be less homeless people.
The last thing, within this next calendar year, I’ve been talking to our city manager, I want to double our budget to work on having the HOME Program; we’re in a contract with Home Start in East County; they are looking at homes for people to get people off the street…But talking to the police chief,if laws are being broken the police are going to enforce the laws in a humane law.I want to reaassure the public, just because you’re homeless does not excuse some of the behaviors that people are experiencing…
Riot recovery and healting racial rifts
Q: La Mesa faced a devastating riot in May 2020 after a protest. Several buildings were burned and some merchants faced looting and vandalism. What steps have been taken to first, heal the racial tensions underlying that incident, implement police reforms, and what steps have been taken to hopefully prevent another riot in the future?
A: One of the first steps was we had new leadership…Captain Ray Sweeney was promoted to Chief Sweeney and has a clear vision on how to best have the police force engage the community, and in some ways demystify what happened but also educate people on how difficult it is to be a police officer. He has a citizens academy, ride-alongs….we had many forums…he’s very candid…Chief Sweeney is a measured, thoughtful person and I think it starts from the Chief of Police all the way down. We started the Citizens Police Oversight Board, bringing people in with a clear vision that the city is hear to serve, the police are hear to serve, but also make sure that the public understands what the job is…The public needs to support the police…because they’re going to serve us better if they feel the public is behind them. And the way you do that is to know more about each other….in addition having more cultural events to celebrate our diversity, more music festivals, even the concerts in the park that I started, we have a diverse group of people into La Mesa city to play music…I want to make sure for everyone in the county that La Mesa is a welcoming city. We say this in education, give greater access to all and you will see more diversity.
Arts and culture
You’ve been a champion of the Arts, with your work in community theater and also bringing the Sundays at Six Concerts to La Mesa. Many have called for La Mesa to improve its arts and culture offerings for the community, such as building a larger permanent library, a new community center or even a public community theater. La Mesa now has an arts and culture commission established on your watch. What would you like to see as priorities for enhancing arts and culture in La Mesa?
A: I’m for a new library. I met with Friends of the Library president and we’re looking for options, and there’s a library task force. My dream would be to have a theater; I don’t know if it’s plausible to have a full performing arts center in La Mesa, but something on a lower scale that could serve multiple purposes as part of the entire civic center renovation is what I’d like to see as a hub.
But the other thing we need to offer is as many programs as possible that push out into the community into individual parks, into individual community areas. I was part of the founding members of the La Mesa Arts Alliance, and we put on many different activities. I’d like to see those things happen in every community. Of course the Village is considered the center of the city. I’d like to see an Arts Walk’ I’ve been talking about that with the La Mesa Village Association, the merchants. But beyond that, in north La Mesa, in west La Mesa, there’s strip malls, community gathering places and parks, let’s keep having activities so they’re happening in their neighborhoods…I’m connected with the arts community in San Diego and lots of groups have asked me, such as the Twain Fest, they’ve asked me about bringing it out here…We had the blues festival, the Harp Fest in Harry Griffen that had to stop due to COVID. Let’s bring that. The last thing is we have some public area, we’ve talked to the newly formed cultural arts committee as far as murals….there’s a good example in Lemon Grove under a bridge…
Housing and affordable homes
Q: The state faces a shortage of housing, especially affordable housing. Yet some residents raise concerns over high-rises and high-density projects’ impacts on community character and parking availability. What’s your view on how best to balance those competing needs – it is possible to meet both?
A: I think it is. We’re built out in La Mesa but clearly there’s going to be developments that come in….I don’t think we’ve done the best job of educating the public about density bonuses….We’re going to follow the (state) law. I’ll give you an example. When Little Flower Haven came in, and there was a lot of pushback, it had been an assisted living run by the Catholic Church, they were giving up because they couldn’t afford to run it anymore and it was going to become apartments. There was a big pushback, but it was density bonus…it’s been a California law, but explaining to people what our rights are…if projects have density bonus they’re allowed less parking, higher stories…things of that nature. With that project I felt that we worked with the developer very well. They kept that one façade and it really does maintain the integrity of that building…the balance is we need to work with developers and we need to encourage them to do outreach…(He cites an example in the Eastlake area where the builder] knocked on every door, demystify it so people don’t think their area is going to be taken over., and in the end there was no opposition….the Jefferson project was a density project….the first iteration of that 12 years ago was going to be 19 stories. The balance we’re looking for is of course we need more affordable homes for people to live here; we have people who grew up here, they’re coming back to care for their parents and they can’t afford to live in La Mesa…Trying to bring people together, I guess is my message here…sit and listen to each other as opposed to folding your arms and saying `I don’t like you.’
Help for La Mesa businesses and new entrepreneurs
Q: The business community in La Mesa was hit by a double whammy of COVID lockdowns and then the riot. Your opponent is running on a pro-business platform, as a business person herself. What actions has La Mesa taken while you were Mayor to help small businesses, especially those hurt by pandemic shutdowns, and what else might be done to help the business community in the historic village and other parts of La Mesa?
A: Our new focus in La Mesa is a culture of yes. It comes from the city manager all the way down. Customer service, so when businesses have to engage the city, instead of getting nos and doors closed, solutions are being created. So I’ll start with outdoor dining (during COVID), the city was accommodating…We tried to relax those restrictions and work with businesses and make sure it was safe for patrons, but expedite to allow them to have outdoor dining as fast as they could. We’re still working in that direction to make all of things that we initiated permanent….As far as reducing costs of business programs, we’re taking that on.
And then the LEAP program, La Mesa Enterpreneur Assistance Program (set up with ARPA COVID funds) so if you have an idea for a new business, if you come in you can apply for grant money up to $20,000. You don’t have to pay it back. You also go through an education program so there’s assistance going through…that your business will be successful…you take some classes, you have other business people that have been successful, you have the ability to conference with them as far as advertising, staffing, signage, everything you can imagine.
In addition we have the Business Improvement Program where we have money to fix small things in front of your business – you need a new awning, or a sign…the aesthetics in front of the business. It makes it look nicer, and that might be something you don’t have in your budget because the cost or insurance goes up. And then lastly, for our downtown area, if someone wants to put on an activity, could be a cultural activity, if a business wants to sponsor something there is money in the budget so that they can apply for that. In addition we have a thriving Chamber of Commerce under leadership of Mary England, and the Village association…
When we first received COVID money, half of it went to renters for assistance so they wouldn’t become COVID and half went to businesses that were really hurting …because of the shutdowns.
Endorsements and more information
Q: A misleading mailer has gone out regarding candidates in La Mesa’s City Council and Mayoral races. Could you clarify for voters what are your most significant endorsements?
A: I say I’m endorsed by the voters of La Mesa. I’ve had over a thousand residents say I can use their name. it’s a nonpartisan race but San Diego Democrats have endorsed me based on my work in the past and in the future. I’m endorsed by Dr. Akilah Weber…I’ve never taken money from big oil, or diverted money for my own good, or taken money from developers to allow development… I’ll never say anything about anyone that’s running…I’ve spent my entire career, my entire life talking about honesty and integrity….You can’t say you have integrity on Wednesday and on Friday send out a mailer and disassociate yourself with it. I would never be able to continue being the person that I am if I had instigated something that was completely false and negative. I’m going to be positive. I’m going to talk about myself…let the voters decide and however it finally turns out, I’ll be satisfied as long as I’ve led my life with honesty and integrity.
Q: Where can people get more information on your candidacy?
A: I have a website, VoteDrA.org…anything on the city website shows you all of our programs, community service, what’s going on with the parks. So if you want to see what’s been going on the first past eight years, you can go to the city’s website…
Serving the city and its residents
Q: What else would you like our audience to know about you or your candidacy?
A: I’ve been serving the citizens of La Mesa since I was a child; I’ve been volunteering. That’s the way I see this job, is to serve the citizens of La Mesa…I love spending time with my family in the city of La Mesa. I’ve been here my entire life. I’ve never left La Mesa. I’m 56, and I was born and raised here, I went to schools here, and so I think that I really have a good understand of what this city is about. And as it’s changing and new people are here, I’m out in the city meeting people and listening to them. I’m always willing to listen to everybody I think the biggest contribution that I have ion that respect s trying to educate everybody especially when there are misperceptions about things that are happening in the city; maybe they’ve heard something on social media or from a friend and it’s not accurate—trying to let them know what the truth is, not just about the election but everything that’s happening in La Mesa.
The last thing I’m going to say is I care about this city That’s why I stayed here, that’s why I’m giving my time to serve, and I’d like to serve since it will be my last four years if I’m reelected, because I’ll be termed out. But I want to do it to serve the city, I feel a duty to serve the city that’s been so good to me, and I love La Mesa.
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