It’s Official: The Votes and the Mandate Are In

The San Diego County Registrar of Voters has counted all the votes cast in the November 3, 2020 election and posted the results.

I beat Julie Thunder by 10%. Tony Kranz beat Alex Riley by 11.7%, and Kellie Hinze beat Susan Turney by a whopping 23.3%. Measure H, which lets four pot shops open in Encinitas, passed by 2.3%.

To be honest — you know I’m always honest — I’m surprised by the comfortable margins. The four council members and I inflicted so much pain across the breadth of the city that I thought the three eligible positions were in danger. 

Of course, I see our triumphs as a clear mandate. I assure residents who didn’t vote for us, who opposed us at council meetings and who slammed us on local social media that we will not only continue to ignore you, but we will actively pursue policies that are opposite your wishes.

For those who don’t agree that my victory is a mandate, witness my unanimous election as the upcoming chairwoman of SANDAG. If I didn’t think I deserved it, I would find the board’s gushing praise embarrassing. The position will let me impose my power countywide, at least regarding transportation.

Encinitas residents can look forward to my doubling down on the agenda I’ve been pursuing since my first election as mayor in 2016. Some specifics: More and denser development, abusive land use, bigger population, fewer and narrower traffic lanes, more and wider bike lanes, more bollards, letting the state tie my hands, fewer and longer council meetings, inviting more homeless to our city, killing Prop A dead as a doornail, fully funding and building Streetscape, pursuing an ineffective climate action plan, suing residents who organize to oppose me, and packing the commissions and staff with acolytes. 

I’ll soon start my third term as your mayor. My policies and I will become so firmly entrenched that we will be very hard to undo. I only wish I didn’t have to run for reelection every two years. That’s really a pain. With so many voters on my side, maybe the majority will pass a measure to make the mayor’s term four years.

For those who are stressed by my secure position in seats of power, I suggest sampling the wares I will offer in my soon-to-open Encinitas pot shop.