Tradition of Wackos Running for Encinitas Mayor Upheld

Ticker Charleston has been watching Encinitas politics since 2014. He recently noted a tradition of wackos running for mayor every four years. Charleston says the candidates have one thing in common: they’re delusional.

Self-proclaimed peace activist and freelance journalist Alex Fidel, then 23, ran for mayor in 2014.

“Alex Fidel’s candidacy had entertainment value,” said Charleston, “but it was unrealistic and impractical. According to Fidel, cannabis and hemp were a panacea. Anybody who challenged Fidel’s platform with even a simple question was instantly attacked with a rampage of accusations of doing evil. Fidel was pure and everybody else was the devil incarnate.”

John Paul Elliott, then 71, aka “the guy with the dog,” ran for mayor in 2018. He was a real estate broker with metaphysical experience. 

“Elliott and his dog were inseparable,” said Charleston. “They appeared together at mayoral candidates’ debates. Candidate Blakespear kept a straight face as she fielded questions and petted the trembling dog. The dog had an eerie resemblance to Toto, Dorothy’s pooch in The Wizard of Oz. In a shirt and tie, Elliott looked like a plausible candidate but, like Fidel, what he proposed wasn’t realistic. A city’s problems can’t be solved with simplistic panaceas.”

Jeff Morris, 54, is running for mayor in 2022. He cites experience in finance and marketing. Morris founded Encinitas Watchdogs and came to prominence documenting homelessness in Encinitas.

“Morris condemns the City Council for incompetence and corruption,” said Charleston, “but he’s short on specifics. He recently had his facts wrong regarding who represents Encinitas in SANDAG. It’s great that he loves surfing and the ocean, but how far that will take him in the race for mayor remains to be seen.”

Fortunately, there’s no Electoral College in Encinitas elections. Unlike presidential contests, the chance of a wacko winning is extremely low. Whichever candidate gets the most votes in Encinitas wins. 

Equity Committee Member Takes Heat From Encinitas Locals

“I think her full name is Malicious Woods-Drake,” said Gladys Monday. “Some of the hateful things she’s said on Nextdoor and Facebook are eye popping and jaw dropping. Such hostility!”

“The woman is looney tunes, she has a screw loose somewhere,” said Olivia Hain. “She projects a sort of rational irrationality. She has a self-serving political agenda. Her aim is to advance her career.”

“She’s a false-flag operation,” said Larry Gomorka. “There’s no systemic exclusion of people based on race, ethnicity or gender in Encinitas. She’s force-feeding a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist. And in the process she’s kicking people in the shins and making a lot of enemies. She’s extremely divisive.”

“People choose where they live based on personal preferences, friends and relatives nearby, and economics,” said Upona Starr. “I can barely afford to live in Encinitas. I don’t expect anybody to give me a job and an affordable home based on my minority race, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation. That’s discriminatory.”

“Because I happened to have been born white, that makes me a racist?” said Lulu Cadia. “Who is she to label and judge me? What are her qualifications? She founded Seeking Equity Instantly United, so that gives her the right to condemn every white person as racist?”

“She’s created an artificial reality,” said Xavier Onassis. “She’s unhinged. She assigns blame where there is none. She exaggerates and attacks. She inflames. Her arguments are specious. Her mind is warped. Her online rants are way over the top.”

“Her insistence that personnel choices should be based on racial, ethnic and gender quotas is complete bullshit,” said Frank Blunt. “The choices should be made on merit — on qualifications, competence and experience. Otherwise, every executive, legislative and judicial function would fail.”

Encinitas Mayor Explains How She Wins Elections

“I’ll start with the bottom line,” said Encinitas Mayor Catherine Blakespear. “Winning elections comes down to two things: money and name recognition.

“The rules for contributing to campaigns boggle my mind. I rely on my treasurer and handlers to keep track and make sure everything is on the up and up. Anyone who wants to decipher the rules can check them here:

https://www.fppc.ca.gov/learn/campaign-rules/state-contribution-limits.html

“All I know is it takes a big bundle of money to run — let alone win — a campaign for elected office. So I just keep doing fundraisers, begging for money on social media and agreeing to quid pro quos with PACs and other big donors. Politics is very much a you-scratch-my-back-and-I’ll-scratch-yours thing. Any candidate who doesn’t scratch loses.

“The huge majority of voters pay no attention to local politics on a daily basis. They are clueless about what’s going on in their city, Senate and Assembly district, county or state. That is, unless it’s next door and directly affecting them in a bad way. Maybe there’s a little more awareness at the state level because it’s in the news and on social media to some degree. There’s a lot more attention paid to the federal level because it’s in the news and on social media — good or bad — every day.

“Few voters know to connect my name with the positions I hold and what I’ve done in them. Then it turns out that a lot of what they think they know is wrong. The mountain of ignorance is staggering. Only a small number of activists know what’s really going on in, say, the city, county or a state Senate district.

“So my job as a candidate is to get my name connected with one or two things that almost everybody sees as good. The KISS principle applies: Keep It Simple Stupid. And what every other candidate and I dread is getting her or his name linked to something that nearly everyone sees as bad. It can be the death knell in politics.

“That’s what name recognition is about. When a voter sees a candidate’s name on the ballot, the candidate wants that name connected with something good in the voter’s mind. Oh, Blakespear, she’s the one who rescues puppies and kittens! It doesn’t matter that I totally screwed up 101 between Cardiff and Solana Beach and caused dozens of bike accidents and injuries there. Same with all my other tragedies. What the voter remembers is the puppies and kittens.

“Here’s an example that illustrates my voter ignorance and name recognition points: About a dozen years ago, city Councilman Dan Dalager got caught with his hand in the cookie jar, so to speak. He was appropriately chastised, charged, convicted and required to perform community service.

“In spite of that, he had the audacity to run for council again! I think that was in 2008 or 2010. He got the least number of votes of several candidates who ran. Q: How can a guy who was convicted of taking bribes get any votes at all? A: Name recognition and many ignorant voters not connecting Dalager’s name with his misdeeds.

“So that’s my how-to-get-elected story. Thanks for asking.”

Mayor Blakespear Denies Psychologist’s Claim That She’s Brain Dead

A spat between two Cardiff residents has flooded social media.

After close study of Encinitas Mayor Catherine Blakespear in person at City Council meetings and earlier at city meetings via the Web, psychologist Dr. Lorri Greene has declared Blakespear brain dead.

Not surprisingly, Blakespear, who is a District 38 state Senate candidate, denied Greene’s declaration.

“I’m anything but brain dead,” said Blakespear. “I’m an active woman committed to improving people’s lives in Encinitas and, if all goes well in my campaign, in state Senate District 38. I suspect Dr. Greene has misread my use of the word ‘committed.’”

“Nothing of the kind,” said Greene. “As a professional who holds a Ph.D. in psychology, I am qualified to assess a person’s mental state. I also know how to use the word ‘committed.’ It is my deeply held professional opinion that Mayor Blakespear should be committed to an institution where her condition can be treated with counseling and appropriate medications. With proper care, her brain can be brought back to life.”

“My brain is alive and well,” said Blakespear. “I do stuff all the time. I’m the chairwoman of SANDAG, I’m the mayor of Encinitas, I’m a state Senate candidate, I’m a lawyer, I’m a wife and mother. No person who’s brain dead could do all those things.”

“Perhaps my professional conclusions are too abstract,” said Greene. “Mayor Blakespear has habitually shown megalomanic, narcissistic, sociopathic and hypocritical behavior that is the manifestation of morbidity in the cerebellum, cerebrum and brainstem. Therefore, I used the popular term ‘brain dead.’”

“If I were not a public figure,” said Blakespear, “I would sue Dr. Greene for libel and slander.”

“More evidence,” said Greene.