The Shitty of Oceanside

When District 2 City Councilman Chris Rodriguez was running for office, he personally emailed me this message:

I will be humbly running for District 2 City Council. Politics is not my forte but I’m all about fighting for Our City and area w so much potential impact if the wrong individual gets elected.

We did not vote for Chris Rodriguez. And last night he proved to everyone why he was always the wrong individual by opening the motion to Vote Yes on re-zoning agricultural land for new housing developments. This motion is NOT fighting for our city or our area. It’s the opposite. His vote dramatically changes the environment while lining his pockets with greedy money.

Chris, the newest member of City Council, has openly pushed for Council Member pay-raises & has documented receipts receiving money from Integral, the developer in the case. Direct influence should have recused him from the vote. This is yet another example of money directly influencing policy; another case of an Elected Official voting for his own personal interests at a huge cost to his constituents & in opposition to their wishes. When a governing body is bought & paid for by money giants, poor communities don’t stand a chance. Being an elected official is a public service. Chris does not serve his public. It’s also worth mentioning that he is a real estate CEO. I can’t speak for Jack Feller or Mayor Weiss who also voted in-favor of the project, but I can say this is a sad day for Oceanside residents to learn that our City Council is still corrupted.

Dear Chris,
When the last tree is cut down, the last fish eaten, and the last stream poisoned, you will realize that you cannot eat money.

To the residents, neighbors & concerned citizens who voiced their opposition, thank you for taking the time to address the city. The opposition definitely outnumbered those in-favor, but it wasn’t enough to influence the vote. North River Farms was entitled at 11:15pm last night after a lengthy hearing which included Councilman Chris Rodriguez yelling at his constituents, ending in a 3-2 vote in favor of the new development, a project that was unanimously denied by the City Planning Commission in June.

This is a sad day for Oceanside.
If I could look for the good in all of this, it’s that corruption has shown its face & reminded us that voter engagement does matter.