Race Offers Unique Opportunity

Three Council vacancies and three candidates could add up to an election season that gives us some relief from the campaign nastiness that has marked the last few local elections. We see this as an opportunity to re-tool the way we connect voters to our elected officials. 

We urge the three candidates to seize this unique opportunity by engaging in a series of mature conversations with voters about today's significant issues and strategic considerations about Del Mar's long-term future. Instead of campaign slogans and invidious comparisons among rivals, these three candidates should set a new standard of respectful exchange of ideas and proposals among themselves and with voters.

Over the next two months, the Sandpiper will ask the candidates to respond to a series of questions about current and long-range issues. Beyond that, we urge the candidates to campaign actively on these issues with door-to-door visits and neighborhood coffees. Absent the rancor of previous campaigns, our new council members could enter office better prepared for undertaking their new roles and with a greater sense of what citizens expect of them.

As citizens, we must also take the time to tune in to the issues and to the difficult choices that will shape our future as a community.

If the election campaign unfolds as we envision it, the experience of engaging in a constructive process of focusing on issues could set a higher standard for future competitive election campaigns.