In El Cajon, a socialist is challenging conservative incumbent Mayor Bill Wells, setting up a fiery race as the candidates pitch their opposing political views to voters of the historically Republican-leaning city.
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Surrounded by granite foothills in every direction, El Cajon is home to one of the nation’s largest concentrations of Chaldeans — and many other Middle Eastern refugees.
The East County city has long been governed by conservative leadership. Hot-button issues such as homelessness, immigration policy and automated license plate readers have become the focal point of the technically nonpartisan mayoral race.
Wells, 64, has been mayor of El Cajon for more than 12 years. His challenger, Alexander Kraft, 42, is a member of the Peace and Freedom Party, a socialist group formed around labor rights advocacy, anti-war activism and social justice efforts.
Incumbent Wells is running on his record of over a decade serving as the city’s top elected official, while Kraft is touting his career as a labor organizer and social justice advocate.
Homelessness is a top issue for both campaigns, though the competitors have opposing stances on how the city should address the complicated issue.
A staunch proponent for focusing homeless services on addiction treatment and transitional housing, Wells has been a driving force behind the city’s opposition to state “Housing First” mandates.
Recently, city leaders declined $5.3 million in state encampment cleanup and housing grants because they would have been required to prioritize placing homeless individuals into housing — without requiring them to seek treatment for addiction or mental health issues.
Kraft disagreed with the city’s treatment-focused approach, describing Housing First as “the most effective approach to getting people off the street and keeping them off.”
“This (treatment-focused approach) is not the beginning of the end of the problem,” Kraft said during a forum hosted by Voice of San Diego’s Politifest, which was scheduled to be a debate before Wells pulled out. “If there is not affordable housing in your city, if these people do not have a job or a prospect for a job… they’re right back on the same corner.”
El Cajon has become a flashpoint for immigration policy. Officials have clashed on federal enforcement of deportation efforts as the city’s conservative-led leadership has pushed back on state sanctuary laws.
Last year, the El Cajon City Council voted 3-2 to pass a resolution asserting the city’s commitment to comply with federal law enforcement. Wells also spearheaded the city’s lawsuit against Attorney General Rob Bonta, arguing state restrictions put local police in an impossible position between contrasting federal and state mandates.
If he is elected as mayor, Kraft said his first priority would be to repeal the immigration resolution — though he admitted he couldn’t ensure it would pass because of the city’s “weak-mayor” form of government, which means governing power is equally shared with each member of the council.
The candidates also clash on the city’s use of automated license plate readers. El Cajon has about 82 license plate readers — operated by Flock safety — within city limits. In October 2025, Bonta sued the city for sharing license plate data with out-of-state agencies.
Wells said the state’s concerns are “a bit delusional,” while Kraft opposes the city’s use of automated license plate readers.
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The challengers agree there is urgent need for the revitalization of Parkway Plaza, an 8-acre, indoor shopping center that was one of the city’s largest sources of revenue during its heyday.
El Cajon has taken steps to prevent the shopping center’s demise in recent months, including weighing possible acquisition; Wells has floated the city’s possible use of eminent domain to take control of the property due to issues with the mall’s ownership structure.
“I’ve been working on it for a couple of years now, it’s very complicated, I’m in the middle of it,” Wells said. “I think in this four-year term, we’ll get to the end of it … we’re going to see Parkway Plaza become a big economic engine again.”
In part, Wells said he is making another bid for office to see the mall’s revitalization through, adding, “somebody needs to shepherd it to the end.”
The mall’s redevelopment has also become a cornerstone of Kraft’s campaign.
If the city does acquire the property, Kraft said it should be kept under public control through municipal land trusts to create affordable social housing and commercial space, rather than selling the mall back to private equity developers.
City officials have frequently met with the mall’s ownership in closed session; meanwhile, leaders have warned that slowed revenue could force cuts to vital services in the future.
Wells has touted the city’s fiscal health and $63 million in reserves in his campaign. While the incumbent has centered his campaign on public safety — El Cajon spent over half of its general fund budget for the current fiscal year on police and public safety — Kraft said the city should reevaluate that spending for “potential savings.”
For instance, he suggested hiring more police officers to reduce the city’s spending on overtime pay.
Kraft floated the idea of imposing a tax on out-of-state developers who own more than 50 residential units in El Cajon.
It isn’t unheard of for historically conservative cities to propose taxes to address revenue shortfalls; Santee’s entirely-Republican council sent a 1-cent tax measure to the ballot in November.
Wells said he may support a potential tax increase in the future, adding, “you take each case as it comes, and you do your best to live within your principles.”
In El Cajon, the mayor is paid a salary of $3,380 a month.
A career mental health professional, Wells has the endorsement of the San Diego County Republican Party and the San Diego Police Officers Association.
Currently a clerical employee for the County of San Diego, Kraft’s campaign has the support of the Working Families Party, the San Diego Democratic Socialists, the Green Party, and the San Diego & Imperial Counties Labor Council, SEIU 221.
The latest campaign finance filings show Wells had $37,050 on hand, while Kraft had an ending cash balance of $12,289.
