Oceanside voters will decide the futures of two City Council members, a fair wage issue and a proposed half-cent sales tax increase on their ballots in November.
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Incumbent District 2 Councilmember Rick Robinson, formerly the city’s fire chief, faces four challengers in his bid for a second four-year term. They are Perry Alvarez, a computer network design engineer who ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2020; Emily Gonzalez, a nonprofit executive director and chair of the Oceanside Planning Commission; Ricky James; and Oscarin Ortega.
One other person took out nomination papers in District 2, Massah Challon, but Challon failed to qualify as a candidate, according to the San Diego County Registrar of Voters Office. District 2 is Oceanside’s northeast quadrant.
District 1 incumbent Councilmember Eric Joyce faces only one challenger, Michael Cline, a businessman and Army veteran. One other person, Matthew Berry, filed nomination papers but was not qualified by the Registrar of Voters Office. The district covers the city’s northwest quadrant, including the harbor and downtown businesses.
Robinson leads his District 2 opponents in fundraising. He reported $15,500 in donations to his reelection campaign from Jan. 1 through June 30 on a disclosure Form 460 filed with the Oceanside City Clerk’s Office. The largest part of that was a $14,000 loan to himself.
The rest was individual contributions of $250 each from people across San Diego County, including Jon Corn, an attorney and partner with the Ocean Kamp wave resort project. On June 30, Robinson’s campaign account had a cash balance of $27,322, including money from previous years.
Gonzalez was District 2’s next biggest fundraiser, with $13,333 for the six months, including a $1,000 loan to herself.
She received $1,900 from the Washington D.C.-based Future Democrats PAC and $800 from the Democratic Club of Carlsbad and Oceanside. The largest part of her contributions came in donations of $100 to $300 each from Oceanside residents, some of whom donated multiple times.
James reported $650 for the six months, including a $500 contribution from a Fallbrook couple. Ortega reported $200, and Alvarez did not file a Form 460.
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In District 1, Joyce received $21,286 in contributions during the six months, according to his Form 460. Most of the money was contributions of less than $300 from individuals in Oceanside and other North County cities.
On June 30, Joyce had a cash balance of $22,071. He also filed a Form 497, which is required within 10 days of donations of $1,000 or more, on Aug. 10 to report a $2,500 donation from the Oceanside Firefighters Association.
Cline reported only a $2,700 loan to himself during the six months that ended June 30. He ended the reporting period with a cash balance of $579.
The candidates’ next Form 460 disclosures are due in September.
Only people living in a specific council district can vote for that district’s candidates. Voters citywide will be deciding two measures placed on the ballot by the City Council.
One is Measure R, an amendment to the city charter that, if approved, would require the city to pay “fair wages” on public works construction projects. In most cases, that means contracting with labor unions.
The other is Measure S, a half-cent temporary sales tax increase that, if approved, would sunset after 10 years.
City administrators and council members said the additional revenue is needed to help pay for badly needed infrastructure improvements, such as replacing the century-old bridge that provides access to the municipal pier.
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