Health of Encinitas

By Kristin D. Gaspar

Encinitas must protect and promote the high quality of life we have come to expect.

Public safety is my highest priority, and my positions on this topic have earned me the endorsement of the Deputy Sheriff's Association. I am the type of person who believes our laws should be respected, and I expect them to be enforced. I respect the opinions of our public safety officials because I believe they truly have the best intentions in mind for our city and citizens. I also support public policy that imposes harsh penalties for the worst offenders of our public safety and trust.

Our children are 100% of our future. I strongly support the safety and health of our children as well as open spaces where children and families can play together. Childhood obesity is a national epidemic which predisposes our children to future health care risks and strains on our health care system.

Open spaces, such as the Hall Park Property, allow kids to exercise and play, as opposed to destroying our cityscape or each other. I support the lighting plan with an appropriate 9 PM curfew for public safety reasons and to maximize the positive impact of the park. I am also a strong advocate for seniors' needs. I have run a senior exercise and fitness program for almost 10 years. We do have many great services for seniors in Encinitas, but I believe we have fallen short in providing adequate transportation services for seniors in order to meet their basic daily and health care needs. I am interested in developing a private-public partnership to correct this shortcoming in our city's services. With my background in fundraising for charitable organizations, I am confident I can get this done for Encinitas. Dogs, just like people, need a place to exercise to maintain their health and quality of life. The yards of most citizens in Encinitas are insufficient to allow adequate exercise for dogs. Consequently, I am in favor of improving off-leash dog park availability, especially the large planned facility at the new Hall Park Property. I will not support curtailing off-leash dog hours for the facilities that are currently in place after the Hall Park Property opens. We need more open space for dogs and people!

Our beautiful environment and coastline are the jewels of Southern California. Because I work in the healthcare industry, I fully understand that our environment has a major impact on the health and quality of life of all living things. I will protect the land and sea while still supporting reasonable sustainable growth for our citizens and our economy in order to support our city services and infrastructure.

Finally, I am in favor of changing the current guidelines to place an item on the agenda for a council meeting from 3 to 2 council members. We should spend the time to hear the thoughts and needs of our citizens and council members, even if they are in the minority. I trust that items proposed for the agenda will continue to be focused on our city's needs and not based on politics, personalities, or hyper-partisanship.