La Mesa City Council incumbent candidates Guy McWhirter and Bill Baber \u2014 and Mayor Mark Arapostathis, although a write-in candidate upset is highly unlikely in the unopposed race \u2014 want voters to focus on the city\u2019s recent accomplishments, their combined experience in the city and the good working relationship the three have together.<\/p>\n
\u201cNumber one its [our] collaboration,\u201d said Baber of the reason why voters should turn out for him, McWhirter and Arapostathis. \u201cNumber two, we\u2019ve all been here a long time. I\u2019ve been here 20 years and I\u2019m the baby. These guys have been here over 50.\u201d<\/p>\n McWhirter also pointed to the group\u2019s deep roots in the city.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve kind of paid the price to earn the right to run for city council,\u201d he said. \u201cThat might sound elitist but it\u2019s not that. Bill\u2019s been on the school board, Mark has been on the city council, I\u2019ve been on the planning commission and involved in the scouting programs, blood banks, service organizations for most of my entire life living here. So we\u2019ve been part of the community, we\u2019ve been involved. I think that says a lot to what we want to continue to see. The other thing is, none of us are going anywhere, this is it.\u201d<\/p>\n McWhirter questions whether challenging candidates Dr. Akilah Weber and Dave Meyers are planning to stick around or if they have greater political ambitions. He also wonders about their history of serving the community.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat have they done in the years that they\u2019ve lived here?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n Arapostathis pointed to his service to the community as a teacher, running a children\u2019s theater, starting the La Mesa Arts Academy, and working with the city\u2019s parks and recreation department before he was elected to city council.<\/p>\n \u201cRunning for city council wasn\u2019t a long-term plan but what happened was, I started serving with the city more and more and I was encouraged to go that direction and so I did,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Because of term limits, Arapostathis said the \u201cclock is ticking\u201d for him and his fellow councilmembers who are trying to get as much accomplished while they are able to serve.<\/p>\n \u201cI care about what happens to the city, we all care,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe think we work together well, have had four years of success and want to keep going,\u201d Baber added. \u201cIf the public wants the success we\u2019ve had for four years, vote for us.\u201d<\/p>\n Climate Action Plan<\/strong><\/p>\n In March of this year, La Mesa adopted a Climate Action Plan (CAP) that was more than four years and multiple drafts in the making.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m proud of our Climate Action Plan,\u201d Baber said, adding that before he was elected to the council, the plan had \u201cgone dormant\u201d due to a lack of city staff to work on it. He and Councilmember Kristine Alessio formed a subcommittee to work on the plan and struggled with consultant AECOM, who Baber described as \u201cmildly helpful.\u201d The city took in lots of public input and worked the plan through the Environmental Sustainability Commission before passing East County\u2019s first CAP.<\/p>\n Baber noted that although there are still a few critics of the CAP who say it did not go far enough, he said \u201cLa Mesa is doing its part\u201d to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.<\/p>\n \u201cThis was a good example of our council,\u201d he said. \u201cWhenever you put a complicated piece of legislation through, you have to take a bunch of opinions. \u2026 We had to weigh a number of the issues and not everybody got what they wanted but our goal was to get something that accomplished it, met the state goals and, generally, if you talk to the folks who participate in La Mesa, they liked it.\u201d<\/p>\n Business development<\/strong><\/p>\n As members of the downtown subcommittee, McWhirter and Arapostathis pointed to the resurrection of La Mesa Village as a major accomplishment.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the first areas of concern that I had was our downtown,\u201d McWhirter said. \u201cIt was filled with antique stores. We were known as antique alley. And it wasn\u2019t the vibrant downtown that I remembered as a kid.\u201d<\/p>\n The city\u2019s streetscape project that gave the downtown Village a facelift raised rents that pushed out old businesses and brought in new ones as La Mesa became a \u201ccool place to be,\u201d McWhirter said.<\/p>\n But the transition wasn\u2019t easy for a lot of business owners who had to deal with closed streets and construction noise that kept customers away.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was a tough 18 months for the three of us because we were doing a lot of hand holding with the businesses,\u201d Arapostathis said.<\/p>\n The investment has paid off. New businesses have taken root along La Mesa Boulevard and customers have returned to shopping and dining there.<\/p>\n \u201cThe percentage of failures on our boulevard is much, much lower than the national average for businesses,\u201d McWhirter said, adding that other East County cities are jealous of the Village\u2019s success.<\/p>\n West La Mesa<\/strong><\/p>\n One of the criticisms that Dr. Weber and Myers have levied against the incumbent candidates is that the city council\u2019s focus on downtown has left the west side of La Mesa neglected \u2014 a charge that the incumbents reject.<\/p>\n Arapostathis said the city has been moving forward with development in the west side, noting the recent stormwater drain project and pedestrian traffic improvements on University Avenue. He said the plan to improve west La Mesa is the same as downtown \u2014 make capital improvements so more businesses move in.<\/p>\n \u201cAlthough we don\u2019t have the same geography [as the Village] on University Avenue and El Cajon Boulevard, there\u2019s an opportunity,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s a new development on El Cajon Boulevard that\u2019s a mixed use. We think the more of that that we allow in that corridor will encourage other businesses to come in.\u201d<\/p>\n Arapostathis said other improvements for the west side will come from recent council votes, such as adopting Vision Zero to reduce and eliminate pedestrian fatalities by investing in new crosswalks and other safety measures; and new energy-efficient lighting in the west side as part of the CAP to reduce crime.<\/p>\n \u201cThe PD [police department] has reported a vast improvement when they are out patrolling because it puts light in areas where it was darker,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The city is also changing the street lights on University Avenue and El Cajon Boulevard from pressure sensors to optical sensors that will reduce idling and make traffic along the corridors much smoother.<\/p>\n McWhirter expects the capital improvements along the corridors, as well as the investment in the Village, will eventually attract more businesses to the west side.<\/p>\n \u201cWe hope our downtown is contagious,\u201d he said. \u201cIt works toward the east and it works toward the west.\u201d<\/p>\n Housing<\/strong><\/p>\n Housing across the entire San Diego region is becoming sparse and as La Mesa\u2019s profile keeps rising with new businesses, so does its profile with developers \u2014 and sometimes to the chagrin of existing residents.<\/p>\n Arapostathis said the power to control housing density is being gradually taken over by the state and pointed to the recent Little Flower Haven development as an example. Although citizens and neighbors of the project opposed the development due to the effect it will have on parking, city council had to approve it anyway because the developers took advantage of state rules allowing reduced parking spaces.<\/p>\n Although it was a cementitious vote on an unpopular project, McWhirter said it could have been worse.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been very fortunate that a lot of our developers want to work with us,\u201d he said. \u201cFor example, the ones that are doing Little Flower Haven, they got a density bonus and they could have built seven stories, but they didn\u2019t, and we appreciate that. There are some other developers that are doing the same thing. They can get that density bonus, but they don\u2019t want to be run out on a rail for doing something that changes the [city\u2019s character].\u201d<\/p>\n All three candidates said they do not want to change existing height restrictions for housing projects and are encouraging development along freeway corridors and in places that won\u2019t impede La Mesa\u2019s small-town feel.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not interested in changing the four-story height limit,\u201d Baber said. \u201cWe\u2019re the \u2018Jewel of The Hills\u2019 \u2014 we want to be able to see the hills.\u201d<\/p>\n Biblioteca<\/strong><\/p>\n When it comes to whether the city should build an expanded library, all three candidates said they are not opposed to the idea but wonder about funding and whether a traditional library is what is needed.<\/p>\n \u201cOne thing is that libraries are changing. They\u2019re important to cities but they\u2019ve changed. And what I\u2019ve heard from most of the people that are asking, they want something more like a community space,\u201d Arapostathis said, adding that he prefers investing in a performing arts center, but one that could be connected to a library.<\/p>\n \u201cRight now, there doesn\u2019t seem to be a funding source, so the only funding source we\u2019re looking at is possibly a bond,\u201d he continued, adding that a possible funding path would be a joint venture with the school district and county to make a city-owned, county-operated library.<\/p>\n McWhirter said that although some people think the city had promised a new library, it was really a promise to pursue state library development funds for one.<\/p>\n \u201cThat temporary library became the permanent library because the funds we would have had to build the new library were taken away by the county,\u201d he said, adding that the city applied for state library grants before they dried up in 2009.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are no more library grants. That\u2019s one of the big problems is,\u201d he continued. \u201cBut are we open to the idea? I think all three of us are very open to the idea.\u201d<\/p>\n Prop U<\/strong><\/p>\n In 2016 when voters passed Proposition U allowing the sale and production of medical cannabis in La Mesa, it forced the hand of a city council that had previously opposed such businesses. It also forced the city to implement an ordinance written by cannabis advocates and not by the city council.<\/p>\n \u201cWe missed an opportunity. Hindsight is 20-20,\u201d Arapostathis said, explaining that the council rejected passing its own ordinance because residents were \u201coverwhelmingly coming to the council saying they were against medical marijuana.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf we could have looked back and passed an ordinance, we would have limited the amount of exposure the city had and crafted something a little more dynamic that could serve the city better,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n The city is currently drafting an ordinance to allow adult use cannabis businesses.<\/p>\n \u201cIn implementing Prop U we went, \u2018Oh geez, we wish we had [worded] it differently,\u201d Baber said. \u201cAnd so by moving forward with our own ordinance, we think it will be easier to manage.\u201d<\/p>\n Although McWhirter has often opposed cannabis to \u201cresist another form of people getting out of control,\u201d he said he will vote to support an adult use ordinance.<\/p>\n \u201cRight now we have [legal cannabis] and I\u2019m supporting our city for doing what it\u2019s doing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n For more information about Bill Baber, visit baber4lamesa.com<\/a>. For more information about Guy McWhirter, visit facebook.com\/guymcwhirter4lamesa<\/a>. For more information about Mark Arapostathis, visit bit.ly\/mark-lamesa<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"City](\"https:\/\/lamesacourier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Untitled-2.jpg\")
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