Race is under way for District 1

Alyssa Ramos

November 23, 2007

Three hopefuls have set their sights on the District 1 City Council seat, currently occupied by Council President Scott Peters, who will be termed out in 2008.

Republicans Phil Thalheimer and Marshall Merrifield, along with the Democratic-endorsed candidate, Sherri Lightner, have begun their campaigns, all with slightly different platforms, and all answering questions about La Jolla.

Lightner stressed the insight she has gotten from her volunteer work with various La Jolla groups, including her recent position as secretary of the La Jolla Community Planning Association and her past roles as president of La Jolla Town Council and the La Jolla Shores Association.

Sherri Lightner

“There’s a tradition in San Diego that goes back generations — that is, a failure of government to listen to its citizens — but I know I can make a difference,” Lightner said.

University City resident Marshall Merrrifield is an entrepreneur and onetime class president at Princeton University. He said he thinks his experience from his days on Wall Street will help him with the City of San Diego’s fiscal challenges and budget crises.

“I’m a definite believer in transparency and accountability,” Merrifield said. “Let the citizens take this chance in putting in a new slate of councilmembers.”

Phil Thalheimer, president of San Diego Flight Training International and a resident of Carmel Valley, served as chairman of San Diegans for the Mount Soledad National Memorial and led a campaign for an initiative in support of Jessica’s Law, which governs punishments of sexual predators. He ran against Peters in 2004 and was narrowly defeated.

Phil Thalheimer

“We need to get away from backroom deals,” Thalheimer said. “With that comes accountability.”

All three candidates said they understand the residents of La Jolla feel strongly about many issues, including paid on-street parking. If the issue isn’t resolved, they could see the pilot program before them and the council when elected. They were asked how they would vote.

MERRIFIELD: “It’s clear to me that everyone agrees there’s a parking challenge. A lot of creative ideas are proposed, and shouldn’t we try some of those first, before parking meters?”

LIGHTNER: “I can’t support paid on-street parking. About five years ago, I had an epiphany. Before that, I signed a document on parking, but since then I have done a lot to oppose the paid parking program.”

THALHEIMER: “This plan’s been circulating since the last election, and it seems to have some merit ... But my preference would be a parking garage.”

LJVN: Would you go with the parking board’s recommendation, or would you listen to the people?

MERRIFIELD: “I don’t know all the details yet, but I’d [itemize] all the details proposed from all the different groups around town.”

LIGHTNER: “It depends on what the parking board’s final recommendation is. I don’t believe they’ve done an adequate job [yet].”

THALHEIMER: “I’m listening to everybody, but the plan that’s in place right now seems to be reasonable. There is no perfect plan. Talking to the merchants and even to the residents, they agree that it’s difficult to shop. We need to do something about that, and paid parking seems to be what to do.”

LJVN: What is the one major issue that gets under your skin that you want to work on?

MERRIFIELD: “We’re in desperate need to mop up our streets, our water system and our sewer system and do some infrastructure and rebuilding throughout the city.”

LIGHTNER: “One word: enforcement. I don’t believe the codes already on the books are getting enforced. Another example is the permit process — one person easily gets a permit to do something, and then another person who may not have the same connections, they must go through the entire process.”

THALHEIMER: “The most important issue for the City of San Diego is to get their finances under control so that we can begin to move forward and get this pension and medical debacle behind us.”

LJVN: What is one thing you can do for the residents and merchants of La Jolla?

MERRIFIELD: “Get our fiscal affairs back on track for the city. By doing that, then a lot of other opportunities will be available to us, not just for La Jolla but for everywhere. Managed competition will be an important and useful process to achieve that.”

LIGHTNER: “I can listen to them and hear them. I am very accessible and I make every effort to participate with the residents and the merchants.”
According to Lightner, there are issues other than parking, and paid parking won’t pay for everything. She proposed exploring alternate ideas, such as a maintenance assessment district or other options to keep the sidewalks clean and purchase lights and other necessities for merchants in La Jolla.

THALHEIMER: “Give them access and representation on council and make sure that they know I am accountable to them. That’s what this is about. This is a job and they are the boss.”

Each candidate has a website. For more information, go to www.sherrilightner.com; www.joinmarshall.com; and www.philthalheimer.com.