Democrat Esther Sanchez and Republican Ryan Keim are vying to be the Oceanside mayor for the next four years.
Both currently sit on the city council, which functions like a board of directors (consider the mayor the chair), with Sanchez as the mayor and Keim as the deputy mayor.
While they have divergent visions for the coastal city, both candidates agree addressing the homelessness crisis is a priority.
"At a certain point, I mean — and this is as a former police officer — I would talk to people 10, 15, 20 times to try to get them services, and they would refuse," Keim said. "And so at a certain point, we have to enforce our laws."
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The most recent point-in-time count found a 24.5% increase in homelessness in Oceanside between 2023-24.
“Housing became so unattainable,” Sanchez said. "“We need to be doing much more at the shelter. We need to have more of a concentration of services. We need to have our workforce be able to continue to live in Oceanside.”
Despite a lack of affordable housing, Sanchez has been less enthusiastic than her council colleagues about welcoming new development.
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“All of a sudden we're really talking about housing not for Oceanside residents, but for folks outside of the city," said Sanchez. “For me, we need to build more 100% affordable housing through partnerships with professionals who do affordable housing.”
As councilmembers, both candidates voted to amend the city's encampment laws, under which police officers are no longer required to offer shelter before they cite someone for public camping.
“For all practicality, we are going to offer shelter and services,” Keim said. “We have to have the ability — if there's a dangerous encampment — we have to have the ability to clean it up quickly. It's been very clear with our police chief and our officers that we, you know — our goal is not to criminalize homelessness ... I think as a local elected official, our No. 1 job is keeping our residents safe.”
Coastal erosion is also a critical issue. Beaches are a tourism draw and help fuel the North County city's economy.
“The beaches I grew up going to, many of them are gone right now, and so our kids and grandkids deserve the same opportunities to go to those beaches that we had,” Keim said.
The city is working on securing funding for a $30 million project to address erosion.
"I do think we're moving toward a more science-based solution that is more regional and something that everyone can support," Sanchez said.
