CARLSBAD: Council candidates face off at Rancho Carlsbad

Differences obvious on numerous issues

By BARBARA HENRY - Staff Writer | Wednesday, October 1, 2008 11:16 PM PDT ∞

CARLSBAD ---- It wasn't hard to find differences between the City Council candidates Wednesday at a forum in the Rancho Carlsbad senior community.

The candidates were divided over whether Carlsbad should approve a luxury car dealership proposal. They debated what should be done about the city's costly golf course. They even disagreed about how Rancho Carlsbad residents had been treated by the city of late.

Six candidates are running for two spots on the council this fall. Five candidates attended Wednesday's event. The sixth ---- college student Evan Delaney Rodgers ---- told organizers in advance that she couldn't attend because she had an examination that day.

The long-standing flooding concerns of the Rancho Carlsbad community repeatedly came up during the forum, which was hosted by the local chapter of the League of Women Voters.

Candidates were asked whether they supported building a flood control basin and whether city money should be used to pay for the relocation of a community garden/RV storage area.

Candidate Keith Blackburn, a Carlsbad police sergeant whose parents live in Rancho Carlsbad, said he believes the city made a commitment to its residents to build the basin and needs to honor it.

Candidate Thomas K. Arnold, the publisher of Home Media Magazine, said he felt the council hadn't treated the Rancho Carlsbad residents right when it recently postponed discussion on the issue.

"It really bothered me that people came down to talk and they were told no," he said.

That's not an accurate description of what happened, said Councilwoman Ann Kulchin, the only incumbent in the race. Kulchin, who is seeking her eighth term on the council, said the council postponed the matter partly because the attorney for the Rancho Carlsbad residents requested it. The issue of whether to build the basin is still being researched, she said.

"If, in fact, promises were made, we would have it in writing and we would honor our promise," she said.

Candidate Farrah Douglas, who co-owns a local print shop and serves on the city's Planning Commission, said she would like to see an independent study done on the issue.

"I would really need to see all of the documents," she said, commenting that she has heard that city staff members don't believe the basin is needed now that a large storm drain system has been installed along Cannon Road.

Candidate Glenn R. Bernard, a former Marine who frequently emphasizes that he offers unusual solutions to city problems and doesn't like traditional campaigning, said he had already heard enough over the years to make up his mind about the situation.

"I think you people have been jerked around way too much on that," Bernard said, adding that he felt the "fresh faces" in the race are himself, Arnold and Blackburn.

When it came to the issue of whether a luxury car dealership project should be allowed along Avenida Encinas west of Interstate 5, all three men agreed. They said they thought the city's Planning Commission, which voted 4-3 against the proposal, had made a mistake because of the amount of sales tax revenue the project would generate.

Douglas, the council candidate who currently serves on the Planning Commission, disagreed.

"I voted against (it) to protect the homeowners, the residents of this city," she said, commenting that the project was proposed to go next to a large housing area and a day care center. "Money is not everything ... money does not protect the quality of life."

Kulchin, who as a council member may soon be voting on the issue, said only that she has heard the proposed dealerships would generate about $500,000 a year in sales tax revenue.

Contact staff writer Barbara Henry at (760) 901-4072 or bhenry@nctimes.com.