Editor's note: This is the first in a series of profiles on candidates running for two seats on the Escondido City Council in the Nov. 4 election.

ESCONDIDO -- Sam Abed contends that he has fulfilled each of his campaign promises during his first four-year term on the City Council.

Abed said in a recent interview that the city is safer, cleaner and more economically prosperous because of the leadership provided by him and fellow council incumbent Ed Gallo.

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"We have put the city on a clear path to prosperity," said Abed, who will face five other candidates for two open council seats on Nov. 4. "The city's past anti-business policies had dragged the city down. But we have changed direction and restored the economic and social viability of Escondido."

Abed said his greatest accomplishments on the council include spending more than $1 million to fight graffiti and improve code compliance, negotiating a deal with Palomar Medical Center that guaranteed a continued presence downtown and attracting more upscale businesses to the city.

Critics say Abed, Gallo and Councilwoman Marie Waldron have damaged the city's reputation with a failed attempt to prohibit landlords from renting to illegal immigrants in 2006, and a more recent attempt to adopt parking restrictions as a way to combat overcrowding in predominantly Latino neighborhoods.

But Abed said the council needed to change the city's approach to the poor, social services and related issues.

"A good reputation is important, but the middle class families would not stay in this city if we didn't change direction," said Abed. "Poor people and Latinos can't be outside the regulations. We can be compassionate with them, but at the same time we have to respect the rights of citizens."

Abed said that after a judge nullified the rental ban in early 2007, the council majority learned to focus on quality-of-life issues instead of illegal immigration.

"I just want the city to be prosperous," said Abed. "I want people to move here for good jobs and clean neighborhoods."

Abed, 56, said he has been politically involved since just after he moved from Lebanon to Escondido two decades ago and bought a gas station.

"I put my life savings into my business and started to see the East Valley corridor deteriorating," said Abed. "There were 50 percent vacancies and quality-of-life was going down the drain."

Abed helped found the nonprofit East Valley merchants association, which eventually got City Council approval for a zoning overlay that prohibited new check-cashing outlets, auto sales lots, 99-cent stores, pawn shops, tattoo parlors and thrift stores.

"Some people argued we were against the poor, but we just wanted to bring a balance to East Valley Parkway," Abed said.

The association has also been credited with attracting several public art projects and the burying of telephone wires.

Those changes, along with construction of several upscale housing tracts nearby and a steadily growing stream of customers from Valley Center, have been credited with pushing East Valley vacancy rates down to 5 percent and increasing sales tax revenue from $847,000 in 1998 to $1.9 million in 2006.

Abed also lists the pending arrival of three hotels and a new Lexus dealership under construction just west of Interstate 15 as economic development accomplishments during his tenure.

He said many of these economic advances would not have happened without his plan to focus on code compliance, which city officials credit for a reduction in graffiti, abandoned shopping carts and illegal garage conversions.

Abed was born in Beirut and began his career as an engineer at IBM there in 1974. His job and three years of engineering training through IBM took him to 25 countries, helping him to become fluent in French and Arabic as well as English, he said.

The married father of two daughters became a citizen in 1990. His favorite hobby is tennis.

Jon Hudson, president of the East Valley association, said Abed should be re-elected because he takes things seriously, fought hard to keep Palomar Medical Center downtown and cleaned up the city.

"He really believes in this city and wants it to be the best it can be," said Hudson.

Harvey Mitchell, chief executive of the Escondido Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber endorsed Abed in late September because he has been a tireless advocate for the business community.

"He's certainly a man who thinks right along with what the chamber thinks about business issues," said Mitchell.

Contact staff writer David Garrick at (760) 740-5468 or dgarrick@nctimes.com.