Grassroots group organizes weekly protests against Issa

About 20 Encinitas residents have gathered every Thursday for the last month to protest the actions of Congressman Darrell Issa (R-Vista).

Dan Garren, a member of the advocacy group Encinitas Unity and organizer of the Thursday protests, said the goal is for Issa to know there are Encinitas residents who don’t agree with his stances on healthcare reform and other issues.

“His voting record has been in line with the GOP,” said Garren, a retired medical social worker who has lived in Encinitas for eight years. “[Issa] refuses to go against Trump in any way, shape or form. He doesn’t listen to his constituents. This is the only choice we have.”

The Thursday protests are a more local version of the weekly Tuesday night protests outside Issa’s office in Vista, he said.

“We thought it was time to protest against Issa in our community so we can show there are people in Encinitas who don’t like him,” Garren said. “At the protests at his office, Issa doesn’t really know where the people come from.”

The group organizes every Thursday from 5 to 6 p.m. at El Camino Real and Encinitas Boulevard.

“It’s a high-volume traffic area,” Garren said. “It’s one of the busiest intersections in the county.”

Garren hopes to grow the number of protesters so they can cover more of the area. Those who are interested in participating are invited to show up to the protests, he said. They can also join Encinitas Unity’s Facebook page at https://bit.ly/2t46VP6 for updates.

Issa has not yet reacted to the protests in Encinitas but Garren said he hopes more people join to bring awareness to the issue and bring the demonstrations to the Congressman’s attention.

“There’s a lot of public support for what we’re doing,” Garren said. “There have been thousands of honks. If we can just get a fraction of those people to stand up with us and multiply that with the other communities, then I think Issa would have to respond to us.”