Encinitas City Council candidate Tasha Boerner Horvath

Community character has been discussed often at Encinitas City Council campaign events this election season, and candidate Tasha Boerner Horvath is very happy that’s the case.

Boerner Horvath listed the issue as the most important one when looking toward the future of Encinitas, which is why she’s been working to preserve the city’s community character as a member of the Planning Commission since June 2015.

Tasha Boerner Horvath (Courtesy)

“By far the most important issue in Encinitas is land use, which is complicated by our outdated municipal code,” Boerner Horvath said in an email to the Encinitas Advocate. “We must modernize our code to better preserve our neighborhoods and ensure that Encinitas continues to have communities with character.

“I have worked with fellow Planning Commissioners to improve the compatibility and quality of many projects and to begin the process of updating our code. Encinitas needs a leader like me, who has a proven track record of balancing property rights, community character and making improvements where necessary.”

Boerner Horvath is an Encinitas resident like her great grandfather (L.P McChesney, a local inventor and one-time president of the San Dieguito Irrigation District, now known as the San Dieguito Water District), grandfather (a town plumber who built her family’s house near Stone Steps in the 1950s) and mother, who attended the same elementary school (Paul Ecke Central) that Boerner Horvath’s children (Máté, 8 and Maya Kate, 5) do now.

However, Boerner Horvath also has the experience of living in other places — Riverside, college at UC Berkeley, Claremont Graduate University where she got her master’s degree and Germany, where she did some of her doctoral work at Humboldt University in Berlin and met her husband Istvan. After living in several European countries for about 10 years, in 2012 she moved back to Encinitas, where she has continue working in business as a marketing communications expert.

“With both of these perspectives, I understand people who have lived in Encinitas a long time as well as those who have adopted Encinitas as their home,” she explained. “I also appreciate the many places I have been able to live, so I know how special it is to call Encinitas home. As a third-generation Encinitan, I have a deep respect for our natural environment that forms the basis of our high quality of life.”

Since returning to town, Boerner Horvath has been busy with public service, most notably with Paul Ecke Central where she is the head of the Traffic & Safety Committee and the VP of Programs for the PTA.

As a City Council candidate — where she is vying with fellow Planning Commissioner Tony Brandenburg, incumbents Tony Kranz and Mark Muir, and former Assembly candidate Phil Graham for three open spots in the Nov. 8 election — Boerner Horvath says that keeping local businesses thriving, safe streets for everyone and protecting beaches, parks and trails are additional issues she will focus on if elected.

And while she says these issues must be focused on whether or not she is elected, Boerner Horvath believes she is someone who can get the job done:

“To maintain our high quality of life, Encinitas deserves experienced leaders who work hard for all of Encinitas. I will collaborate to find creative solutions and get things done to preserve what is special about Encinitas and make it an even better place to live, work and play.”