Three step up to run for mayor’s seat in Encinitas as filing period opens

The filing period to run for City Council opened Monday, July 18, and potential candidates are already lining up to collect their paperwork.

The city’s current mayor, Catherine Blakespear, is running for a state Senate seat in the Nov. 8 election, and several of the people who have previously announced their intent to seek her mayoral post started the candidate paperwork process early this week, as did two people who are considering a run for the council’s District 4 spot, the City Clerk’s office reported.

By late Wednesday afternoon, July 20, three people had pulled papers to run for mayor — Michael “Myekah” Blobe, Cindy Cremona and Tony Kranz.

On his campaign web site, Blobe describes himself as a singer/songwriter and interim vice president/treasurer of the ‘Barefoot is Legal’ advocacy organization. He has worked in the retail and hospitality industries.

Cremona owns an executive recruiting company and has been an advocate for the Our Neighborhood Voices initiative, a campaign that seeks to place a local housing control measure on the state ballot in 2024, her candidate web site notes.

Kranz was first elected to the council in 2012. He works for a printing company and emphasizes his roots in Encinitas on his campaign web site, noting that he moved into the city as a baby in 1960 and attended area schools.

In addition to the mayor’s spot, two of the four council positions will appear on the November ballot, along with a city-sponsored ballot measure that proposes placing a tax on cannabis and hemp businesses.

Councilmember Joe Mosca, the city’s current 4th District representative, announced earlier this year that he won’t seek re-election in the fall, so that race has generated interest. By late Wednesday afternoon, July 20, two people had picked up candidacy papers — Stacie Davis and Dan Vaughn, the clerk’s office reported.

Councilmember Joy Lyndes, who represents the city’s District 3 region and was appointed to the post in February 2021, was the only person who had picked up paperwork to run in that race by late Wednesday, July 20. District 3 primary covers the city’s Cardiff region.

The initial deadline to submit the completed candidate paperwork is Aug. 12, but if an incumbent does not file, the deadline is extended to Aug. 17.

The mayor’s post is a two-year term and potential candidates must be a city resident, a registered voter and at least 18 years old.

City Council positions are four-year terms. In order to run for one of the two council seats, a potential candidate must live within the district boundaries at the time the nomination papers are issued. A “termination of residency” later would create an “immediate vacancy” for that council seat, unless the person finds new housing in the district within 30 days, the city web site states.

People can obtain candidacy papers from the City Clerk’s office by appointment from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and on the Fridays when City Hall is open. City Hall is closed this coming Friday, and Aug. 5. To make an appointment, e-mail khollywood@encinitasca.gov or call (760) 633-2603.

To view the district boundary maps and other election-related information, visit: https://encinitasca.gov/Government/Municipal-Elections