Incumbent Is Leading Encinitas Pack

In a City Council race packed with political novices and peppered by accusations of a bloated city bureaucracy that ignores residents’ concerns, the one Encinitas incumbent running appeared to be leading the pack in early returns late Tuesday.

Gail Hano, the only incumbent out of 14 candidates running for three open slots on the Encinitas City Council, had also been pegged by a coalition of community groups as pro-development, a label that she has avidly rejected. Her strong showing left her feeling vindicated.

“If the trend continues, it shows that my voting record was as good as I said it was, and that I did represent the people,” Hano said. “And I am not developer oriented. They just couldn’t find any issues.”

While results were still uncertain, it appeared that Chuck DuVivier, a contractor also pegged as pro-development, was running strong, along with James Bond, a retired Pacific Bell executive who is also perceived as favoring commercialization of Encinitas.

The 14 candidates ran for three open seats in a race that became increasingly polarized in the final weeks of the campaign.

The standoff: anti-development open-space advocates who came to Encinitas for its quiet beach town ambience versus self-proclaimed pragmatists who insist commercialization is essential for a good tax base.

The candidates pegged as pro-development--DuVivier and Hano--argued the issue was fabricated to simplify the race in voters’ minds. Encinitas is already developed, they contended, with only a few areas still up for grabs.

A coalition of community groups formed several weeks ago endorsed three candidates--science researcher Christopher Kirkorowicz, land-use planner Adam Birnbaum, and personnel manager Sheila Cameron--as the pro-resident slate.

That kicked off the attempt to paint clear battle lines in a race packed with political novices frustrated by a city bureaucracy only six years old.

Some, like law professor David Potter Duff, spent the bare minimum on their campaigns, and conceded defeat long ago to the bigger spenders.

“The fact that 14 people ran is just an illusion, because only 4 or 5 are going to spend their way to victory,” said Duff, who made his third failed bid for a council seat.

“I spent only $500 on my entire campaign. You just can’t get elected that way. It’s really a shame that we’ve come so far from the Athenian version of democracy, which is to be the people’s servant. If I run again, I will raise money, and I will accept contributions,” he said.

During the campaign, the notion of a people’s servant sat nicely with many Encinitas residents fed up with a bureaucracy they view as bloated and self-serving.

The city incorporated in 1986 with an eye to greater local control, and some residents complained during the campaign that the city machine has taken over, creating bureaucratic hurdles for small business and homeowners alike and requiring a heftier tax base just to support its own excesses.

“We’re gone. We’re out of control,” said Robert Macfarlane, who formed the coalition to oppose development-minded candidates. “And it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. We put in a giant City Hall and we’ll need giant money to support it. The people who love Encinitas don’t want any of that.”

Discontent with the workings of government has peppered the community’s recent history. The election-year political scuffles have included:

The purchase by the city manager of a costly, termite-infested City Hall with a crumbling roof, an issue one former candidate has asked the county Grand Jury to explore; a battle over the siting of a Home Depot outlet, which environmentalists say will destroy wetland habitat and ruin community character; and angry debates over whether to locate a commuter transit station depot downtown.