Articles by Thomas Arnold

Gaspar outraises Roberts in D3 supe bowl

Kristin Gaspar, the Encinitas mayor who is running for a seat on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, raised nearly three times as much money from individual donors as her opponent, incumbent District 3 Supervisor Dave Roberts, during the latest three-month filing period, financial disclosure forms show. Gaspar collected a total of $145,290 between July 1 and Sept. 24, compared to just $54,904 for…


Two failings of our government

On the far northern fringes of coastal North County, within a mile or two of each other along Interstate 5, are two shameful symbols of the failings of our government. One is the border checkpoint, some 60 miles north of the border. Immigration reform is badly needed, but nothing seems to ever get done. Meanwhile, our border is so porous that the federal government feels…


Sorry Sam: Dave and Kristin headed for supervisor race runoff

Incumbent 3rd District Supervisor Dave Roberts will square off against Encinitas Mayor Kristin Gaspar in November. Escondido Mayor Sam Abed is out. “I’m happy to be past that milestone and am looking forward to the next months ahead,” Gaspar said. Roberts finished first, with 38.79 percent of votes cast (53,108), while Gaspar was in second place, with 34.28 percent (46,939), according to the latest tally,…


Go time at the San Diego County Fair

It’s time, once again, for our once-a-year break from political banter, land-use controversies and assorted governmental shenanigans. As I’ve done every year since I began writing a weekly column on North County coastal issues in 2009 — initially for the North County Times, then for the San Diego Union-Tribune  — I devote one week’s missive to one of my favorite annual events: the San Diego…


Supervisor race not as much about party as it was about the people

Sam Abed was looking forward to an easy win in the June primary to challenge incumbent Dave Roberts for the 3rd District seat on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors. The Republican mayor of Escondido had the old guard of the party solidly behind him. He won the official endorsement of the county GOP, and counted in his camp such old-school party republican stalwarts…


Follow the money: Abed, Gaspar, Roberts

The three candidates for the District 3 seat on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors have raised, and loaned themselves, a total of nearly $300,000 in the first four months of this year, according to financial disclosure forms filed with the county of San Diego. The contributions, received between Jan. 1 and April 23, were fairly evenly split between the three candidates – incumbent…


District 3 county Supervisor race en fuego

“Escondido Mayor Sam Abed, critics say, is old school, a stereotypically brash small-town mayor. His GOP creds have been challenged by his attempts to block a 99-cent store from coming to Escondido and his acceptance of union support during his 2014 re-election campaign.” — Thomas K. Arnold The race for the District 3 seat on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors is heating up,…