When I first ran for mayor, homelessness was my top priority. At that time, I shared my own story of how this issue affected my life. I suffered from addiction and ultimately ended up on the streets, even spending nights behind the 7-Eleven on Country Club/Centre City. Thankfully, I overcame those obstacles and went on to build an incredible life.

Now, as mayor, I have used those experiences to bring forward policies that help others who are like me. Part of what my experience taught me is that we must offer people a hand up while encouraging accountability and sobriety. Ultimately, if help is not accepted, we cannot continue to enable the individuals on our streets and leave them to suffer on our streets.

Our efforts started with adopting a “Public Safety First” approach at City Hall. This policy balances compassion with accountability and empowers law enforcement to take action after help is refused. We cleared “The Jungle,” a decades-old encampment in the Escondido Creek Trail, in 2024—tackling severe environmental and health risks after declaring a local state of emergency. We enacted ordinances that no longer allow encampments near schools, parks, and waterways, or allow RVs to be lived in on public roads. At the same time, we continued fostering partnerships with local organizations to ensure that those who want help have resources available.

These new approaches culminated in the 2025 “Point-in-Time Count,” which showed a 23.4% reduction in unsheltered individuals living on the streets of Escondido—from 401 in 2024 to 307 in 2025. Meanwhile, the number of sheltered individuals rose from 187 to 231, meaning 44 more people are off the streets and receiving supportive services.

Moving forward, I’m committed to ensuring this momentum is not lost. We will continue working toward a permanent “Escondido First” homeless shelter and expanding other services that promote sobriety and accountability. Our goal of clearing encampments and getting people off the streets and into supportive services remains steadfast. In the end, we can end homelessness in Escondido.

Public safety is the primary responsibility of local government and will always remain a top priority. Over the past few years, we have made significant gains in strengthening public safety in Escondido.

When I was elected, our police officers and firefighters were among the lowest paid in the county and were significantly short-staffed. This, combined with recruitment challenges, created serious obstacles in responding to crime and other emergencies. Fortunately, in 2025, we were able to pass a sweeping new compensation and benefits package for our public safety workers—ensuring that our first responders are well equipped to serve and protect our community, and that we have the means to recruit and retain top talent.

In addition to improved compensation, we approved funding for six additional officers to support the critical needs of our COPPS (Community Oriented Policing and Problem Solving) unit.

Looking to the future, there is still work to be done to keep Escondido thriving and safe. We must continue addressing staffing shortages, and I am committed to exploring innovative recruitment strategies and expanding training opportunities—particularly in crisis intervention—to better equip our officers for complex situations.

Additionally, we need to invest in modernizing our public safety infrastructure, from upgrading equipment to adding more response vehicles, giving our personnel the tools they need to succeed. This is how we make Escondido a safe place to live, work, and raise a family.

Like so many others, I have family and friends that have moved to other states because the cost of living is just too high. I am a fifth generation Escondido resident and with my wife, we chose to raise our two young children here. I am strongly committed to making sure that our community is an affordable place for generations of families like mine.

The highest cost of living is in the cost of housing. We have been aggressive over the past several years in approving new housing opportunities with the goal of making home ownership a reality for families. We’ve made it clear to developers that while rentals are an important part of the housing equation, we need for-sale housing that is accessible to working class families. We’ve worked to streamline the permitting process with the goal of “getting to yes” on projects that satisfy the needs of our residents.

As Escondido’s voice on key regional boards like SANDAG, I’ve repeatedly voted against regressive taxes like the “pay per mile” tax and other taxes that make life less affordable. I will continue to stand up against reckless policies that seek to raise unnecessary taxes, and work towards policies that reel in wasteful spending.

Prior to serving as Mayor, I owned my own small business and know how hard it can be to make it in California. At City Hall, I’ve worked with my colleagues on the City Council to improve our local business climate and promote new and growing small businesses in Escondido. Adopting simple improvements like implementing software that issues a business license within hours, not days or weeks.

Grand Avenue is a valuable community asset at the center of economic and cultural activity in our city. I was proud to work with Congressman Scott Peters to secure $1,000,000 in funding for the second phase of the Grand Avenue Vision Project, which added widened sidewalks, permanent outdoor dining, and new amenities to modernize and improve our Downtown. As a result, we are seeing an influx of new and exciting businesses.

While agriculture is slowly being pushed out of San Diego County, Escondido continues to support our local farmers and growers. I am proud to have been a champion for our Escondido AgTech (AgX) initiative, securing a partnership with the University of California’s Vine Institute, to create an innovative hub for all things agricultural technology. Through this initiative, we are inviting and securing a new segment of the agriculture and technology industries to invest and grow here in Escondido.

We are committed to building off of this exciting momentum, to continue helping every business be successful and grow.

Driving around Escondido can, at times, be a frustrating experience. Traffic delays and potholes are a burden that we’ve all become too familiar with. I have been a strong advocate for making sure we receive our fair share of SANDAG and Transnet funding. As well as State and Federal funding. I’m proud to say that in 2025 the City Council, under my leadership, increased funding for the Road Improvement Program, dedicating an additional $2,000,000 a year into fixing and maintaining our roads.

Over the past three years, we have made progress. Major achievements include the successful completion of the CitracadoParkway Extension, which closed a critical gap in the city’s road network and significantly improved emergency response access and traffic circulation. Our ongoing Pavement Management Program has resulted in the rehabilitation of several hundred miles of Escondido roads and the enhancement of sidewalks throughout various neighborhoods.