September, 1999

By Travis Hill

The issues are the same, but the solutions will be different. That is the theme of the race for the District 1 City Council seat now held by Harry Mathis.

Traffic, the preservation of open space and infrastructure seem to be the topics an the tongues of all five of the candidates for the upcoming vacancy which includes Rancho Peñasquitos, but their varied backgrounds have yielded different approaches to each issue.

Lisa Ross, Paul Kennerson, Scott Peters, Linda Davis and James Ryan have all thrown their hats in the ring for the open seat and are eager to introduce themselves to potential voters.

Ross, a Carmel Valley resident, has been a member of the Carmel Valley Planning Board for three terms, and has made multiple visits to the planning groups of the Interstate-15 corridor area. She was a communications consultant, but is now campaigning full-time.

She has been walking door-to-door in the Rancho Penasquitos/ Sabre Springs area since late June.

"I've visited over 2,500 doors," Ross said. "I've been talking to people, assessing things in the area. I'm just basically getting to know the neighbors."

Ross said that the timely completion of State Route 56 and the preservation of open space were two of her biggest concerns. She has been active in preserving the Peñasquitos Canyon area in the past. She added that her experience working with diverse groups of people will allow her to deal with the different interests of the community.

Kennerson is an attorney who resides in La Jolla and although he is a New York native, he has lived In San Diego County for 32 years. He was president of the La Jolla Town Council in 1996-97 and is still the chairman of the community's Parks and Beaches Committee.

"I've always wanted to be in politics," Kennerson said. "As a kid, I was schlepping districts for Nelson Rockefeller in upstate New York."

Kennerson, a Vietnam War vetran, believes that urban planning for the future is one of the most pressing issues in District 1.

"People are expecting huge growth (in District 1) in the next 10 to 15 years," Kennerson said. "That will make issues like housing and transportation extremely important."

Peters is also an attorney who lives in La Jolla. He is an instructor at UCSD and a trustee of the La Jolla Town Council. He has practiced law for government as well as environmental agencies and said that this experience makes him unique.

"My professional life has been infrastructure and environmental protection," Peters said. Basically, it's been the sorts of things that the city is grappling with now and I feel like (if elected) I'll be able to hit the ground running."

Peters agreed that infrastructure and environmental questions will be of great importance to the next District 1 representative. He specifically said that traffic is a serious matter.

...

The District 1 primary is in March of 2000. Mathis will complete his seven-year term at the end of 2000 and the new District 1 term begins in January of 2001.

The Corridor News
October, 1999