Image
Source: City of El Cajon
April 1, 2025 (El Cajon) - The City of El Cajon is excited to announce the launch of a new online dashboard, providing residents with real-time updates on the progress of the City Council’s 2025 Action Plan. This innovative tool offers transparency and insight into the City’s priorities and ongoing initiatives. Residents can explore the dashboard at https://www.elcajon.gov/your-government/elected-officials/2025-city-council-action-plan
The City has partner with Strategage, a leading performance management company, to pilot this interactive platform. The dashboard presents clear visuals and detailed updates on the City's goals, helping community members stay informed and engaged.
"We believe government works best when residents have direct access to information about how their city is serving them," said City Manager Graham Mitchell. "This dashboard provides an easy-to-use, transparent view of the progress we’re making on the initiatives outlined in our City Council Action Plan."
The 2025 City Council Action Plan reflects El Cajon’s commitment to enhancing public safety, improving infrastructure, fostering economic development, addressing the impacts of homelessness, and supporting community well-being. The dashboard will be updated regularly to reflect progress and ensure accountability.
Residents are encouraged to explore the dashboard, provide feedback, and stay engaged with the City’s ongoing efforts. For more information, visit www.elcajon.gov.
For more information, contact Chris Berg, El Cajon’s Marketing and Engagement Manager, at 619.441.1511 or cberg@elcajon.gov(link sends e-mail).
Story and photos by Karen Pearlman
Image
Photo, left: Padre Dam Municipal Water District board members Kim Hales (who represents Alpine) and Suzanne Till share information with ratepayers on Sunday afternoon, March 30, at The Alpine Club.
April 1, 2025 (Alpine) – Just a few days before San Diego County Water Authority will give presentation to the Padre Dam Municipal Water District Wednesday about wholesale water rates in 2026 and 2027, Alpine residents gathered to share some concerns about rate increases, as well as fire safety and water purification.
Two Padre Dam directors spoke Saturday at The Alpine Club. Alpine resident Anne Craig spearheaded the March 30 visit that brought Dr. Suzanne Till, who serves in Padre Dam’s Division 2 area, and Kim Hales, who oversees Division 4, including Alpine.
On Wednesday, Dan Denham, general manager of SDCWA will be talking about "Wholesale Water Rates: Strategies for Long-Term Stability at Padre Dam’s Wednesday meeting at its facility outside of Santee Lakes Recreation Preserve.
Image
Photo, right: James Thomas asked questions about billing cycles for Padre Dam Municipal Water District
“I was the one that asked them to come out here and try to get as many people to come,” Craig said of the directors who spoke on Saturday. “It’s really funny. Everybody’s willing to complain about water and the cost but they’re not really willing to come and listen to what the governments are doing and that’s a bit frustrating too.”
Is there enough water to fight a wildfire?
While the cost of water is about to rise, wildfire danger is high on the list of concerns for Alpine, which has been hit several times in recent years with major blazes.
After the fiasco with the wildfires in January that hit Los Angeles County -- where water was not always available and a reservoir was empty – people are taking a closer look at what their needs would be in case a similar incident happens in East County.
Hales and Till told Alpine residents that they are as protected as can be.
Hales reminded residents that in the last electrical shutdown in Alpine, the town did not lose its water.
“They have backup generators in order to keep the water flowing out here because Padre Dam also understands if the fires are up here, firefighters need that water as well as the residents,” Hales said. “They’re equipped with backup generators, and I think back up to the backup as well, so they were forward thinking on that.”
Till said that Padre Dam takes extra steps when a Santa Ana weather pattern is expected in the region.
“If the fire danger is extreme, we pump up extra water up into this area,” Till said. “And then when we talk about the actual pumping infrastructure, there are many redundancies. Let’s say a pipe burst or something goes down, we have multiple ways to get water up here.”
The Cycles of Billing
James Thomas, who said he’s been a resident of Alpine since 1973, asked Till and Hales why the district’s billing cycles are not consistent. He said some cycles include an extra week, putting him into a higher tier, resulting in higher rates.
Till has been on the Padre Dam board since 2020 and said that when she was first running for a seat, she learned that the district’s billing cycle is a top question residents.
Image
Padre Dam water rates increase with each of three different tiers. Each tier is incrementally higher and based on specific allotments. Residential water rates in Tier 1 are $9.06 per hundred cubic feet of water (where one HCF is 748 gallons); Tier 2 is $10.23 per HCF and Tier 3 is $11.76 per HCF.
Photo, left: Anne Craig organized the forum to make sure Alpine residents are able to have their voices heard.
“The way the rates are structured is you get X amount of water in Tier 1,” Thomas said. “For X amount of money you get into Tier 2 the price goes up. You get into Tier 3 and the price goes up even greater. The billing cycles are not uniform… 365 divided 12 is 30.41, but my billing cycles are 28 and then the next month it's 35 and then it's another number and another number. When you get into a billing cycle that’s 35 days as compared to 28, you’re gonna get in the next tier, you’re gonna pay more money. It’s simple math to me 365 divided by 12.”
Till said she will be meeting with Padre Dam General Manager Kyle Swanson this week to request that the concern be brought up on a future board agenda. She and Hales suggested that concerns like that be shared by constituents in an email to the district.
Getting Water Up and Water Rates Going Up
Anyone who’s lived in California or owned property in the state knows that water in Southern California comes with a hefty price, and one that’s about to go up again.
The costs of water in San Diego County, which by population is the state’s second largest county, are some of the highest around.
The San Diego County Water Authority notified residents that water rates will soar about 14% this year. The increase in rates is related to water treatment, water supply reliability, and water purchases largely tied to importing water. SDCWA imports the majority of the county’s water from outside the region and charges “pass-through costs.”
Last year, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California adopted a two-year budget with rate increases of 8.5% in both 2025 and 2026, with the rates for treated water going up 11% this year and 10% next year.
“Everybody should be able to afford safe clean drinking water we should not have to go through this,” Till said. “And we’re talking 20% rate hikes of what’s projected 39.4 rate hikes over the next three years. That’s the reality of it… County Water Authority is around 39% rate percent rate hike for everybody in San Diego County over the next three years.”
Till said that while water rates are about to increase, she cautioned residents to “remember it does cost money to run those generators, it does cost money to run those pumps, it does cost money to put in (built in backups).”
“It’s not that we’re just providing your water, and for some people sewer, but we’re also assisting with protection for fire safety, too,” she said.
Till said Padre Dam relies 100 percent on imported water but to help allay the costs and take control of its own water supply, Padre Dam has been working on the East County Advanced Water Purification Program. (AWP) It has been partners with Helix Water District, the city of El Cajon and the County of San Diego on the project for a decade.
Planned to go online in late 2026, Padre Dam started the process with a demonstration facility that started operating at Santee Lakes in 2015.
The East County AWP will purify recycled water using advanced technologies like membrane filtration, reverse osmosis and advanced oxidation, ultimately producing near-distilled water. That water will then be blended with water in Lake Jennings, the reservoir overseen by Helix Water District, and treated again before being distributed as drinking water.
The project is one of the first surface water augmentation projects in California. When completed, it is expected to be able to provide 30 percent of Padre Dam's water supply locally.
Sourcing Energy from Bacteria
Another component leading to higher rates is the costs of electricity through San Diego Gas & Electric, Till said. The AWP plant will have its own energy source, so the district won’t have to rely on SDG&E.
The AWP’s final component involves the construction of a $50 million energy recovery system that will produce two megawatts of renewable energy generated from digester biogas and organic waste.
Hales, who is a biologist, said the energy source is part of its purification process, involving the bacteria that helps to break down the organics.
“Bacteria release gases and many industries will tend to use those gases, you know CO2 and that kind of thing, they tend to just burn it,” Hales said. “Instead of burning it off, those gases can be used for power. And so it’s being put back into the system as a power source. It’s a pretty slick system and because it’s locally controlled water, there’s a little more control over where money is being spent.”
Expected to be complete in 2028, the system will supply up to 40 percent of the electricity for the AWP’s water recycling facility as well as a solids handling facility, a product water pump station and a new Education Center.
, 
, 
Mayor Snow presented proclamation to Roberto Alvarez, son of plaintiff in landmark legal case
Image
By Karen Pearlman
Photo: mural artist Mario Chacon, by Christina Alvarez
April 1, 2025 (Lemon Grove) – Mario Chacon stood near the mural he painted three years ago with two assistants in Lemon Grove, and paused to give some thought on what the artwork represents.
The mural on the side of the building at 7963 Broadway depicts the story of one of the first historic successful public school desegregation cases in the United States.
Image
“It was remarkable to me that here in one generation they tried to deny access to education, to a whole generation of children,” Chacon said. “And then one generation later, the son of the litigant is now a professor at UC San Diego.”
Twenty-three years before the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case changed the trajectory of educational facilities and ended state-sponsored segregation, Mexican-American parents challenged the Lemon Grove School District’s attempt to segregate their children.
Image
Called “Roberto Alvarez v. the Board of Trustees of the Lemon Grove School District,” the case is also referred to The Lemon Grove Incident.
Chacon’s artwork shows the grammar school at the center of the fight, and someone sending children to another school. Another part of the mural shares the names of all the schoolchildren who were involved in the case. There are depictions of newspapers telling the stories of the day, women in a packing house and a banner depicting the first farmworkers union.
There’s also a courtroom scene showing a student at a witness stand.
Chacon shared his thoughts on Sunday, March 30, where a crowd of nearly 100 people showed up at the site of the mural to celebrate the 94th anniversary of the event.
“I learned about the case many, many years ago when I was in college,” Chacon said. “It’s always been in the back of my mind this this this thing is practically forgotten, but so important.”
Lemon Grove Mayor Alysson Snow presented a proclamation to Alvarez’s son, Roberto Alvarez Jr., who is a researcher and director of the Center for Global California Studies at UC San Diego.
Alvarez Jr. shared the story of the litigation and spoke to the crowd about how other school desegregation cases came before (and have come since) The Lemon Grove Incident. He said he was proud of the legacy of his father, their classmates and the adults who spoke on their behalf and mentioned the principal at the time Jerome Green, who was eventually let go.
He said the name of every child who was involved in the legal case.
“They had that courage to stand up and fight back during a very, very vicious and violent period of time,” Alvarez said.
Photo, right by Karen Pearlman: Roberto Alvarez, son of the original plaintiff in the case ending segregation in the Lemon Grove School District, speaks to a crowd March 30 in front of artist Mario Chacon’s mural.
Roberto Alvarez Jr.’s father was in fifth grade at Lemon Grove Grammar School when he became the face of and the lead representative of the landmark case.
The senior Alvarez went on in 1950 to found Coast Citrus Distributors, a San Diego-headquartered wholesale fruit and vegetable business still operating in California, Texas, Florida and five locations in Mexico.
Grace Communion Lemon Grove church opens meeting space at mural site
Grace Communion Lemon Grove, a local church, hosted the event at its new home at the venue where Chacon’s mural is located.
Called “The Neighborhood,” GC Lemon Grove’s venue has meeting space and will host local events including book clubs, workshops, paining events, trivia and board game nights and more, seeking to help neighbors connect with neighbors.
Plans show the space will open later this summer.
GC Lemon Grove Pastor Anne Stapleton shared some thoughts about Alvarez and also plans for the site where the mural is located.
She mentioned how “The Neighborhood” was exactly the right name for the spot. Parents of the students who were involved in the court case in 1931 formed Comite de Vecinos de Lemon Grove – or the Lemon Grove Neighbors Committee.
“We are going to carry on the tradition of being in the neighborhood, and we are going to see that all people are equal and we stand up for people who don’t have a voice,” Stapleton said. “That’s what we’re all about.”
Photo, left by Karen Pearlman: Pastors Mark and Anne Stapleton of Grace Communion Lemon Grove, on the site where a mural depicts the Lemon Grove Incident, speak to those gathered March 30 to celebrate the landmark legal decision that ended school segregation in Lemon Grove.
Stapleton asked anyone who was in attendance who is related to anyone painted on the mural or mentioned on the mural to stand up, and about 20 people rose. They were roundly applauded by others in attendance.
Residential customers will receive the first two installments of bill credits this month; electric and gas-bill credits total more than $200 per household for 2025.
Source: SDG&E
March 31, 2025 (San Diego) - San Diego Gas & Electric® residential customers will get a break on their energy bill, thanks to the California Climate Credit administered by the California Public Utilities Commission as a result of the state’s effort to fight climate change. In April, residential electric customers and qualifying small businesses(link is external) will see a $81.38 credit on their statement. Residential customers with natural gas will also receive a $54.21 credit on the same statement.
This October, SDG&E residential customers who have electric service will see a second credit applied to their billing statement. The three credit installments total $217 in bill credits in 2025.
“Through collaboration with the California Public Utilities Commission, our customers will see some financial relief in their upcoming bill,” said SDG&E Chief Customer Officer Dana Golan. “If anyone is struggling to pay their bill, they can reach out to us to learn about various financial assistance programs we have available.”
The California Climate Credit is part of the Golden State’s efforts to fight climate change. This credit comes from the State’s Cap-and-Trade Program that requires polluters to pay for climate pollution. Credits are distributed in April and October each year and are designed to help utility customers during the transition to a more sustainable future.
There is no action required to receive the credit. All gas and electricity customers, including community-choice-aggregation customers and master-metered customers, will automatically receive the credit in their upcoming billing cycles. Billing cycles vary for customers, so not everyone will see the bill credit at the same time in April. SDG&E will also alert customers to the climate credit via email.
Assistance Programs
Customers who are struggling to pay their SDG&E bill are encouraged to visit sdge.com/assistance to explore all of the resources available to them – bill discounts, debt relief payment arrangements and no-cost, energy-efficiency upgrades that can help lower their bill long-term.
East County News Service
March 30, 2025 (La Mesa) – Bright Star, a sweeping tale of love and redemption set against the rich backdrop of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the 1920s and ’40, takes stage at Lamplighters Theatre. The play opens April 18 and runs through May 19.
Bright Star is inspired by a real event and featuring the Tony and Grammy-nominated score by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell. When Alice Murphy, the brilliant editor of a southern literary journal, meets Billy Cane, a soldier just home from World War II, they discover a powerful secret that alters their lives. An uplifting theatrical journey that holds you tight in its grasp, Bright Star is as refreshingly genuine as it is daringly hopeful.
With its San Diego premiere at The Old Globe Theatre in 2014, Bright Star is written and composed by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell. The musical is inspired by their Grammy-winning collaboration on the 2013 bluegrass album Love Has Come for You and in turn, the true folk story of the Iron Mountain Baby.
DIRECTOR: Teri Brown
MUSIC DIRECTORS: Robert Johnson & Jerrica Stone
CHOREOGRAPHER: Sharla Mandere
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Abby Lacey
PRODUCERS: Cydney King & Nancy Roger
CAST: Anthony Donovan, Don Evans, Michael Harrison, Josalyn Johnson, Mitch Krassin, Marcy Ledvinka, Nikki Lyn Maas, Christopher T. Miller, Keri Miller, Lee Price, Hannah Roskelley, Matt Sayre, Odie Taylor and Car Thometz
PERFORMANCE DATES: April 18 through May 18, 2025:
Shows are Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m.
Sundays at 2:00 p.m.
Matinee Saturday April 26 at 2:00 p.m.
TICKETS: General admission: $30.00 Students/Seniors/Military: $27.00 (group rates available)
TICKETS MAY BE PURCHASED AT by calling the box office at 619-303-5092 and leaving a detailed message, or by emailing boxoffice@lamplighterslamesa.com.
Bright Star contains adult situations and language. This production is best suited for those over the age of 14 and is presented by special arrangement with Theatrical Rights Worldwide.
More information: https://www.lamplighterslamesa.com/
East County News Service
March 30, 2025 (Lemon Grove) – The Lemon Grove Historical Society’s “History Alive” lecture series continues this Thursday, April 3 at 7 p.m. with local author Sandra Bonura speaking about her new book, Empire Building: John D. Spreckels and the Making of San Diego.
The event will be held at the H. Lee House in Treganza Park, 3205 Olive St., Lemon Grove.
Sugar mogul, newspaper publisher and railroad baron, Spreckels was at the forefront of innovation and building San Diego. In the early 20th century, one in 15 San Diegans worked for a company owned by Spreckels.
By Miriam Raftery
March 30, 2025 (Lakeside) – Sheriff’s deputies responded to a call reporting that a toddler was not breathing last night at 8:53 p.m. in the11600 block of Camino Del Tierra, Lakeside.
“Deputies from the Lakeside substation and paramedics from the Lakeside Fire Department arrived and performed life saving measures on the toddler,” says Lieutenant Patrick Fox. The toddler was transported to the hospital, where the child tragically passed away.
Detectives are diligently gathering evidence, interviewing witnesses, and examining the circumstances surrounding this death. The cause and manner of death will be determined by the Medical Examiner's Office.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Homicide Unit at (858) 285-6330/after hours at (858) 868-3200. You can remain anonymous by calling Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.
By Miriam Raftery
March 29, 2025 (La Mesa) – La Mesa Councilmember Laura Lothian will host a town hall community discussion on a battery storage facility proposed on El Paso St. The town hall will take place Wednesday, April 9 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Brew Coffee Spot, 6101 Lake Murray Blvd.
Heartland Fire Chief Brent Koch, Heartland Acting Fire Marshall Rebecca Winscott, and La Msa Director of Community Development Lynette Santos will also participate in the discussion.
Battery storage facilities are key to expanding renewable energy production such as wind and solar energy, enabling power to be utilized even when the sun doesn’t shine or the wind doesn’t blow.
But lithium ion battery storage facilites have also sparked fires, most notably a fire at a large battery storage site in Otay Mesa, where some nearby businesses had to evacuate for two weeks.
La Mesa City Manager Greg Humora has said that the proposed La Mesa site would be smaller and compartmentalized, with other safeguards to reduce fire risk, as ECM reported.
But the La Mesa site is directly adjacent to homes, with shopping and businesses also close by, raising concerns from residents and property owners over potential negative impacts.
The town hall is an opportunity for area residents to ask questions and learn more.
By Miriam Raftery
Photo courtesy of Sky 10 via ABC 10 News, an ECM news partner
March 28, 2025 (El Cajon) – Federal immigration authorities raided the San Diego Powder and Protective Coatings company on Magnolia Ave. in El Cajon yesterday afternoon. A search warrant accuses the company of hiring undocumented workers, as well as fraud and misuse of visas, ECM news partner 10 News reports.
Shawn Gibson, ICE Homeland Security Investigations special agent in charge of San Diego, said agents arrested fewer than 20 people while executing a criminal search warrant. The arrests included administration arrests for violation of immigration laws as well as criminal arrests.
Employees told KPBS that around 50 workers were handcuffed and forced to stand in the sun, with requests for water denied, while agents verified immigration status of each person. U.S. citizens were later freed to leave, while others were taken into custody and face potential deportation.
Blanca Corona told KPBS that her husband, a youth soccer coach and the family’s primary wage earner was detained. “We have four kids,” she said, holding back tears. Corona said she and her children are citizens and that the family had hired a lawyer to help her husband adjust his status, but he was arrested anyway.
According Cto 10 News, agents with Homeland Security Investigations, Customs and Border Protection, along with what appeared to be several other law enforcement agencies, participated in the enforcement sweep.
The action is part of a nationwide crackdown on undocumented immigrants carried out by the Trump administration.
A spokesperson for Congresswoman Sara Jacobs, whose district includes El Cajon, said her office has sent inquiries to ICE and DHS to learn more and to assure that people’s rights and due process are being followed.
Serious questions over mistreatment of deported immigrants have been raised.
The Trump administration deported some to the infamous prison at Guantanamo Bay, but later returned those detainees to facilities in the U.S. following protests and a Congressional oversight visit. Some may be returned to their home countries or to other nations.
Recently, the Trump administration sent some migrants, allegedly violent Venezuelan gang members, to a prison in El Salvador infamous for human rights abuses. The administration officials defied a judge’s order to turn planes around that were flying migrants to El Salvador, amid concerns over due process rights violations. The judge is weighing contempt of court charges against administration officials.
Meanwhile the Trump Justice Dept. has asked the Supreme Court to intervene to allow the deportations under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.
Attendees object to Congressional Republicans ceding authority to executive branch
View video of the March 23 "Empty Chair Town Hall
By Karen Pearlman
Screenshot: Crowd chants "Shame" over Issa's refusal to hold a town hall in his district.
March 28, 2025 (Escondido) – Hundreds of constituents in Republican Congressional Rep. Darrell Issa’s district gathered at an “Empty Chair Town Hall” event at the California Center for the Arts on Sunday, March 23.
A standing-room only crowd in the venue that holds about 400 people expressed a variety of concerns about everything from healthcare needs and veterans’ services to immigration and education. The event was also live-streamed on social media.
Created to bring attention to what they say is Issa’s penchant to avoid meeting constituents in a Town Hall format, the event was organized by Indivisible North County San Diego.
Indivisible North County San Diego is part of a national nonprofit group. Indivisible and calls itself a social movement organization for those interested in working with others to take positive action for progressive values. It seeks to create an open-minded future, and believes in “protecting our values, our neighbors and ourselves” through mounting a resistance to the Trump agenda.
Indivisible North County San Diego says its resistance is built on values of inclusion, tolerance, fairness and non-violent action, and works in cooperation with other local groups that support its goals and objectives.
The audience listened to Allison Gill, a podcaster and owner of MSW Media, Inc., and five community leaders speak as well as try to answer questions that would have been directed at Issa.
“Darrell Issa, step back, my freedom is protected by the constitution,” Gill said. “My government that you and Elon Musk are trying to sledgehammer is protected by laws and Congress.”
The panelists with Mills were Escondido Deputy Mayor Consuelo Martinez, Vista Unified School District Board Member Cipriano Vargas, Danny Jackson, Max Disposti (founder and Executive Director of the North County LGBTQ Resource Center) and Joe Houde. A man in a chicken mask reflected the group's claim that Issa is "chicken" for avoiding holding a Town Hall.
The Empty Chair Town Hall was part of a nationwide effort encouraged by Indivisible National during the congressional recess from March 13-23. The national Indivisible group is also spearheading a protest set for noon on April 5 at the Civic Center in downtown San Diego.
Attendees at the local March 23 event said they were looking for answers about why Republicans in Congress seem to have forgotten that there are three branches of government and have ceded their authority to the Executive Branch.
Constituent Randy James asked, “Please explain to me and those in the 48th Congressional District why you’re changing opinion and monetary gains from Russia for Russians’ support… and removing support from for Ukraine. How does that help us in the 48th District? How does that help the U.S. and our 80-year-old international alliance?”
Physician and scientist Dr. Steve Shrewsbury said, “I had a whole list of questions… but the question that I’ve been asked to pose to Darrell is, ‘Do you support the indiscriminate apprehension of undocumented migrant workers who keep California agriculture?’ They make up they make up 50 to 70 percent of farmer thought according to January 2025 figures… ‘Where do you propose these workers be shipped to and who will replace them in keeping Southern California agriculture and construction running? These migrants generate… $23 billion each year to the state. How do you propose these losses will be made up?’ ”
Others asked why Issa is in favor of cutting thousands of jobs, what is going on with DOGE (The Department of Government Efficiency) that has eliminated some agencies and implemented mass firings at others, and why the government feels it has to slash billions of dollars from the Department of Health and Human Services, which manages Medicaid.
Audience members said they wanted to know why Issa doesn’t appear to support “Dreamers” and those in DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, a program that provides temporary protection from deportation and work authorization to some but doesn’t offer a path to citizenship). Several said it seems that Issa has forgotten that America is made up of immigrants and others felt Issa is rubber stamping orders from President Donald Trump.
Those at the two-hour event were adamant that their collective voice and individual voices are not being heard by Issa nor the current administration in Washington, D.C.
Martinez, the daughter of Mexican immigrants, told those in attendance “I’m really happy that you’re all here to do your part so we can build a powerful movement in our region in order to challenge the craziness that is happening in D.C. I really believe that everything starts local and so that’s where I begin my fight and I’m here to be a resource and support all of you.”
Indivisible North County San Diego spokesperson Pamela Albergo said that Issa hadn’t held a Town Hall since 2017, “but the concerns of his constituents haven't gone away.”
The Times of San Diego reports that San Diego’s four other Congressional members -- all Democrats -- have not held live Town Halls in the past year either, though Rep. Sara Jacobs plans a live townhall April 22 in El Cajon.
Issa’s constituents say they have reached out to his office, but have been turned away.
Issa represents the 48th Congressional District, which encompasses some of East County and all of the Mountain Empire areas of San Diego County as well as part of southwestern Riverside County.
Issa’s 48th district includes the cities of Santee, Poway and northern Escondido. It also covers a wide swath of county areas including Alpine, Bonsall, Borrego Springs, Bostonia, Boulevard, Campo, Casa de Oro-Mount Helix, Crest, Descanso, Fallbrook, Granite Hills, Jacumba, Jamul, Lakeside, Mount Laguna, Pine Valley, Potrero, Ramona, Rancho San Diego, Valley Center and Winter Gardens.
The 48th also includes Temecula and Murrieta in Riverside County.
Asked about the Town Hall event, Issa did not respond for an official comment, but Jonathan Wilcox, communications director for the congressmen, said that in his more than 30 years of experience, Town Halls are very hit or miss for constituents.
“Constituents over the years have told us the format didn’t work for them -- not able to ask a question, not able to stand in line for a longer time, etc.,” Wilcox said. “Years ago, I think they were more common; nowadays we have so many ways to reach district residents. I think it’s a good mix.”
Wilcox said that of callers who contact Issa’s office about Town Halls, only about one of every 50 callers asks about them.
Issa also has done two “mobile offices,” as a way to reach people who are in areas not close to population centers, Wilcox said.
Wilcox also noted that “at the Vietnam-era veterans pinnings we did a while back, I’d say Rep. Issa personally met and spoke with at least 800 constituents. How many Town Halls would we need to do to have one-on-one conversations with 800 constituents?”
Gill said that Issa, who is a veteran, says on his webpage, “ ‘I love veterans… veterans are the backbone of this country.’ ”
“Then why are you helping slash 83,000 jobs from the Department of Veterans affairs?” Gill asked rhetorically. “Why are you helping gut the federal government that we built by the way? This is not a bloated government. We’ve been working on a skeleton crew for 50 years because of the Republicans like Darrell Issa… Darrell Issa doesn’t care about us.”
Claire Strong is a senior consultant for Galvanized Strategies, a company that provides strategic public affairs consulting and leadership services, and focuses on marketing, communications, government affairs, community engagement and executive leadership.
Strong said that “empty chair” events make a strong statement, but traditional Town Halls, where all parties are present, are far more productive for resolving issues.
“In my experience moderating contentious public meetings, I’ve seen how direct, face-to-face dialogue creates understanding and encourages real solutions, something an empty chair situation simply can't facilitate,” Strong said.
“Town Halls allow people on both sides of an issue to feel seen and heard, which is essential when it comes to addressing community concerns. When everyone is in the room, it leads to more constructive outcomes, while the absence of one side can have the opposite effect.”