Names Have Changed, but Philosophies Stay Same in Del Mar Vote

The more things change, the more they stay the same. And Del Mar voters seem to like it that way.

Two soon-to-be-vacant City Council seats were filled in Tuesday’s election by candidates endorsed by the outgoing council members, and a ballot measure limiting the height of houses was approved in this traditionally slow-growth community.

“Winning is always sort of a very big high, and I’m still sitting on that high,” said Rod Franklin who, along with Chris Helton, will fill council seats being vacated by John Gillies and Brooke Eisenberg.

Franklin and Helton were the top vote-getters for two seats up for grabs in a three-person race for an at-large position. Franklin received 996 votes, or 41.1% of the ballots cast, and Helton drew 745 votes. Lew Dominy came in last with 680 votes.

All three candidates had pledged to preserve the small-town atmosphere of the coastal community, but they had differences in approaching that goal.

Although Franklin and Helton favored Measure A, the ballot measure limiting houses to two stories that passed Tuesday, Dominy advocated allowing property owners to build as they wish so long as they did not interfere with the rights of neighbors.

The election drew 39% of the 3,509 registered voters, lower than the city’s 48% turnout two years ago, but still almost twice the turnout rate of the 78th Assembly race also held on Tuesday.

Eisenberg, who is also the outgoing mayor and who supported both council winners, said she is pleased with the results and does not expect the council to make any dramatic changes.

“I like to think of it as a vote of confidence for my council,” Eisenberg said of the similarities between the present council and the incoming panel. “I don’t think they’re going to be vastly different, and I hope they’re not. I supported them because of that.”

Franklin hopes to orient the council toward issues outside the city limits that are relevant to Del Mar, including roads and traffic throughout the city, airport issues and the San Dieguito Lagoon and River Valley Park that would extend from Del Mar inland to Ramona.

Helton said he brings a background in finance to the council that will help guide the city in fiscal matters.

“Rod (Franklin) and I both have slightly different financial backgrounds, and we will be adding that to the City Council in a time when it is clear that state and federal grant money is harder and harder to come by,” Helton said.

Helton is an investment researcher at Security Pacific Bank, and Franklin is a management consultant at Digital Equipment Corp. They assume office April 17.

Proponents of Measure A claim that it will “preserve the intent” of existing legislation regarding so-called “above-ground basements.”

“It represents almost two years of work to clarify language and make the rules more understandable,” said Councilwoman Jan McMillan. “I don’t think it will be really restrictive, and some people feel that it would be less restrictive than what’s already on the books.”

Critics of the measure claimed that the language is convoluted and overly restrictive of certain architectural features.