Hello {{ FirstName | default: 'Friend' }},

This weekend, our regular Sunday canvassing huddle was also the first Sunday of the month. We took some time to debrief and reflect with our walkers and talkers to make sure, the matters on the minds of our neighbors are showing up in the policy priorities I'll take to city hall.

We put up the flip charts and asked our people three simple questions: what are people saying they need from the city, what's working, what's not. The answers didn't disappoint. From calls for more community liaisons to help neighbors start businesses and nonprofits, to concerns about accountability on our Climate Action Plan and access gaps at Pilgrim Creek, our volunteers brought the receipts on what District 2 actually needs.

What we are hearing from voters tracks with many of the policy priorities I plan to take to city hall.

On Smart Growth...

• Streamline permitting for small neighborhood-scale projects, don't let bureaucracy block modest, useful work
• Add real accountability and enforcement to the Climate Action Plan, not just adoption on paper
• Close infrastructure gaps that strand residents, like the missing trail-to-sidewalk connection at Pilgrim Creek, the missing sidewalk on North River, the closed bike paths and sidewalks on bridges over the river.

On Community Care & Safety...

• Fund community liaison positions to help Oceansiders navigate city hall and start nonprofits/small businesses
• Formalize peer-led outreach models already working on the ground like Libby's council/RLA meeting bridging
• Raise the Pride flag as a baseline signal of safety and belonging
• Adopt the Community Trust Resolution to communicate to our immigrant families that Oceanside is their home too
• Expand third spaces for kids with more park hours, not fewer, and evening events for teens
• Build language access into public meetings as standard with interpretation, translation

On Affordability for Real People...

• Support liaison-assisted pathways for residents on everything from starting small businesses and nonprofits, to building a new room on your house. Revamp the fees structures from their current regressive model. We need to ease the cost and complexity of services for real people
• Amplify and conduct targeted outreach to connect residents with resources, grants, and funding available for food security, energy upgrades, low/no cost services. More than just flyers at city hall, we need to be sharing this info neighbor to neighbor and door to door
• Protect free access to shared community spaces (parks, trails, meeting spaces) so affordability isn't just about housing costs but about what's free and open to everyone

Overall Transparency & Governance...

• Build better systems for tracking issues raised by residents, so concerns don't disappear after a meeting: volunteers were blunt: "council doesn't pay attention"
• Improve public access to city processes: clearer paths into meetings, permitting, and decision-making for people who don't have a lobbyist or a lawyer
• Electeds acting as facilitators of community collaboration and being shoulder to shoulder with community partners doing the work instead of waiting for them to come to council meetings

We also welcomed some incredible members of the community. Kayla and Arturo, who you might know as Star Spangled Burns on Instagram and TikTok, and Dale, a former Marine who served at the White House during the Carter administration. Kayla and Arturo will be doing a feature on the campaign and helping us amplify what is wrong with the Lennar project on the College Ave bridge (🙄 so many things....). Dale's partner, who has been out canvassing our neighborhoods for weeks, brought Dale along to jump into phone banking.

As I looked around at the growing community of folks inspired by what we are building together, it felt like such a great example of the intergenerational and intersectional organizing we're proud of. It is going to take ALL OF US to fix what isn't working in politics today. Journalists holding us accountable. Neighbors talking to neighbors. ALL OF US.

We meet every Sunday at 10am. Come as you are for the coffee and chit chat. Stay for the inspiration and power building for good!

A huge thank you to our campaign treasurer Debbie Wanamaker for getting all of our paperwork submitted on time for the July 30 midyear Fair Political Practices Commission filing. Debbie is a professional accountant who worked way below her pay grade doing the heaps of manual data entry required to get every form in.

Most political campaigns pay thousands of dollars for a campaign treasurer because they don't have the kind of dedicated volunteer support we have. Because of people like Debbie and her partner Kim Stone, we are able to remain a people powered campaign fueled by small dollar donors and a community of volunteers and neighbors, not developers and special interests. If you see Kim and Debbie out and about, show them some love. They have earned it. 💙

Want to join me at some community events this week? I'd love to see you! Get in touch and let's carpool or ride our bikes there. If there is an event that we need on the calendar, please send it my way.

MONDAY

🛎️ Neighborhood Walk – Douglas Dr & Via Malagueña - 6:30am

Community Meeting - 10am

🛎️ Arts Commission - 3pm

Fireside Park Dinners for Homeless - 4pm

Canvassing Huddle - 5:30pm

TUESDAY

Bike About & Canvassing D2 - 11am

National Night Out – Oceanside PD - 4pm

🛎️ Non-Profit Mixer – Oceanside Chamber & NCPC - 5pm

Canvassing Huddle - 5:30pm

Community Relations Commission - 6pm

WEDNESDAY

🛎️ Humanity Showers - 7am (208 S Clementine St)

Yoga para Todos - 9am Libby Community Center

North County Immigration Community Response Convening - 10am

THURSDAY

Green Paradise Farms Market - 9:30am (across from Guajome Park)

Community Meeting - 2pm

Manufactured Home Fair Practices Commission - 6pm

FRIDAY

Bike About and Canvassing D2 - 10am

Tai Chi at Libby Lake - 5pm (4700 N River Rd)

SATURDAY

🛎️ Oceanside Historical Society Downtown History Walk - 9am (300 N Coast Hwy)

🛎️ DSA Neighborhood Defense Training - 10am (Virtual)

League of Women Voters Letter Writing Party - 1:30pm

🛎️ Tagalog Language Program - 4-8pm (Mission Branch Library)

SUNDAY

✅ Canvassing Huddle - 10am — new canvassers welcome, training included!

Running a strong grassroots campaign takes resources, and every contribution helps us reach more neighbors and share our message.

Whether it’s $5, $25, or $50, your support makes a real difference.

👉 Donate here: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/eg4d2oside

Be like Debbie and Kim! This campaign is powered by neighbors working together to strengthen our community. Whether you have one hour or several, your help makes a difference.

Beyond canvassing and community care, our volunteer team is also planning events, shaping strategy, and building the kind of durable, people-powered campaign this district deserves. If you're interested in learning about campaigns, have special skills to share, or are simply looking for a community of value-aligned neighbors to do good work with, we want you here.

👉 Sign up to volunteer with us:

Please reach out if you have ideas or feedback about our campaign. I'm standing by to listen. In community,

You are receiving this email because I've added you to a list of folks who've expressed interest in staying in touch regarding this campaign. If I've screwed that up, I am so sorry. I don't mean to spam - I'm just a regular human trying to stay connected to a growing community of awesome people I am meeting.

GONZALES FOR OCEANSIDE COUNCIL D2 2026, FPPC #1485330, Oceanside, CA 92057, United States, (760) 385-8275