Politics

Encinitas Residents Accuse City Council Of Cronyism

By Alison St John / Reporter

Published November 10, 2011 at 10:24 AM PST

This story was published more than 12 years ago.

Rally outside Encinitas city hall, Nov 9th 2011

The protestors were unhappy at the appointment of the city’s Fire Chief Mark Muir to a vacant seat on the Encinitas City Council.

The seat was vacated by popular City Councilwoman Maggie Houlihan, who died of cancer earlier this year.

Resident Steve Meiche says Muir, who retired as fire chief and was sworn in last night, has already violated city ethics.

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“He utilized his position to advance himself and his political interests. He ran campaigns for two of the existing council members while he was working as the fire chief.”

Meiche said the new council majority ignored candidates who reflected Houlihan's community prioirities when they chose to appoint Muir.

Many of those at the protest also rallied last year to accuse Encinitas City Councilman Dan Dalager of conflict of interest. Dalager was voted out of office and subsequently pled guilty to the charge.

Bill McCorkle, a supporter of newly-appointed Muir, said the appointment was above board.

“Everything was done the way it was supposed to be done,” McCorkle said. “The City Council appointed somebody and we’re here to support him.”

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A number of those who showed up to support Muir were not residents of Encinitas.

The seat formerly held by Houlihan is up for reelection in November 2012.

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Alison St John currently serves as a general assignment reporter and occasionally co-hosts KPBS Midday Edition. She fell in love with KPBS Radio when she arrived in San Diego in 1985 and first heard NPR. She has been a voice on KPBS Radio since 1989, and has served as a news reporter for radio, TV and the web, as well as anchoring, hosting, producing and editing. Alison has reported on stories about North County and was based in the KPBS' North County Bureau. Alison covered the metro beat during the critical period of the San Diego City pension crisis, and the education beat while Alan Bersin was the controversial Superintendent of San Diego City School District. She covered health when the industry was converting to managed care and told welfare reform stories in the late 1990s when Clinton was “ending welfare as we know it.” She has covered land use issues extensively, looking at the challenges of meeting a growing population while preserving community character, and developing a better transportation system to meet environmental concerns. She has done many stories on the military in San Diego, and the series she edited on the challenges veterans face returning from active duty to civilian life won “Best of Show” from the San Diego Society of Professional Journalists. She occasionally hosts the KPBS Roundtable and KPBS Midday Edition. Alison has won awards from the San Diego Press Club, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Associated Press TV and Radio Association, and the California Golden Mike Awards. Alison was born in Tanzania, brought up in Scotland, and earned her degree in psychology and sociology from Durham University in England. Her postgraduate diploma is in student counseling. She worked in England, Nigeria, Switzerland, Belgium, India, and Japan before moving to the United States in 1981. She now lives in Oceanside and enjoys how her community is growing and changing.