What does the Encinitas mayor do?
The Encinitas Mayor is one of a five-member City Council. This is different from the city of San Diego, where the mayor is not part of the Council and doesn’t vote on council matters. According to the city of Encinitas website, the mayor presides over council meetings, acts as a representative of the city in agreements with other government agencies, but has voting power equal to the other members of the council. The mayor serves a two-year term and the position does not have term limits in Encinitas.
California’s 2026 midterm elections will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. Get general information about the election, news coverage, an interactive ballot guide and results on election day.
How much does the Encinitas mayor get paid?
The mayor makes $26,260 annually plus health benefits and retirement contributions, according to the California State Controller's Office.
Meet the candidates
Courtesy of Bruce Ehler
| Bruce Ehlers (incumbent) |
- Party: Independent (Source: SDUT)
- Professional background: Retired, founder of smart home security company 2GIG.
- Top three priorities:
- Mayor Ehlers said his top priorities are defending against "overdevelopment," putting infrastructure first, and enhancing public safety. His campaign website said he will “defend Encinitas against excessive development while complying with state affordable housing mandates.” It also said he will “Prioritize overdue fixes to pavement, storm drains and Leucadia (Boulevard) flooding over vanity and beautification projects.” And he said he wants to reduce crime, reduce homelessness and improve emergency response times.
- Mayor Ehlers said his top priorities are defending against "overdevelopment," putting infrastructure first, and enhancing public safety. His campaign website said he will “defend Encinitas against excessive development while complying with state affordable housing mandates.” It also said he will “Prioritize overdue fixes to pavement, storm drains and Leucadia (Boulevard) flooding over vanity and beautification projects.” And he said he wants to reduce crime, reduce homelessness and improve emergency response times.
- As of Oct.1, Mayor Ehlers does not have any endorsements listed on his campaign website. He did not respond to our request for comment.
Courtesy of Rimga Viskanta
| Rimga Viskanta |
- Party: Registered Democrat (Source: SDUT)
- Professional background: San Dieguito Union High School District Board Trustee
- Top three priorities:
- Viskanta’s campaign website said her top priorities are traffic safety, housing growth “that makes sense,” and regional homelessness solutions. She said as mayor, she will “deliver safer streets designed to protect children who want to navigate our community independently as well as neighbors who are unable to drive.”
She also said she will “work with regional and state leaders to rethink and reform density bonus laws.”
“We cannot count on large-scale private developers to solve the affordable housing crisis,” she said.
She said to tackle homelessness, she will “prioritize regional coordination, faster intervention and clear pathways” while enforcing the law in public spaces.
- In an interview with KPBS, Viskanta also said one of her main priorities is to restore some civility to City Council meetings and city affairs. She said that there has been a “deterioration in the discourse” happening at City Hall, and she wants to bring back a “respectful, community-based tone” to city business.
- Viskanta’s campaign website said her top priorities are traffic safety, housing growth “that makes sense,” and regional homelessness solutions. She said as mayor, she will “deliver safer streets designed to protect children who want to navigate our community independently as well as neighbors who are unable to drive.”
- Rep. Mike Levin (D), CA-49
- Tasha Boerner (D), CA Assembly District 77
- San Diego County Democratic Party
The issues
Encinitas has been embroiled in a debate over housing, growth, and how the state of California creates requirements for cities to make room for more housing. Many residents in Encinitas are unhappy with the new apartment and condo buildings that the City has been forced to approve as a result of state laws. Here’s what each candidate has said about balancing state mandates and local resistance to new homes.
- Mayor Ehlers has consistently positioned himself against denser housing development and state housing mandates. He authored Proposition A in 2013 guaranteeing Encinitas residents the right to vote on zoning density and height increases, and served as chairman of the city’s planning commission until he was removed by the City Council for supporting a court case against the city over its housing plans. His campaign website says his number one priority is to “defend against overdevelopment” and “restore local control over zoning.”
- Challenger Rimga Viskanta said she “disagree(s) with state policy on housing,” and does not believe state policies are “resulting in greater affordability for our communities in San Diego County, and especially not in Encinitas.” But she also said her approach to housing would be different than the current mayor (Ehlers).
“If your only slogan is fight the state, and that means lawsuits against private developers that never win or hope for a ballot measure that might be on the ballot one day … What are we doing in the meantime?” Viskanta said. She said she wants to work to preserve “existing affordable housing stock,” including the city’s 11 mobile home parks, by limiting rent increases; and she says she wants to engage more with nonprofit affordable housing developers to try and build 100% affordable housing — even while understanding the difficulties in financing affordable construction. She said this would show the state that Encinitas is trying to address affordable construction, not just market rate. But she disagrees with the State Density Bonus Law’s low affordability threshold, and thinks the local Inclusionary Zoning ordinance that requires 20% of units to be affordable is a better baseline that doesn’t require allowing denser, taller buildings.
Multiple pedestrian and bicyclist deaths in Encinitas in recent years have sparked a debate over traffic safety that has led the City Council to look for solutions. But some of those solutions have been controversial — like the protected bike lane in front of San Dieguito Academy high school. At the same time, public comment at city meetings continues to press the issue and ask for more improvements, including the consideration of red light cameras and further infrastructure improvements. Here’s what each candidate has said about traffic safety in Encinitas.
- Mayor Ehlers says on his campaign website that he wants to “improve traffic safety for drivers, pedestrians, and bikers” by enforcing speed limits, red lights, and stop signs. He also says he wants to keep traffic flowing on main roads and out of neighborhoods. But Mayor Ehlers has also led the charge to remove a protected bike lane in front of San Dieguito Academy high school, citing emergency vehicle response times, difficulties with parking, and what he says are dangerous design flaws. Ehlers has said multiple times that protected or physically separated bike lanes are not necessarily safer than painted lanes and that cars and bike riders should be able to share space where bike lanes conflict with vehicle turns. And he says on his campaign website that he will prioritize fixes to pavement and other infrastructure over “vanity and beautification projects.”
- Challenger Rimga Viskanta says she will “deliver safer streets designed to protect children who want to navigate our community independently as well as neighbors who are unable to drive.” She says the city shouldn’t be a “cut-through corridor” for drivers to reach the freeway, and that the city should plan for “tomorrow’s mobility choices” like e-bikes and driverless cars. She also says the city has reviewed traffic death and injury data to identify that a vast majority of serious collisions were happening on a small portion of the city’s roads, but that little has been done to address this situation. Viskanta said one of the roads identified was the location of a recent traffic death which killed a young girl. She says she will listen to the experts and focus improvements on these corridors, and that she supports the red light camera pilot program that has been discussed at the City Council. She also said that she supported making changes to the Santa Fe Drive bike lane configuration, changes that were supported by city staff, but that the council ultimately made the decision to remove the protected lane against those recommendations. But she also said she was opposed to the way State Senator Catherine Blakespear addressed the issue, when she included a provision in a state bill to prevent the city from making modifications (which was signed by Gov. Newsom).
Campaign finance
- As of Sept. 25, Mayor Ehlers has raised $37,306.78 (so far) in campaign contributions from individual donations of no more than $500. Encinitas’ local contribution limits are $250 for city council campaigns and $500 for mayoral campaigns. He also loaned himself $5,000.
- As of Sept. 24, Viskanta has raised $72,225.99 in campaign contributions, also from individual donations totaling no more than $500. Encinitas’ local contribution limits are $250 for city council campaigns and $500 for mayoral campaigns.
