ESCONDIDO SWEARS IN 2 NEWCOMERS AND 1 INCUMBENT
A church pastor and a businesswoman took the oath of office on Wednesday as the two newest members of the Escondido City Council, along with incumbent Councilman Mike Morasco, who easily won his re-election bid in November.
The addition of Joe Garcia and Tina Inscoe to the council marks the first time the panel has had a full complement of five members since the death of Councilman John Masson in March.
Also sworn in Wednesday was city Treasurer Doug Shultz, the incumbent, who ran unopposed for a new four-year term.
Councilwoman Olga Diaz joined her colleagues in voting to certify the results of the Nov. 3 election before stepping down from her seat. Diaz, who had served on the council for the past 12 years, opted not to run for another term.
Before the council voted unanimously to certify the election results, Mayor Paul McNamara said, “This is a peaceful transition of power, which I think everyone would agree makes this country really great, because we’re not fighting in the streets to see who’s going to sit up on the dais.”
The election of Garcia and Inscoe, as well as Morasco’s re-election, gives the council a Republican majority for the first time since 2018, when Democrats McNamara and
Councilwoman Consuelo Martinez were elected, providing a Democratic majority along with Diaz.
One of the first orders of business for the new council will be the hiring of a new city manager to replace Jeff Epp, who officially retired over the summer but remains on the job temporarily until his successor is chosen.
The new council also will soon have to grapple with a serious budget gap. Epp has said the city faces a shortfall of $8 million for the fiscal year that begins in June, and a financial analysis showed that the city will be short $176 million over the next 18 years.
The shift in the council majority could also affect other policy decisions going forward. One potential issue is the proposed formation of a citizens oversight committee for the Police Department, which Diaz and Martinez voiced support for at a council meeting in October.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Wednesday’s swearing-in ceremony was conducted over Zoom, with City Clerk Zack Beck administering the oath of office to the three council members and the city treasurer, who were at remote locations.
Inscoe, a small-business owner, serves as a consultant to the California Center for the Arts, where she previously worked as an employee from 1992 to 2011, according to her campaign website.
After taking the oath of office Wednesday, she said, “It is an honor to be chosen by the voters of District 2, and I’m grateful for their confidence in me. I’m encouraged for what we can accomplish to make our city even better for all. I look forward to the road ahead with great excitement.”
Garcia is employed as a pastor by the Southeastern California Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, and also has served as a police chaplain and Escondido planning commissioner.
“Today, I call on us to dream together, to see a beautiful, prosperous and united Escondido that will face its challenges and work together to overcome them,” Garcia said after he was sworn in.
Morasco, who has served on the council since 2010, owns and operates a physical therapy practice. At Wednesday’s ceremony, he said he is looking forward to 2021 and hopes it will be a phenomenal year for the city.
“My prayer is we will be brave and courageous, and we will be the ones who show our neighbors what needs to be done for a community such as Escondido to be again on the cutting edge of normalcy, in particular for our children in schools, our families in their neighborhoods and their homes, and our businesses throughout the community,” Morasco said.
The first regular meeting of the new council will be at 6 p.m. Wednesday.