In a two-seat open election, Shawn Townsend is running for La Mesa City Council against Lauren Cazares, Genevieve Suzuki, and former council member Kristine Alessio. Townsend, I, 49, has been a personal trainer for many years and works in the fitness industry. Originally from North Carolina, Townsend moved to California in 2001.
“I decided to run for City Council in 2022. At the same time, I decided to run the Triple Crown, a series of half-marathons over an eight-month span. With those two goals in mind, I integrated it. I used an app Map My Run and used it to track every street in La Mesa and used this as my training ground. I literally ran down every street in La Mesa. That gave me an insight into the roads, the neighborhoods, infrastructure, and community. I wanted to see upfront, and I think that is one advantage I have above my other candidates,” he said.
Townsend said in his platform, he believes the city of La Mesa, in conjunction with other cities, needs to get on the same page with issues such as homelessness.
“I think that we need to get together, and I am talking about the 18 cities within San Diego County, and what we agree with, we implement, and what we do not agree with, we get together and talk it out. Today’s politics are like leaves on a lawn and everybody has a leaf blower blowing in different directions. It seems like it is working, but it is only making things worse because nothing is getting done concretely. I am from North Carolina, and I am not used to homeless people. Even though I have been here for over 20 years, I am still not used to people sleeping on the street. That makes no sense to me, and it is very disturbing every time I see it. I know every resident has the same problems with the homeless, but not every homeless person has the same problems and reasons of why they are homeless. I think the federal government must use the Peace Corps to help get people off the streets instead of using city money. Cities with the most homeless should be put in front,” he said.
Townsend said he wants to get on council with the mayor to work on things to make a better La Mesa.
“It is not that I am against the new sign in the village that the city wants to put over to let people know that they are in the city of La Mesa, but La Mesa does not have a problem without a sign so I believe we should spend the money on the problems that we have. Not on the problems we do not have,” he said.
Townsend said in his running around town, he noticed when he got around Mt. Helix, which is partly unincorporated, that the road structure was better from the city side, and the county side was in disrepair.
“If you have a street that is in the city, and part of it is in the county, that part of the road needs to be repaired at the same time as the city does repairs. That whole street needs to be repaved and corrected. It should not be that big of a deal. It is just who is going to pay for it,” he said.
Townsend said when it comes to faster permitting for businesses, he assumes the city is doing the best with what it has.
“That is my rational thought of government. I think there are two problems. One is the lack of employees. Employees are 25% lower than they should be, and we need to hire more. Two, they outsource it. You must download an app. You must be in line. You cannot just go down to City Hall. In most cities you should be able to do that. It should be a fairly easy process. With the lack of employees, it increases the time. I talked with a business owner who was trying to get things done on his home, and he said the process was ridiculous. Then I did some research, and the low employee rate and outsourcing are making it take too long to get permits,” he said.
Townsend said affordable housing can be complicated, but he believes working with the other cities in the county, allocating building structures should be based on the size of the city.
“La Mesa is nine square miles, and El Cajon is probably 16, but we are not going to dump a bunch of apartment complexes in La Mesa. We are going to allocate through the 18 cities in the county based on size. It is fair that we tackle all that together and make sure that there are three parking spaces per unit. That is how many are needed. It is actually more,” he said, adding that the cost of living in California is so high, that many people have to share homes with either roommates or families.
Townsend said with public safety, it looks like the La Mesa Police Department and fire departments are doing well.
“The police department is doing a very good job, and they are keeping the community safe,” he said.
Townsend said he can bring his skillset and mindset to City Hall.
“I am a personal trainer at heart. One of my jobs that I have been doing for the past 20 years is correcting dysfunctionality. That is something that I specialize in. If find something dysfunctional and I make it functional. I think City Hall can use that skillset and mindset. I think that would be really helpful for them,” he said.
