Mayor Gaasterland Flouts Direction to Abstain in a Key Environmental Selection Vote

On March 10, Mayor Terry Gaasterland flouted direction she had been given at the Feb. 18 Council meeting to abstain from voting to appoint a candidate for the District 3 seat to the Air Pollution Control District board (APCD) – a County environmental entity responsible for air quality planning and strategy. Previous votes by the appointing entity, the City Selection Committee (CSC), had resulted in tie votes between two candidates, Coronado Mayor John Duncan and Carlsbad Councilmember Teresa Acosta, with Gaasterland having voted for Duncan.

A Feb. 26 email from the City to the County, with a copy to Gaasterland, explained the abstention direction as follows: “On February 18, the Del Mar City Council discussed providing direction to Mayor Gaasterland on which APCD District 3 candidate to vote for; however, it ended up in a tie vote. As such, there was no Council majority direction or voting authority provided to Mayor Gaasterland. Therefore, she will explain this on March 10 as the basis for her abstention from voting on this appointment.”

At the February 18 Council meeting, the City Attorney provided the direction to abstain from the March 10 vote, noting that in this instance, Gaasterland’s vote was on behalf of the City Council, and not on her own behalf, since Del Mar does not have an elected mayor. Since the Council split 2-2 on how this vote should be cast, there was no majority for a particular candidate, and thus, she should abstain from the vote.

Gaasterland’s decision to flout the direction to abstain resulted in the selection of Duncan for the APCD board seat, though 14 local environmentalists spoke at the Feb. 18 Council meeting urging support of Acosta based on her environmental credentials, with Deputy Mayor Martinez and Councilmember Spelich also supporting Acosta.

On March 11, the City sent a strong message to the County about Gaasterland’s vote, stating in part: “The Mayor voting yesterday was inconsistent with legal guidance provided by the City Attorney and City Council direction at a public meeting that occurred on February 18, 2025. Therefore, the vote rendered by Del Mar’s representative at the meeting yesterday is invalid and cannot be counted. The County was clearly notified of this issue in advance of the meeting as…acknowledged by the Clerk of the Board. Del Mar City Attorney, Leslie Devaney, will be reaching out to County Counsel to notify the of the invalid vote as well.”

The Sandpiper will continue to report on this issue as new developments occur.