In Brief

On March 10, Mayor Terry Gaasterland flouted legal direction given to her at the Feb. 18 Council meeting to abstain from voting to appoint a candidate to the Air Pollution Control District board. City Attorney Leslie Duvaney’s direction to abstain was based on a 2-2 split by the Council on how this vote should be cast, resulting in no majority support for any candidate.

Gaasterland’s vote for Coronado Mayor John Duncan despite the legal direction to abstain resulted in his selection for the APCD board seat, though 14 local environmentalists and residents spoke at the Feb. 18 Council meeting urging support for Carlsbad Councilmember Teresa Acosta based on her environmental credentials, with Deputy Mayor Martinez and Councilmember Spelich also supporting Acosta. On March 11, the City notified the County that “the vote rendered by [Gaasterland] is invalid and cannot be counted.” The Sandpiper’s full News Update on this matter is here: bit.ly/mayor-flouts.