Dave Roberts won’t be a County Supervisor in 2017. Underneath the smiling, affable exterior is an elitist’s heart, as Roberts is confident he knows how to run your life better than you do. I knew this when I watched him on the Solana Beach City Council and his voting record as Supervisor confirms it.
As Supervisor, Roberts voted against the First Amendment and Fifth Amendment, and actively campaigns against property rights. His tenure on the Solana Beach Council is marked by the same: punish people who want a bigger home than you have, restrict how business owners use their property, repeatedly hike taxes, and failure to reform the public employee pension plan.
If someone doesn’t like what you do with your property, Dave Roberts will pass a law against it. If the enforcement of that law costs government more money, Dave Roberts will propose a tax for it.
The challenge for Republicans is that Dave is so darned nice. I mean that, too. Roberts has been in perpetual campaign mode during his first term. He’s always smiling, willing to lend a hand with private sector projects, and first to show up to a new business ribbon cutting ceremony. A ready smile and a firm handshake does not a good elected official make. Voters really need to examine Roberts’ tax and regulate record and start asking him questions about it.
Challenging Roberts appears to be a problem. Yet, over half his staff and two of his closest advisers left his office. His former Chief of Staff accused Roberts of creating a hostile and highly politicized office environment. Roberts’ actions led to a back room settlement deal, cloaked from public oversight. This scandal puts the seemingly unbeatable Roberts’ County Supervisor seat into play.
San Diego Councilman Mark Kersey, Assembly Members Brian Maienschein and Marie Waldron, and former Assembly Member Martin Garrick are all good candidates for this seat. Challenging Dave Roberts will be difficult but, if the recent news stories are an indication of how Roberts handles challenges to his “Dave knows what’s best for you” policies, his career in elected politics is about to end.