Ellis Says Public Deserves More than Delays and Excuses from Elected Leaders
Businessman Ray Ellis, who finished in first place in the June Election a head of incumbent politician Sherri Lightner, has reiterated his call for his opponent to join him in participating in a series of public debates.
“Ms. Lightner has consistently declined requests by journalists and the media, civic associations, and student groups for a public discussion on the issues. Taxpayers deserve more respect,” said Ellis. “I offered Ms. Lightner an opportunity to debate where she would pick the time, the location, the moderator, and the questions, yet she still refused. This sort of blatant disregard for the public is exactly why voters in District 1 are so frustrated with our current Councilmember.”
Lightner refused to engage in any debates before the Primary, and only appeared in public with Ellis twice, once for a forum in La Jolla and once for a KPBS radio interview. Ellis finished 4 points a head of Lightner in the June Primary.
The Student Organized Voter Access Committee, a non-partisan student-led group at UCSD whose mission is to register voters and increase youth involvement in civic issues, was one group that saw Lightner’s dodge tactics firsthand. “After much discussion with the Lightner campaign, they have rejected the debate idea but have agreed to do a meet and greet format as an alternative,” said Tyler Sheets, of SOVAC, in an April e-mail.
Nearly a month later, with no event scheduled, Sheets added “at this point, it looks like the Lightner campaign is stalling on their confirmation. Since the deadline to register is quickly approaching, we are interpreting their delay as an unwillingness to attend an event we would host. While we were looking forward to increasing our student population’s awareness of the city council election, it appears we will not be able to host an event with just your campaign due to our commitment to non-partisanship.”
Ray Ellis is running for San Diego City Council in District 1 so that he can restore the trust and confidence of taxpayers in their City Council. Ellis is a philanthropist, businessman, husband and father of three. He and his wife, Gina, live in Carmel Valley with their 10-year-old son, Jake. He also has a 27-year-old son, Matt, and a 22-year-old daughter, Jessica. Ray received his MBA from Pepperdine University. To learn more about Ray and his campaign for City Council please visit www.RayEllisForCouncil.com.