Oceanside Councilmember Kori Jensen Responds To Recall Questions

OCEANSIDE, CA — It has been six months since Kori Jensen was appointed to the Oceanside City Council by a 3-1 vote for a term lasting until November 2022. Jensen was appointed to fill the District 1 council seat that was left open after Esther Sanchez was elected mayor of Oceanside. The only opposing vote to Jensen's appointment on the council was Mayor Sanchez.

It has been three months since Jensen was served a recall notice during an April City Council meeting. A group called Let Oceanside Vote organized the petition and is collecting signatures throughout the district.

In a statement to the Patch the group said, "Members of Let Oceanside Vote are grassroots volunteers concerned about issues affecting the residents of Oceanside. It is always better for people to select their own representative. What happened in this case—the vacancy in District 1—was a rush job without proper vetting. Thirty one candidates sent in a two-page form. Those who attended the meeting got a two-minute interview. Is that how to select a City Council representative? The process was flawed, ignoring several better-qualified candidates—so it is not surprising that the person who was selected by three of four councilmembers, Ms. Jensen, has a lot of issues, such as: swearing to a bankruptcy judge that her primary residence is her Carlsbad property, then claiming to reside at a non-hosted short-term vacation rental property in Oceanside; her delinquency in paying her property taxes; and failing to represent District 1 when she voted to consider closing the Brooks St. pool despite its importance to the community. Our City Council failed the people three times with the last three vacancies by not allowing us to vote in an election. We say to District 1 Voters—Let Oceanside Vote by signing the petition as soon as possible!"

The recall proponents have until September 10th to turn in a minimum of 4,484 signatures to get the issue onto a ballot, according to City Clerk Zeb Navarro. The group missed an earlier June deadline to get the recall election on the same ballot as the governor’s recall. If signatures are turned in after June, the city could set a special election in February or March of next year.

Kori Jensen responded to the Patch's request for an interview and we arranged a meeting at Jensen's favorite afternoon coffee spot, the Nautical Bean, at the Oceanside Harbor. Here is the transcript of our interview.

Councilmember Jensen, let's start with the big picture, Why are you best for District 1?

The reason I felt that I would do an excellent job on the council. One, I'm a realtor and I understand the housing crisis that we're in right now. I understand our need for affordable housing or our kids wont be able to purchase a home in Oceanside. It's almost impossible right now. We need more housing but if we're going to add all this housing, I want to make sure that the housing is affordable and that we can maximize the down payment assistance that's available, maximize the first time home buyer programs that are out there and just make sure that any new housing doesn't just go to high end housing.

Homelessness is my biggest concern as an alcohol drug counselor. The homeless crisis has been an ongoing issue for Oceanside my entire life. I have empathy and compassion for that population. I want to help get them off the street into whatever services they need, whether it's substance use treatment, mental health treatment, domestic violence counseling, whatever it is, because each individual that's on the street has a unique story and is going to need unique services. It's not one size fits all. I believe the city needs to try everything. We can't just put this in a box, say, here's our solution. This is what's going to work for everybody.

After those two issues I'm concerned about sand on the beach. I come from a long line of surfers. I have input from my entire family. When it comes to the sand on the beach, we can't screw up the surf no matter what. That's a big issue.

The recall proponents say that despite your concerns about issues, that you don't have the background and qualifications. Prior to being appointed, you didn't serve on any committees or boards, and you were not actively serving the Oceanside community. Why are you a better choice than many of the applicants that were experienced and had proven track records?

The fact that many are politicians using Oceanside to further their climbing. I don't care to go on beyond Oceanside. My goal is not to be some career politician, when we have a bunch in Oceanside just using it as a stepping stone. For me as a citizen, as an alcohol and drug counselor as a realtor, I can focus on the issues that our community is struggling with right now without being distracted by campaigning for a higher office.

Let's talk about some of the specific allegations against you. The property tax delinquency has been brought up repeatedly. They say it should disqualify you. What do you say to that?

Yes I have penalties that I'm making payments on and I worked out an agreement with the county assessor's office. We've gone through a pandemic and I had issues as a single woman. I have kids and now I have a grandchild. But, it's on me, I usually work 2 or 3 jobs and I pay my bills.

The City Council vote to keep or close the Brooks Street Pool was a hot button issue that had many Oceansider's protesting any attempt to close the popular District 1 community pool. You were accused of voting to close the pool and going against the will of the residents of district one. How do you respond?

It's just not true that I voted to close Brooks pool. I supported looking at possible closures during the off-season if we needed to make up any budget shortfall. I thought, well financially, if that's an option then, of course, we should look at that. I never said one thing about permanently closing the Brook Street pool and it's upsetting that anyone would think so. I would never vote to close the pool. I learned to swim at Marshall Street. I know how important those pools are to our community.

View the Oceanside City Council Meeting of February 24, 2021 to watch the comments and voting of council members regarding the Brooks Street Swim Center.

Are you committed to following the will of what district 1 voters want or do you think you'll be more likely to follow your own guidance or preferences?

Absolutely I support what District 1 wants. But, we have two vastly different areas in District one and I want to make sure both areas needs are met, Not just one or the other. They're both equally important.

How are you going to balance that?

That's a good question. I need to get with the different communities and make sure that I'm in touch what their different needs are and find common issues that we can work together on.

Isn't the recall going to be a distraction from what you're able to accomplish?

That's what their intentions are, but I'm actually at a point in my life that I can compartmentalize things. I don't need to focus on them. I can focus on what I'm here to do. No matter how much time I have, I'm going to get as much done as I can for my community. That's my goal. That's why I'm here.

As the recall controversy has grown some of the council members that appointed you have made comments somewhat backing off from their support. Do you feel like you are losing support from the other council members that appointed you?

Well, I understand that they're politicians and it's political. I get that but I'm not a politician, I'm a citizen that wants to serve the community, but I can look at it and say, okay, I'm not gonna take that personally, that's politics, right?

What is your plan to win back those council members' support?

I will try and meet with them individually and ask what I can do to make you more comfortable with me on the council? I'm going to just talk to them and say how can we work together? Okay.

As far as the recall, have you reached out to the leaders of the effort to discuss it?

Of course I have. I said I'll sit down with you guys anytime. I know Arleen Hammerschmidt personally, she was married to my uncle. I saw her one day and I asked what's going on? She said it's not personal, we just want to vote. I said then why don't you go after the city charter and we can change the appointment process. Targeting me isn't going to change the process of how Oceanside appoints council members.

Have you considered taking the lead in changing that process and supporting what your district one voters want?

Absolutely, And I would be happy to sit down with them and discuss this. If that truly is their mission and their goal, I would be more than happy to help them reach it.

Since you were not elected in the normal process and because of the pandemic you'd been unable to talk to a lot of district 1 people. Have you considered ways to reach out and get their feedback?

Yes. And now that things are starting to open up, I'd like to have some open forums. I'd like to go into the communities personally and just set up situations like the 'Coffee with a Cop' where I can notify the neighborhood. Hey, I'm going to be here and I want to hear your needs are and just go neighborhood to neighborhood and see if I can get a good consensus on what the needs are in all these different areas and then figure out a game plan.

What is the first thing you want to accomplish for Oceanside?

We're focusing on the shelter right now and I think that's a critical issue. We're also doing some emergency sand initiatives that are very important. I also would like to work with the realtors on the first-time Homebuyer programs and see if we can't set up some kind of workshops for the citizens of Oceanside that may not even know they qualify for a first-time Homebuyer program or down payment assistance. I'd like to get that education to the community.

Contact Councilmember Kori Jensen at: KJensen@oceansideca.org

Related Article:

Recall Of Appointed Oceanside Councilwoman Going Forward

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