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Rancho Bernardo resident challenges Kersey for City Council

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There will likely be a contested District 5 City Council race next June, according to preliminary filings with the City Clerk’s office.

Rancho Bernardo resident Keith Mikas is listed as a potential candidate to run against City Councilman Mark Kersey, a Black Mountain Ranch resident seeking reelection. So far Kersey and Mikas are the only ones who have filed candidate intention statements for the District 5 non-partisan race.

The nominating period opens next February and the primary will be held on June 7, 2016. District 5 includes Rancho Bernardo, Carmel Mountain Ranch, Sabre Springs, Rancho Penasquitos, San Pasqual, Black Mountain Ranch and Scripps Ranch.

Kersey, who was scheduled to hold a re-election campaign kickoff fundraiser on Wednesday at Bernardo Heights Country Club, said he would like a second four-year term because “we still got a lot of work to do in City Hall. My focus has been on infrastructure and much (remains) to be solved. It can be with another four years to do it.”

The 39-year-old Kersey, a Republican, said he hopes that “after three years in office the people would look at my track record on issues.” He mentioned his primary concern, fixing the city’s infrastructure, since roads and broken water mains are his constituents’ priorities.

Kersey also mentioned concerns over the city’s business climate as a small-business owner. “Expanding business is a priority for me,” he said.

His campaign website has yet to launch.

Mikas, a 45-year-old Democrat, said he grew up in Rancho Bernardo, first moving to the community in 1977. He returned with his family in 2007 and his children have attended Westwood Elementary, the same school he attended as a child.

He works at the Trader Joe’s in Scripps Ranch and prior to attending graduate school was an assistant manager for the grocery chain.

As for why he is making his first run for political office, Mikas said he believed someone with a long history in the community was needed on the City Council, noting Kersey and his predecessor, Carl DeMaio, did not live in the district long before being elected.

Regarding issues he would focus on, Mikas mentioned working to alleviate the negative effects of Palomar College and Waterbridge condos on Westwood. He lives on Matinal Road, just a couple homes away from the future college campus. “They are taking away our quality of life,” he said.

Mikas also said the city needs to implement a better way to communicate with San Diegans, citing a 3-1-1 system as a positive solution.

“Rancho Bernardo is under served in the fire department category,” he said. “It has one fire station, but the largest geographic area.”

His campaign website is keith2016.com.

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