The Oceanside City Councilmember who rallied for the reopening of small businesses amid the coronavirus pandemic has announced his mayoral bid, it was announced Saturday.
Councilman Christopher Rodriguez said in his Fourth of July announcement that Oceanside "deserves a leader that can both unite us and fight for us" as he asked for the city's support in his mayoral bid.
Rodriguez, who represents Oceanside City Council's District 2, states he will refuse to take a salary as mayor until a few conditions are met:
- "Oceanside unemployment drops below 4%;
- Every homeless Veteran in Oceanside is off the street, in housing and on a pathway to rebuilding their life;
- The City of Oceanside is declared the safest and most business-friendly city in Southern California."
The councilmember made headlines in May as he called for non-essential businesses to reopen. He said the public health orders that kept such businesses closed for months were infringing on owners' constitutional rights.
At the time of Rodriguez's letter, Gov. Gavin Newsom had just eased restrictions to allow more businesses to reopen with modifications under Phase 2 of his reopening plan.
