To the Editor,
After two months of public outcry, the controversy regarding Steven Houbeck’s appointment to the Urban Forestry Advisory Commission (UFAC) finally reached the April 22 Encinitas City Council meeting. Mayor Bruce Ehlers and council members Luke Shaffer, Jim O’Hara, and Marco San Antonio failed a basic test of character.
They demonstrated that they either do not understand what racism looks like or that they simply do not care enough to address it.
Their commentary implied that racism only exists if a slur is used. This is false. Racism is frequently nuanced, manifesting in coded language, stereotypes, and dehumanizing labels that treat marginalized communities as problems to be managed rather than people to be respected.
Instead of listening to residents who shared traumatic experiences of local racism, the council majority clung to a hollow video “apology” from Mr. Houbeck. They insulted these citizens, labeling them “divisive” and “disgusting,” and suggested that those objecting to racism feel sorry for themselves or believe they are “owed something.” Mayor Ehlers went as far as to have community members removed from chambers by sheriff’s deputies for silently holding signs. This is the epitome of weak, rudderless leadership.
The facts regarding Mr. Houbeck’s pattern of racially insensitive comments are clear.
Regarding his comment about “blacks dressed in tribal gear banging on drums,” this language relies on colonial stereotypes that reduce Black people to something “primitive.”
Calling immigrants “illegals” and suggesting they exist only to pick “weed” is dehumanizing. It strips people of their humanity, reducing them entirely to labor.
Finally, Houbeck’s assertion that “Blacks seem overrepresented” in a city where they make up approximately 0.4% of the 61,000 residents is telling. This treats Black visibility as something suspicious. It suggests that even the most modest representation is viewed as “too much.”
The council majority missed — or ignored —the underlying bias and resentment fueling these statements. The problem is not merely the words; it is the ideology behind them.
The April 22 meeting was disgraceful. The issue is not just that such rhetoric exists, but that our elected leaders chose to excuse it, minimize it, and frame those with the courage to call it out as the problem. That is shameful.
Our city deserves leadership that recognizes the dignity of all residents and refuses to provide a platform for those who deny it.
Marlon Taylor
Encinitas
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