Escondido mayor hopefuls share views on homelessness

By Gary Warth

Sept. 1, 2026

Escondido Mayor Dane White and challenge Elis Velazquez gave sometimes conflicting views of how to solve homelessness but also found common ground at a candidates forum held at the Ritz Theater on Sept. 1

White, an Escondido native, defeated incumbent Paul McNamara in 2022 to become the city’s youngest mayor at 33. He has spoken openly of his personal background of homelessness and of overcoming addiction, and he has largely focused on public safety and a treatment-first approach to homelessness during his tenure as mayor.

Velazquez, also an Escondido native, has said he is disappointed in the direction the City Council has taken on homelessness under White and argues that a more collaborative approach is needed. A former aide to Mayor McNamara, Velazquez is the information director at Oceanside homeless service provider Brother Benno’s, where McNamara serves as executive director.

Sponsored by the San Diego Rescue Mission, the 90-minute discussion featured both candidates answering questions from SDRM President and CEO Donnie Dee and questions submitted by audience members.

Asked what is working and what is not working in Escondido, Velazquez said the city was making progress on homelessness when McNamara was mayor, but the homeless population in the city has since grown more than 13%. Velazquez said the city also is missing out on state funding because of its approach.

White said the city had no formal approach to homelessness under McNamara, and while the overall homeless population has grown, the city has seen the county’s largest reduction in unsheltered homelessness over the past three years.

“We did that not just by policy, but through strategic partnerships, by repurposing what were vacant shelter beds and turning them into beds for folks to go through the detox process,” he said. “And then what you’re gonna start to see very soon are some pretty significant investments in other shelter and sobering services long-term.”

Asked how their background had shaped their perspective on the issue, White responded that his own experience with homelessness had influence his support for the city’s approach of “policy, recovery and shelter,” and he said the state’s housing-first “one-size-fits-all” approach has had dismal results in Escondido.

Velazquez said he agreed with White that a one-size-fits-all approach does not work, but then said that was exactly the approach the city was taking with its focus on public safety, which he said does not help all people experiencing homelessness. Furthering his point, Velazquez noted that 35% of North County’s homeless youth are in Escondido..

“How are you supposed to help youth homelessness through a public safety lens?” he said.

Velazquez later said he was not 100% housing-first nor 100% treatment-first, but he was critical of Escondido for having what he called an extremely narrow approach. Dee noted that the city’s webpage stated Escondido had allocated $165,000 to service providers in 2024, which he said equated to about $400 for each homeless person. He asked if that amount was sufficient.

Velazquez said the amount was laughable, and added that the city should invest more in homelessness prevention, which would be more cost-effective.

White said $400 is not enough, but also said the city had used a $4 million grant to open an affordable-housing complex, and he said more investments would be coming in the future.

The two candidates found common ground when asked their thoughts about mandated treatment for homeless people.

“I think it’s definitely worth looking into,” Velazquez said, giving an example of a law enforcement officer responding to someone with a mental health crisis but is unable to intervene unless a crime has been committed.

White said that while he does not believe the criminal justice system is the place for an addict to get recovery, he also acknowledged that mandated treatment worked for him.

“But instead of mandating treatment in this state, we’ve settled on handing out needles and crack pipes until an affordable housing unit opens up,” he said. “And I think you are seeing the results of that.”

White and Velazquez also found common ground when discussing the city’s 2024 ban on encampments in public places.

“The longer you let these things sit, the higher likelihood for things like spreading hepatitis, or violence or sexual violence or all of those things that are allowed to perpetuate there,” White said. “And simply asking somebody to move along shouldn’t be controversial. The parks are for all of us, and the sidewalks are to walk on.”

Velazquez said the encampment ban is a good ordinance, but also said enforcement of it was falling short.

He also said simply running someone off of a public park does not solve that person’s homelessness.

“I think that the city needs to have a much more comprehensive wrap-around approach getting people  out of homelessness, not just out of our parks,” he said.

The San Diego Rescue Mission has scheduled another candidate discussion on homelessness for noon to 1:30 p.m. Sept. 30 at North Coast Church, 2405 North Santa Fe Ave, Vista. County Supervisor candidates Rebecca Jones and Kyle Krahel are scheduled to participate, and more information can be found at https://form.jotform.com/230925241248049.