Chamber-Endorsed Candidate, Rick Robinson Elected to Oceanside’s District 2 Council Seat

In November, Chamber-endorsed City Council candidate, Rick Robinson won the race for the City’s District 2 Council seat. In addition to his endorsement from the Chamber, Robinson was supported by the Oceanside Police Officers’ Association, the Oceanside Firefighters Association, and numerous civic and elected leaders.

Robinson, who served as Oceanside’s Fire Chief since 2016 officially retired at the end of July. With a desire to continue actively serving the residents of Oceanside, he decided to make a run at the Council seat in District 2, where he and his wife have lived for many years.

“We are excited for Rick and look forward to the opportunity to work with him in his new role as an Oceanside Councilmember”, noted Chamber CEO, Scott Ashton. “It is a priority to the Chamber to ensure that we maintain a pro-business City Council. Rick is a demonstrated leader and we are confident that he will continue the efforts of the current City Council to move Oceanside in a positive direction.”

In its endorsement of Robinson, the Chamber’s Advance Oceanside PAC noted several strengths that they saw in him during the interview process. The group noted that Robinson has a strong grasp on where Oceanside’s future opportunities lie in the coming years, including continuing the substantial progress we have made with the development of hotels and the influx of new businesses. He also demonstrated an understanding of the importance of marketing Oceanside as a destination in order to drive sales tax and transient occupancy tax (TOT) to keep our City in a strong fiscal position. TOT is the 3rd largest revenue source for Oceanside, generating over $7M annually for the City’s general fund.

The Chamber began endorsing candidates in 2020 when it supported Ryan Keim for the District 3 seat and Peter Weiss for District 4. With Robinson’s District 2 victory all three Chamber-endorsed candidates have now prevailed in their respective races.