Editor’s note: The 2024 candidates for two open Coronado City Council seats are Andrew Gade, Mark Fleming, Christine Mott, Amy Steward, Mark Warner and Laura Wilkinson Sinton. A third council member may be selected in the process depending on the mayoral result. Three current council members — John Duncan, Mike Donovan and Casey Tanaka — are running for mayor.
The Coronado News reached out to Mott and all candidates with questions to learn more about their priorities and philosophy. Responses have been edited for brevity and clarity, including additional information from a follow-up conversation.
Christine Mott, 42, is an attorney, wife, mother and community activist who has lived in Coronado for nearly five years.
Mott was among the community leaders who sued the city to stop the removal of pine trees adjacent to the Lawn Bowling Green, which, according to city officials, contributed to fungus growing on the lawn’s surface.
Mott said the controversy got her more interested in local government and serving the interests of her community.
“I’m someone who is not afraid to do the right thing, even when it’s hard,” she said.
Mott is a former chairwoman of the Animal Law Committee of the New York City Bar Association with over 15 years of experience leading legal and policy efforts to improve animal welfare. She also worked alongside industries seeking to remove animals from the supply chain.
Mott is a member of Emerald Keepers, the Coronado Historical Association, Coronado Soroptimists, the parent organization at Christ Church Day School, a founding member of Save the Trees Coronado and the chair of the Friends and Flowers programming of the Coronado Flower Association.
She is also keen on representing young families as she feels the current City Council doesn’t fully reflect the community of Coronado. She has two daughters, ages 3 and 6, and wants “to ensure that the decisions being made are mindful of the impact on our children and future generations of this community.”
“We need fresh leadership with a forward-thinking mentality to achieve that,” Mott said.
Q: Why did you choose to run for a seat on City Council?
Mott: “As an attorney and business advisor with a background in public policy my career has been built around public interest work including board service and other volunteer work for organizations helping people, animals and the environment. I am ready to use my experience to serve the community of Coronado.”
In response to a follow-up question, Mott said the City Council right now – with only one female and one member under age 40 – is not really representative of the people who live on the island.
“I think that needs to change. And maybe we can start just with, you know, women,” Mott said.
“Having the perspective of somebody raising a family here as well, that’s really important, too. So I bring all of that.”
Q: What is your stance on the Cays Park Master plan?
Mott: “The Cays Park is Coronado’s largest park and I support proceeding with needed repairs and some key enhancements to meet our community’s needs. However, I believe the overall price and scope needs a second look, especially at this time when we have various pressing community needs (including our infrastructure and schools). In particular some of the unnecessary additions which have caused public controversy should be reassessed so that we have better community consensus before plans for the project are finalized.”
Q: Can you spell out specific plans you’d advocate for fixing the stormwater infrastructure?
Mott: “As recent storms and flooding demonstrated, our city is not prepared for the new normal of environmental threats that will only worsen with climate change. We cannot simply accept that our homes and businesses will be flooded with water and sewage. The city must proactively maintain our existing infrastructure, accelerate completion of the Parker Pump Station and look holistically and implement innovative and forward-thinking solutions.
One specific solution that I want to see championed is the use of “green infrastructure” to increase our trees, shrubs and green space and implement new solutions like rain gardens and natural area restoration which integrate nature into engineered solutions for stormwater management. We need to be planting trees in Coronado – not chopping them down. Science shows that trees play a vital role in managing runoff, as their roots soak up water and help soil absorb water and their leaf canopies help reduce erosion from falling rain – among many other environmental benefits. We need to preserve and create additional greenspaces to integrate into densely paved areas.”
Q: What are tangible examples of efforts you’ve made to address the Tijuana sewage crisis. Or, what do you hope to do during your time in office?
Mott: “As a private citizen I have sent letters and joined community petitions and initiatives to advocate for a solution to the sewage crisis, which is an existential threat to our city, community and economy. As an elected official I will keep our city laser-focused on achieving a permanent solution to this crisis. I believe in an all-hands-on-deck approach, including joining forces with our local hotels, businesses and other commercial real estate and business stakeholders, and increased advocacy efforts with state and federal representatives as well as the Navy.”
Q: What is your stance on the affordable housing allocation?
Mott: “I want to see Coronado’s local heroes – our teachers, military families, law enforcement, firefighters and lifeguards – part of our residential community. At the same time – unlike other areas of the state of California – Coronado is a very finite piece of land, making state-mandated housing allocations extremely challenging. We need to find reasonable solutions that balance additional housing development with our community’s economic, environmental and community goals to harmonize with infrastructure capacity, traffic, public safety and environmental concerns. I believe that the city needs to take an active role with SANDAG to build a more collaborative relationship and advocate for our community interests so that housing allocations are reasonable and appropriate for Coronado and we retain as much local control as possible. We also need to work closely with the Navy to identify additional cooperative ways for military housing to satisfy a greater portion of Coronado’s allocation of housing units.”
Q: Do you favor an ordinance mandating greater E-bike regulations?
Mott: “Yes, I will advocate for local regulations for e-bikes (including specific training and licensing requirements, speed limits and other safety measures and insurance requirements). As heartbreaking accidents throughout the state and country have shown, common-sense regulations are critical. Let’s not wait until tragedy strikes here. I also support additional pedestrian safety measures (and ensuring better enforcement) to make the community safer including more crosswalks and reduced speed limits.”
Q: What is a topic/issue in Coronado that was not referenced in these questions that you believe you can bring expertise to?
Mott: “One of the things that makes Coronado special is that it is home to a wonderful multi-generation community. Right now our city needs to do more to support our schools, youth and families. With our schools facing a funding crisis and teacher cuts we need to do more for our schools especially in this critical time so that we have quality education and resources for our students.
Additional environmental protections are critical to preserving the beauty and allure of our special coastal community and we need to act now to prevent future environmental harms. I support transitioning the city to solar energy, creating a city sustainability program, and initiatives to address plastic waste, pesticides and other pollutants, as well as increased protections for trees and wildlife.”
In response to a follow-up question, Mott said the city has extra money to spend on schools, but has chosen not to.
“The City Council just voted in a very split vote to spend $10 million to expand the Winn Room (at Coronado Public Library). Is that a good choice when our schools are floundering?”
Mott said the city’s grant program gave the least amount of funding to organizations involving children, schools or families.
“Not to say those things aren’t important, but the historical society and other organizations are all getting huge chunks of cash,” Mott said. “Way at the bottom is, like, the school’s foundations, boards, things like that.”
“I’m right there in the mix with young families. And I see, you know, what’s happening with our schools and lack of funding. So, I think that it’s just important to have somebody who is living that life in that demographic represented on City Council to really advocate for those issues,” Mott said.
Q: Local cities and governmental entities have declared local emergencies for the ongoing Tijuana sewage crisis. Will you push for Coronado to do the same?
Mott: “Yes. Coronado needs to tackle the sewage crisis head on by declaring a state of emergency. We cannot wait any longer as our economy, public health, property values and quality of life continue to decline due to the sewage crisis. How can we ask state and federal authorities to give us emergency funding and support when we ourselves have not formally acknowledged the problem on a local level? Let’s rip off the Band-Aid and roll up our sleeves to find a permanent resolution to this crisis.”
