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 Warner 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.
Mark Warner, 66, has been in Coronado for more than two decades.
He has worked as a broker, manager, asset manager, property owner, property manager, senior valuation specialist at Colliers International and the current president of Warner Valuation & Fiduciary Services, which focuses on appraisal of commercial, retail and office buildings.
He’s been the Coronado Yacht Club Commodore, on the board of directors for the Rotary Club, the Coronado Maritime Foundation, and the California Plaza Board. He’s a commissioner on the Coronado Historic Resource Commission and is on the Coronado Historical Association Building committee.
Warner says that he’s been involved with the city for years, interacting with Coronado’s zoning, planning and engineering departments, the city clerk, the mayor, council members, historic resource commissioners and the city manager.
“My experience of working with city staff has allowed me to learn how they function,” Warner said. “I believe this insight and familiarity with staff and their roles give me an insight that few of my fellow candidates have. My understanding translates to being an effective leader in our community.”
Q: Why did you choose to run for a seat in City Council?
Warner: I have lived in Coronado for 25-plus years. I have been an active participant in Coronado on numerous stages and I have the experience necessary to be a good civic leader. The city is currently involved in several high-profile situations: the Cays Park Master Plan, the Tijuana sewage issue, the concern over the flooding that has been occurring due to heavy rainfall, a mandate from the state to increase housing density, traffic and parking issues, environmental concerns with single-use plastics and e-bikes. While these are all important issues, it will be critical that we prioritize these issues and move toward solutions in pragmatic and practical ways that are cost effective.
I see the City of Coronado as being, for the most part, well run. That said, I have never found any organization that could not be improved. There is always room for improvement, and I am eager to dive in and find out where those improvements can be made.
Q: What is your stance on the Cays Park Master Plan?
Warner: This is a venue used by many people for an assortment of activities. The park needs maintenance, some of it significant. A great deal of time, effort and attention has been spent on this project and it needs to be seen through to its logical conclusion.
I view several of the features as hard to support. For instance, why do we need to support kite flying? Do the pickle ball courts need grandstands? So, to be clear, I am not in favor of the current plan for the Cays Park, and I will not vote to spend $31.5 million dollars on this project.
Q: Can you spell out specific plans you’d advocate for fixing the stormwater infrastructure?
Warner: The question infers the stormwater system is broken. It is not broken. The questions that we need to ask are: 1) Does the system need to be expanded; and 2) Is the system being properly maintained. The reality is we do not control the weather, and we are located on what is essentially flat land surrounded by water, all of which is affected by tides. When it rains the water must go somewhere and that is what the stormwater system is supposed to do.
This is an engineering issue. I am not an engineer and to expect a non-engineer to answer this question would stretch my credibility. If elected, I will be sitting down with the city Engineering Department to hear their thoughts and if there is a sensible long-term solution available, I will explore it to a conclusion.
Q: What are tangible examples of efforts you’ve made with the Tijuana sewage crisis. Or, what do you hope to do in your time in office?
Warner: One issue that does not seem to be getting attention is the proposed water recycling plant. The gist of this project is to recycle wastewater from Coronado and pipe it throughout the city to water common areas and the golf course. While I support saving water, I wonder what this project is going to cost and what, if any, return on investment we will see from this proposed project? This appears to be a very big and complex project. I have several questions and reservations. Currently there are more questions and concerns than answers or reasons for proceeding.
Q: What is your stance on the affordable housing allocation?
Warner: I believe the affordable housing allocation is sheer lunacy. To begin, let’s understand what constitutes “affordable housing.” The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) defines affordable housing as housing that costs a household no more than 30% of their gross income, including utilities.
According to the Census Bureau, the median household income in Coronado is $125,558. Therefore $37,667 is the amount a homeowner would have to go towards a mortgage. For this quick analysis I will assume that utilities run an average of $6,000 a year leaving $31,667 for a mortgage. Currently mortgage rates are around 6.5%. So, a buyer would qualify for a $496,616, 30-year loan. The current median price of a Coronado home is around $2,800,000. I may be mistaken, but I doubt there are a lot of people who have $2,300,000 in cash in their saving accounts. And if they do, I would be hard pressed to think they qualify as needing affordable housing. This is a good example of big government (the state) being completely oblivious of reality and that the idea that one-shoe-fits-all approach is sensible.
Q: Do you favor an ordinance with greater e-bike regulation?
Warner: I absolutely believe the city needs to do something to protect us as well as the e-bike riders. First, I favor the state considering e-bikes as motorized vehicles and applying the laws and regulations of motorcycles. This would entail licensing ages, mandatory education and training, mandatory passing of a driver’s test, mandatory insurance and mandatory wearing of helmets.
Secondly, I would like to see the Coronado Unified School District prohibit e-bikes from being parked on campus which would have the effect of limiting the number of riders. Educating parents to the real dangers to their children’s use of e-bikes should be initiated by the city and the school district in a public forum.
Q: What is a topic/issue that was not referenced in these questions that you believe you can bring expertise to?
Warner: Some people may posit that the city is not a business, but a political organization meant to provide health and human services. I would disagree, slightly. Coronado is a city that must be run like a business so that there are funds available for health and public services. How many candidates have operated businesses at a higher level? The answer: not many.
I have owned and operated several businesses for over 44 years. I have had as many as 175 employees that reported to me. I know how to work with people to establish priorities, delegate and hold people accountable to accomplish goals. I have a good understanding of law, accounting, contracts, insurance, construction costs and negotiating.
Q: City-wide ordinances have been implemented for things like single-use plastic ban. Where do you stand on this?
Warner: I do believe that Coronado should be heading in the direction of banning some single-use plastics. I feel it would be reasonable to start with replacing restaurant/deli forks, knives, straws and cups with recyclable materials. Other single-use plastics would be next to impossible to ban such as Gatorade bottles or other grocery store shelf items. My belief that this has not already occurred voluntarily is due to cost. I would like to find a way to work with our business community to find a win-win solution for Coronado.
Q: Local cities and governmental entities have declared local emergencies for ongoing Tijuana sewage crisis. Will you push for Coronado to do the same?
Warner: One of the effects of declaring a local emergency is to request state and federal assistance. This is a federal issue, and Washington is not going to provide funds for disaster relief when Coronado has not suffered proven damage. However, I would support declaring a local emergency with the understanding that we may not achieve our goal.
I see no downside to joining Imperial Beach on this issue. We all know it is an ecological disaster that affects the health of citizens and their business efforts. The value of real estate is declining. It is a lose-lose situation, and Coronado does not want to suffer the same fate as our neighbor. But Imperial Beach’s situation could happen to Coronado, and we need to ensure that it never does.
My future efforts will be to continue to support the ongoing effort, both publicly and privately. I also want to keep the pressure on Congress to appropriate the needed funds required to maintain the facilities now and into the next century.
