Afternoon snack with Jim Desmond

Jim Desmond, current mayor of San Marcos, is running for County Supervisor to replace Bill Horn whose term has run out, as many of you already know.

What you may not know is that he is a very busy guy yet he readily meets with small groups of people who want to get to know him. That alone speaks volumes to me.

Only four of us showed up at the Z Cafe a few days ago after Jim had accepted an invitation from my wife, Penny, to meet with us and a few of our friends.

He was personable, genuine and easy to speak with. He has a desire to serve his community and was elected mayor after only one term on the San Marcos city council.

He continues to fly reduced hours with Delta Airlines as an airline pilot in addition to the many positions of community service he maintains, so he is in touch with the working world and gets a W-2 like most of us who work (or worked) for a living. Jim doesn't think of himself as a politician and believes in term limits.

He is a fiscal conservative. One of his many accomplishments was not only balancing the San Marcos city budget but growing $40 million in reserves partly through getting pension reform enacted. He understands and appreciates Fallbrook's desire to maintain a rural feel and acknowledges that North County is diverse with both rural/agricultural and urban areas.

In addition to his responsibilities as mayor he also finds time to serve as a board member of SANDAG, San Diego Airport, San Diego EDC and the San Diego Boy Scouts. Give the job to a busy person and it will get done, Jim believes. And it does!