Candidate for
Council Member; City of Encinitas

Julie Graboi has been a resident of Encinitas for 25 years. She is a wife, mother, educator and business owner. Julie and her husband Dan moved to Encinitas to set down roots to raise their family. They chose Encinitas because it was a safe, family-oriented city that had a variety of beautiful natural environments and diverse communities, each with its own individual character. They live in the Encinitas community of Olivenhain with their son Mitchell,who grew up in the same house his entire life and has attended Encinitas schools his whole academic career. Currently, he is attending MiraCosta College.

Julie's professional career in education spans 30 years and includes diverse experiences. Her first teaching role was at UCSD Extension's English Language Institute. She also has worked with 4 community college districts, including MiraCosta College, where she has taught a range of English as a Second Language courses to many different adult student audiences. In addition, she has also trained graduate students at University of San Diego's School of Leadership and Educational Sciences (SOLES) and has worked on a variety of writing, training and research projectswith more than 20 local companies and internationally recognized publishers as a language consultant.

Julie's involvement in Encinitas city government began four years ago when she became concerned with the city's management of tax funds and city plans to increase housing densities throughout the city. Julie was a participant in the General Plan Update and became involved in every stage of the process given her knowledge of city zoning codes and her familiarity with acceptable research methods. She became alarmed that the process did not accurately represent citizens' feedback that had been gathered over a two year period of time and also cost at least $1.3 million dollars to capture.

Later, she was a participant in the Prop A the Right to Vote Initiative, a citizens' initiative process, which allows for citizens to vote on major zoning changes. This initiative was passed into law by a vote of the public in June, 2013. In addition to supporting the Encinitas Right to Vote Initiative, Julie has also been a civic leader in educating the public to what are called state density bonus incentives that benefit developers. Julie joined with her neighbors to fight a Density Bonus project called Desert Rose in Olivenhain, resulting in the protection of residential property rights. Recently, she worked in collaboration with residents throughout Encinitas to convince City Council to follow ordinances that are already on the books that interpret how the Density Bonus Law should be applied in Encinitas.