Dee
Dee, an Oceanside resident, was locally famous for her community activism and had long agitated for parks, open space, and environmental protections. But her true political skill was extracting monetary settlements from developers—deals that often benefited the nonprofit she ran, the North County Environmental Coalition (NCEC), based in Oceanside.
These “shakedowns,” as some called them, usually yielded minor concessions—slightly fewer units or maybe some open space. But Dee’s real power came from her influence over local chapters of the Sierra Club, the League of Conservation Voters, and even the League of Women Voters. She helped write their political platforms and played a major role in determining who received endorsements.
In truth, most grassroots environmentalists avoid electoral politics—it’s the part of the movement they see as most corrupt. That left someone like Dee, who didn’t mind getting her hands dirty, to speak and act on their behalf. And if she squeezed developers in the process? So much the better.
NCEC launched the successful referendum campaign to force a vote on Caruso’s proposed lagoon mall. Dee had branded it Let the People Vote, and NCEC gathered enough signatures to force the special election: Measure A. Once the Council approved the mall project, the campaign pivoted overnight from the Let the People Vote signature gathering project to Dee's branded No on Measure A project.
I was surprised when Helen, Cody's sidekick, was named NCEC’s new president. Helen announced a $75,000 donation from the operator of a competing, older shopping mall nearby. NCEC didn’t have to disclose how the money was spent, but much of it, one way or another, ended up backing Cody’s City Council campaign. Non-profits like NCEC spend unlimited amounts of money on political campaigns under the protections of Citizens United, the Supreme Court ruling that allows this.
After the referendum's success, many NCEC leaders—Helen included—shifted their efforts to electing Cody to the Carlsbad City Council. But no one played a more strategic behind-the-scenes role than Dee, even though she wasn’t officially part of Cody’s team.
Dee was widely respected among women political activists. Older than Cody and Helen, she had retired from a long career at the California Department of Fish and Game. She didn’t look the part of a political powerhouse: she was petite and spoke softly. During the signature drive, she stood outside Trader Joe’s with a sign hanging around her neck hand scrawled with “Let the People Vote." But in a City Council meeting, when she did speak, she was well prepared, articulate and persuasive.
Dee was one of the most effective organizers I’ve ever seen. In my corporate life, few middle managers could match her skill. While I find extortion as a business model abhorrent, I also understand why many view those tactics as a kind of Robin Hood justice.
Dee had enormous influence on the 2016 Carlsbad City Council election, exceeding that of her candidate, Cody.
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