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Vote Rimga Viskanta for Encinitas Mayor 2026

<h2>A Vision for Encinitas</h2><img src="https://run.imgix.net/3e6a8ac9-4272-4dda-81f0-7026d803d343/4bd3541d-be0d-412e-a26f-614e722c88c0/19ca1749-195d-48c3-bc01-82253ab12a10.webp?ixlib=js-3.8.0&amp;bri=0&amp;con=0&amp;sat=0&amp;high=0&amp;shad=0&amp;usm=0&amp;rect=0%2C0%2C3072%2C4096&amp;w=1500" alt="" caption="" align="left" alignwidth="25" tiltdirection="left" variant="framed">Encinitas thrives when people participate. When neighbors rewild a canyon with native plants. When volunteers care for a median or clean up the beach. When a resident with a good idea isn’t buried in red tape. I envision more public spaces, fewer bureaucratic barriers, and more opportunities to build community together.As Mayor, I will foster a city that empowers residents and welcomes respectful political discourse. I believe we have more in common than social media chatter might have us believe.

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<h2>Meet Rimga!</h2>Building community begins with personal connection and conversations--not digital debate and divisiveness.

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Public Safety and Infrastructure are foundational to a well-functioning city. I will use my public accounting and budgeting experience to maximize available funding for these areas.Through conversations with residents, the concerns below have surfaced again and again. <a href="mailto:voteforviskanta@gmail.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">What’s top of mind for you</a>?

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<h2>Climate Resilience — Preparing, Not Pretending</h2>Sea level rise, hotter summers, wildfire risk, and changing rainfall patterns are already here. As Mayor, I will prioritize coastal adaptation, fire-wise neighborhoods, and practical resilience strategies. Sustainability isn’t a slogan—it’s infrastructure, planning, and stewardship of what we love about Encinitas.

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<h2>I will advocate for you!</h2><img src="https://run.imgix.net/3e6a8ac9-4272-4dda-81f0-7026d803d343/d91d61ce-d957-4e2f-b228-036f231b6a4c/d91d61ce-d957-4e2f-b228-036f231b6a4c.jpg?ixlib=js-3.8.0&amp;bri=0&amp;con=0&amp;sat=0&amp;high=0&amp;shad=0&amp;usm=0&amp;rect=0%2C0%2C4284%2C5712&amp;w=1500" alt="Candidate in front of Capitol" caption="" align="left" alignwidth="40" tiltdirection="left" variant="framed">As a School Board Trustee I had the opportunity to advocate at the federal level on behalf of California school districts as part of a California School Board Association non-partisan contingency. I will use my advocacy skills to fight for federal and state legislation that improves our community and against laws that hurt us.

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<h2>This is home!</h2><img src="https://run.imgix.net/3e6a8ac9-4272-4dda-81f0-7026d803d343/bbc6bdb4-3bfb-4e6f-8143-ff418b26e277/bbc6bdb4-3bfb-4e6f-8143-ff418b26e277.jpg?ixlib=js-3.8.0&amp;bri=0&amp;con=0&amp;sat=0&amp;high=0&amp;shad=0&amp;usm=0&amp;rect=0%2C0%2C3268%2C2614&amp;w=1500" alt="Young girl surfing" caption="" align="left" alignwidth="40" tiltdirection="left" variant="framed"><h5>my daughter taking surf lessons at Moonlight in 2014!</h5><h4>I’ve called Encinitas home for twenty years. My three children were raised here — preschool through high school, my youngest born at the Scripps Encinitas on Santa Fe Drive. Our family memories are rooted in this town.</h4>YMCA swim lessons, soccer, volleyball, and karate practices. Afternoons wandering around the Botanic Garden. Playing under the palm tree at Moonlight Beach, watching vibrant sunsets, surfing, cycling, Turkey Trots, yoga, and all that is quintessential Encinitas.

"I believe in more than local control. I believe in local action. As Mayor, I’ll focus on results and bringing people together to tackle our challenges through respectful honest conversations, collaboration, and a commitment to move Encinitas forward."

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<h2>Leadership Built on Experience</h2><img src="https://run.imgix.net/3e6a8ac9-4272-4dda-81f0-7026d803d343/f1a8fdd7-834f-42b4-b95c-00e5815b16c8/3f9450ee-7587-46c3-9fdd-3c85f1f1f75a.webp?ixlib=js-3.8.0&amp;bri=0&amp;con=0&amp;sat=0&amp;high=0&amp;shad=0&amp;usm=0&amp;rect=340%2C327%2C2495%2C3724&amp;w=1500" alt="Mom with three kids" caption="" align="left" alignwidth="25" variant="framed">I’ve been honored to serve on key committees in our local elementary and high school districts—from facilities bond oversight committees and school site council to serving as PTA President at Ocean Knoll. I’ve seen firsthand how volunteerism strengthens community and how much our city relies on residents who show up.While I have worked in the private sector, my professional passion has always been local government—where elected officials are our neighbors and policy decisions are felt immediately and personally. As a Senior Management Analyst in the City Manager’s Office for the City of Solana Beach, I worked across jurisdictions with cities, state and federal agencies, nonprofits, community groups, and residents to solve local problems. My work spanned climate action, homelessness, and improving how government delivers services. I know how to turn ideas into action by building collaboration across perspectives.In 2016, I was elected to the Encinitas Union School District Board, serving as Trustee and Board President in 2020 at the height of the COVID pandemic.<img src="https://run.imgix.net/3e6a8ac9-4272-4dda-81f0-7026d803d343/e06798b2-9fac-4ed3-80bb-4b3a2119b357/e06798b2-9fac-4ed3-80bb-4b3a2119b357.jpg?ixlib=js-3.8.0&amp;bri=0&amp;con=0&amp;sat=0&amp;high=0&amp;shad=0&amp;usm=0&amp;rect=0%2C0%2C315%2C315&amp;w=1500" alt="Gavel" caption="" align="right" alignwidth="25" variant="framed">Working closely with educators and staff, we safely reopened classrooms—making EUSD one of the first districts in the region to bring students back to in-person learning.In 2022, I was elected to the San Dieguito Union High School District Board with a promise to bring stability, good governance, and consistent leadership. I delivered on that promise. As Board President, I helped guide the district through complex and often contentious decisions with respect, transparency, and community involvement.That leadership included helping unify the Board around a long-term investment in the district’s first swimming pool—a decision that was unpopular with some of my strongest supporters. But good governance isn’t about taking sides. It’s about judgment, evidence, and long-term benefit.<img src="https://run.imgix.net/3e6a8ac9-4272-4dda-81f0-7026d803d343/1ae8e3ba-a453-4505-8d71-cf929eca60d3/b1e90ae0-5406-44d7-881d-a94c8d0f3af2.webp?ixlib=js-3.8.0&amp;bri=0&amp;con=0&amp;sat=0&amp;high=0&amp;shad=0&amp;usm=0&amp;rect=0%2C0%2C4028%2C2704&amp;w=1500" alt="Candidate in front of swimming pool" caption="" align="left" alignwidth="42" variant="framed">Throughout my tenure, I maintained a strong commitment to sustainability. I supported student-led efforts to create the district’s first districtwide sustainability committee, bringing together students, staff, and local city sustainability managers to foster cross-jurisdictional collaboration. During the facilities master planning process, I centered practical sustainability measures—energy efficiency, lower-cost renewable energy options, and native landscaping—to save taxpayer dollars while reducing environmental impact.

<h2>Your donation helps me reach our community.</h2>The maximum contribution allowed by city ordinance is $500 per person, per election for the Mayor’s race.Sign up with a donation processor and then on your Pages sidebar, click the Link icon on the Donate page and add the link to your donation page. Some common options for donation processing include:<ul><li><a href="https://secure.actblue.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ActBlue</a></li><li><a href="https://www.campaigndeputy.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Campaign Deputy</a> </li><li><a href="https://goodchange.app/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">GoodChange</a></li><li><a href="https://numero.ai/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Numero</a></li><li><a href="https://www.ngpvan.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">NGP VAN</a></li></ul>

<h2>Housing - Growth That Makes Sense for Encinitas</h2>I want to foster honest conversations about the real tension in housing policy: In the United States, we rely on homes as long-term investments (we want values to go up!). At the same time we want housing to remain "affordable" (prices within reach). What I know for certain: We cannot count on large-scale private developers to solve the affordable housing crisis!Encinitas needs housing that reflects our community’s rate of growth, infrastructure, and environmental constraints, rather than one-size-fits-all solutions imposed from afar. I intend to work collaboratively with state and regional leaders—but also to challenge housing policies that are illogical, disconnected from local realities, and failing to deliver true affordability.As Mayor, I will work with regional and state leaders to rethink and reform density bonus laws, the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) process, and other state housing mandates that have produced unrealistic and often counterproductive outcomes for communities like ours. I will advocate for affordability through tax and lending reforms, alongside public subsidies that support low- and very-low-income housing—not a tunnel-vision focus on increasing supply at any cost, but a more practical, honest approach to housing that actually works.

<h2>Regional Homelessness Solutions— Ensuring Community Safety &amp; Dignity</h2>As Mayor, I will prioritize regional coordination, faster intervention, and clear pathways that keep time on the street brief and non-recurring. Encinitas must be safe and humane for all — residents, businesses, and those who find themselves without shelter. That means enforcing the law when behavior in public spaces threatens safety or quality of life. Compassion and accountability are not opposites — they are both necessary. Public spaces must remain safe and accessible, and residents and businesses deserve responsiveness when problems arise.Our goal should be dignity, stability, and permanent solutions — not scapegoating, and not pretending the problem disappears when someone unsheltered is issued a citation and pushed out of view.

<h2>Traffic Safety - A City Designed for People</h2>As Mayor, I will support safer streets designed to protect children who want to navigate our community independently as well as neighbors who are unable to drive. Encinitas should not be a cut-through corridor for speeding cars from neighboring cities who only want to reach the freeway. We must plan not only for today’s vehicles but tomorrow’s mobility — e-bikes, shuttles, driverless cars, and a town where slowing down is a feature, not a flaw.

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ENCINITAS, Calif. – Today, San Dieguito Union High School District (SDUHSD) Board Trustee and former Encinitas Union School District (EUSD) Board member Rimga Viskanta announced her campaign for Mayor of Encinitas.“I’m running for Mayor to bring my open-minded, forward-thinking, and practical leadership style to tackle the challenges facing Encinitas today, while strengthening our community as we plan for our future together.” Viskanta said.“As Mayor, I’ll focus on results and bringing people together to tackle housing, traffic, climate change, and homelessness. I understand how city government works from the inside, and I know how to turn good ideas into real outcomes. I’ll lead with transparency, collaboration, and a commitment to move Encinitas forward.” said Viskanta.A 20-year resident of Encinitas who raised three children in the city, Viskanta’s experience makes her uniquely qualified to address the issues facing Encinitas.Viskanta has demonstrated a longstanding commitment to the community. She was elected to the SDUHSD Board in 2022 and served as Board President until <a href="http://2024.In">2024.In</a> 2016, she was elected to the EUSD Board, and served as Board President in 2020. Under Viskanta’s leadership, EUSD was one of the first districts in the region to reopen classrooms and bring students back to in-person learning.Professionally, Viskanta’s career has spanned private and public sector roles, including a decade in local government including as staff at the City of Solana Beach where she worked with city agencies, nonprofits, and residents to solve coastal city problems and turn ideas into action, on sustainability, homelessness, and improving government services. Additionally, she has 20 years of experience with multi-family residential property management and accounting.“I will draw on my experiences from staff-level implementation, regional coordination, and experience building consensus to be ready on Day One to take on the issues facing Encinitas and deliver real results,”said Viskanta.As Mayor, Viskanta will focus on safer streets, housing solutions that fit Encinitas, and regional strategies to address homelessness. She will also lead on climate resilience and community involvement—preparing for real environmental risks while empowering residents, volunteers, and neighborhood groups to help shape the city’s future.For more information about Viskanta’s platform and vision for Encinitas, visit <a href="http://voteforviskanta.com">voteforviskanta.com</a> and @voteforviskanta on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. The campaign can be reached directly at <a href="mailto:voteforviskanta@gmail.com">voteforviskanta@gmail.com</a> and ‪(760) 239-9921.

San Dieguito Union High School District Board Trustee Rimga Viskanta Launches Campaign for Mayor of Encinitas

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Rimga Viskanta Announces Campaign for Mayor

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<ul><li><a href="https://www.northcoastcurrent.com/encinitas/2026/02/schools-trustee-viskanta-seeks-encinitas-mayors-seat/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: var(--color-text-accent-secondary); text-decoration-color: var(--color-text-accent-secondary);">North Coast Current</a></li><li><a href="https://open.substack.com/pub/ncpipeline/p/sduhsd-trustee-to-challenge-ehlers?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&amp;utm_medium=web" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: var(--color-text-accent-secondary); text-decoration-color: var(--color-text-accent-secondary);">North County Pipeline</a></li><li><a href="https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2026/02/19/school-board-member-is-running-for-encinitas-mayor/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: var(--color-text-accent-secondary); text-decoration-color: var(--color-text-accent-secondary);">The San Diego Union Tribune</a></li><li><a href="https://thecoastnews.com/viskanta-enters-encinitas-mayors-race-challenging-bruce-ehlers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Coast News</a></li></ul>

View media coverage of Rimga Viskanta's campaign announcement

Viskanta Enters Encinitas Mayor's Race

A city designed for people. As Mayor, I will support safer streets designed to protect children biking to school and seniors crossing safely.&nbsp;