The Del Mar City Council remained in a 2-2 stalemate Jan. 20 over appointing a representative to the San Diego Association of Governments Board of Directors, meaning Councilmember Terry Gaasterland will continue to serve as the incumbent SANDAG rep.
Each year the council reviews all the appointments to boards, commissions and other representative bodies throughout the region to decide who will represent Del Mar. But on Jan. 6, council members could not agree on reappointing Gaasterland, who has held the position for the last five years, or appointing Mayor Tracy Martinez.
The conversation stalled without a vote. Del Mar’s city attorney initially said that the city wouldn’t have a representative on the SANDAG board, but SANDAG’s legal counsel ultimately confirmed that Gaasterland will continue to hold the seat unless there is a vote by the Del Mar City Council to recall or replace her.
The issue came up again at the council’s second meeting of the month because Martinez wanted there to be a vote on record, even if the council was still deadlocked.
“I believe there should be a track record of that one year from now or 10 years from now, so I just want to stick to protocol,” Martinez said.
As of Jan. 6, Gaasterland still wanted to serve on SANDAG, and Councilmember Dan Quirk did not see the need for a change. Martinez wanted a chance to represent Del Mar, and Councilmember John Spelich, who remains the city’s second alternate to the SANDAG board, said at the time that “It’s probably useful to make a change after five years.”
On Jan. 20, Gaasterland made a motion to remain the SANDAG rep, and to keep Martinez and Spelich as the first and second alternates, respectively. It ended in the same 2-2 tie, meaning that exact SANDAG representation remains in effect indefinitely.
The council will not fill its vacant fifth seat until after the November 2026 election.