Encinitas Action: Who We Are and What We Do

Our structure, membership, funding and approach to civic engagement

When questions arise about Encinitas Action, residents shouldn’t have to rely on descriptions offered in hearsay and social media debates. This page explains who we are and what standards guide us.

What is Encinitas Action?

Encinitas Action Inc. is a nonprofit social welfare organization recognized under Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code.

We’re a group of Encinitas residents working to broaden civic participation and help people understand local government, public process and the decisions affecting our community.

Our work includes:

Encinitas Action does not operate anonymously. We believe civic advocacy should be accountable. That is why our members are publicly identified and our work is published openly under the Encinitas Action name.

How should Encinitas residents evaluate us?

Read our work. Follow the links. Check the public records. Compare our published content with the underlying documents. Decide whether our commentary is fair and whether our coverage helps you better understand Encinitas government. You don’t have to agree with every conclusion we reach to find the information useful.

We welcome factual corrections and good-faith questions. Our purpose is not to stifle disagreement, it’s to make local government easier to follow and civic participation easier to begin.

Does Encinitas Action have a point of view?

Yes. Our values and perspective are public.

We believe local government should be transparent, residents should be treated respectfully, public decisions should be supported by evidence and civic participation should be encouraged rather than dismissed.

We publish both factual explanations and commentary. We may praise elected officials when we believe they have acted well and criticize them when we believe they have not. We do not promise an absence of opinions.

We have a point of view — and a voice. We use plain English, strong opinions and occasionally humor. What we will not do is invent facts, alter quotations or hide the underlying record. When we criticize, we show our work.

Our commitment is to support factual claims with evidence, distinguish reporting from commentary, provide links to original records when possible and correct material errors when they are identified.

Readers are always encouraged to examine our sources and reach their own conclusions.

Is Encinitas Action a PAC?

No. Encinitas Action Inc. is a nonprofit social welfare organization, not a political action committee.

A previous political committee used the name Encinitas Action PAC. That committee was renamed Neighbors for a Common Cause before our Encinitas Action Inc. was formed. The former PAC and the current nonprofit are separate organizations with different legal structures and reporting obligations. Contributions made to the former PAC were not contributions to Encinitas Action Inc. The name change and the PAC’s campaign reports are part of the City of Encinitas’ public campaign-disclosure records.

Likewise, a political contribution made personally by an Encinitas Action member is not a contribution by Encinitas Action Inc.

How is Encinitas Action funded?

Encinitas Action is supported by voluntary contributions from its own members and members of the public who appreciate and support us. Donations help fund community events, civic-engagement activities, website and email communications, public-records research and ordinary operating expenses. Contributions are not tax-deductible.

Encinitas Action is a 501(c)(4) is a category of nonprofit organization recognized under federal tax law. Many well-known civic organizations operate under Section 501(c)(4). The League of Women Voters of the United States, for example, is a 501(c)(4). So is Our Neighborhood Voices.

Federal law permits 501(c)(4) organizations to engage in public-policy advocacy and some political activity, provided their primary purpose remains the promotion of social welfare. California separately requires multipurpose organizations to register and report when their political spending reaches certain thresholds. Those requirements can include disclosure of the sources used to fund that spending. The California Fair Political Practices Commission explains those requirements here.

That does not mean a 501(c)(4) operates without financial or campaign-reporting obligations. Tax-exempt organizations remain subject to applicable federal filings, and California imposes additional registration and disclosure requirements when a 501(c)(4) organization engages in qualifying political spending. Encinitas Action complies with every reporting requirement applicable to its activities. Federal law generally does not require a 501(c)(4) to publish the name of every contributor. We acknowledge that directly.

Who belongs to Encinitas Action?

Our membership includes residents with varied personal, professional and civic backgrounds, including former elected officials, appointed commissioners, and members of our community.

Our members have varied perspectives – we don’t always agree on every issue, endorse the same candidates or share the same political history. As individuals, we can make personal political contributions, support candidates or participate in other organizations.

Those personal activities do not establish the funding, decisions or positions of Encinitas Action Inc. Claims about our group should be evaluated using evidence about the organization — not assumptions based on the associations of our individual members.

Our current membership list is available on our About Us page.


What Encinitas Action does not do

We do not treat an individual member’s political, professional or legal activities as actions of Encinitas Action.

Encinitas Action has never filed a lawsuit against the City, a councilmember, a candidate or a resident.

We do not knowingly publish false information, distort public records or alter quotations to change their meaning.

We do not make factual accusations without evidence we can identify.

We do not allow candidates, campaigns, donors or outside organizations to direct our coverage or conclusions. 

How did our 2026 candidate questionnaire work?

Encinitas Action invited all six candidates for Mayor and City Council Districts 3 and 4 to answer the same nine questions.

Every candidate received:

Three candidates responded and three did not.

Our written questionnaire was intended to give residents convenient access to candidates’ unedited answers to identical questions. Candidates were free to participate or decline. When a candidate did not participate, we published the factual notation “No response received” in the space where the answer would have appeared, giving readers the complete result of the questionnaire. We don’t speculate about the candidate’s motives or character.

The questions and candidates responses can be reviewed on our website, beginning with the District 4 candidate questionnaire.

Has the FPPC reviewed allegations about Encinitas Action?

Yes.

A sworn complaint from an Encinitas resident who ran unsuccessfully for Mayor in 2020 and City Counil in 2022 alleged that Encinitas Action was functioning as an undisclosed PAC, violating California campaign disclosure requirements, and intercepting and altering residents’ emails to the City Council. In less than a week, the Enforcement Division of the California Fair Political Practices Commission rejected the complaint and stated that it would not pursue an enforcement action.

The outcome and supporting documentation of the FPPC investigation are here.

Thanks for reading. We appreciate your interest in Encinitas Action!