page_title: Escondido, California
section_title: Local
hierarchical_section_title: Escondido, California / Government / Local
caption_attribution_description: Photo taken by Chris Doig on June 13, 2010.
context_page_description: Escondido is a city in San Diego County's North County region, 30 miles northeast of downtown San Diego, 15 miles from the ocean, and 40 miles from the Mexican border. The city occupies a shallow valley ringed by rocky hills. Incorporated in 1888, it is one of the oldest cities in San Diego County. It had a population of 143,911 in the 2010 census.
context_section_description: Escondido is governed by a council-manager system. The city council consists of a mayor and four City Council members. Along with the City Treasurer, they are elected at large to four-year terms. The current mayor is Paul "MAC" Mcnamara. Current City Council members are Consuelo Martinez, John Masson, Olga Diaz, and Michael Morasco. The current City Manager is Jeff Epp. The current City Treasurer is Douglas Shultz. The most recent election was held on November 8, 2018.
  A 2005 nationwide study listed the city of Escondido as one of the most conservative cities in America. The city is particularly known for its positions on illegal immigration. Approximately half of the population is Hispanic, and then-council member Sam Abed estimated in 2006 that 35,000 people, or 25% of the city population, are undocumented. Since 2010 federal immigration officials have worked out of the Escondido police station in an unprecedented city-federal partnership. In 2006 the city council proposed and then abandoned an ordinance to punish landlords who rent to illegal immigrants. Due to a public outcry and legal challenges to that proposed housing ordinance, as well as the election of Diaz to the City Council, the council has ceased any overt measures against illegal immigrants. Council policies now focus on "quality of life" issues instead. Periodic police checkpoints are set up which randomly stop drivers to check drivers licenses, registration, and insurance. An overnight parking ordinance has been proposed that would limit the number of cars each household can legally park on city streets. The city is estimated to have lost as much as a quarter of its non-citizen population between 2006 and 2007; Latino activists attribute this to a perception of the city as hostile to immigrants.
  The City of Escondido is a member of the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG).
caption: Escondido City Hall, from Grape Day Park
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