Article By Martha Abraham, District 4 City Council Candidate
It’s hardly a coincidence that Council Member Henry Foster appeared jubilant immediately after the vote. His two close allies, Vivin Moreno and Sean Elo-Riviera, were the ones who proposed and seconded the motion to move the Klauber Project forward, Henry did not object. When it was Henry’s turn to speak, he didn’t plea to stop the project, nor did he call for a new motion.
Instead, he merely expressed a vague hope that, next time, the developer would engage more meaningfully with the community. Henry Foster himself has been largely unengaged, attempting to govern District 4 as if he’s the ruler rather than a representative. His approach has been dismissive, consistently limiting access for his constituents and ignoring our voices. If Foster truly supported our community’s interests, his social media posts and public comments following Tuesday’s meeting would have echoed disappointment or frustration with the council’s decision. Instead, we’ve heard nothing.
His silence speaks for itself.
Foster clearly supports the Klauber Project, just as he supports the Radio Towers and the
proposal for his friends at D.R. Horton to build 130 homes in Emerald Hills, at the expense of our community’s most valuable asset, the largest space left to build a world class park at the top of the highest point in Emerald Hills, offering stunning views. These projects threaten to deny our community the green space we desperately need, prioritizing developer profits and political ambition over our quality of life and environmental health. It’s all about continuing his political career, regardless of the long-term impact on our future.
And we saw the ugly underbelly of this system on full display. Sean Elo-Rivera had the nerve to chastise the community for showing up. He scolded us like children, for having the audacity to speak up for ourselves. He claimed that Henry Foster’s behind-the-scenes efforts to sell out our community were not a fair representation of him, and that our comments showing Foster has been working with developers to sell us out somehow made Sean more likely to vote against us.
Sean even suggested that the community’s opposition might influence his vote because
“he knows” Henry is good. This is gaslighting at its worst. It’s clear, they came prepared to ignore us, to protect each other, and to push this vote through.
This type of manipulation reveals how orchestrated the entire process was. If Foster’s motion was genuinely to deny the project, and Sean wants to protect him, then logically, Sean should have sided with Foster. Instead, Sean sided against Foster, exposing the collusion and scheming behind the scenes.
Henry and his allies essentially orchestrated Tuesday night’s show, a charade designed to try and fool us. And yet, his true colors were on display when he left the meeting smiling and in good spirits, ignoring the community members who showed up to oppose him. A more typical reaction would have been to feel remorseful or to advocate for the community’s concerns afterward. Come up with a plan, plead with the mayor to intervene. Involve the state, ANYTHING! Instead, he simply walked away, unbothered and smiling.
Further evidence of his manipulative tactics is his refusal to meet with community members regarding the project or any opposition to his agenda. He has not attended a Chollas Valley planning group meeting since last year, when Footnote 7 was discussed, a time many of you may remember when 120 angry community members voiced their opposition to its specific targeting of Emerald Hills and Encanto for the racist backhanded zoning change only in our neighborhoods. Henry had the audacity to come up and side with the developer! He was booed and jeered by 120 members of the public, only to come back and try and explain how nice the D.R. Horton developer was. It was an astonishing event, showing our community that at any cost, he was going to sell us out.
More telling from Tuesday were his selective use of environmental findings to justify his motion that failed. He chose to rely solely on the steep slopes argument and ignored significant other environmental concerns outlined by land use attorney Craig Sherman such as impacts to visual resources, community character, the staggering volume of earth removal, and the effects on air quality and water. These include over 16,000 cubic yards of cut, 73,000 cubic yards of fill, large retaining walls, and the destruction of century-old trees, all of which threaten the hillside’s natural integrity in Encanto.
Minutes after Fosters proposal, city staff presented a map of the steep hillsides – seemingly out of thin air, that nobody had previously seen. The map, provided by the developer, was used to argue that the hillside was likely disturbed and man-made because of the construction of Scimitar Drive over 100 years ago, an absurd assertion, given the age of the roadway. Foster knew the city would take this approach which is why he used it and not any of the other environmental factors, relying on this hillside argument to support his motion, knowing it would fail due to the “disturbed land” of the road. This is likely going to be his same avenue of attack on the Emerald Hills Radio Towers project, that the Radio Towers were disturbed when constructed and therefore not natural hills.
As soon as the motion failed, Vivian Moreno, Henry’s best ally and friend on the council, without hesitation made a quick move to approve the city’s recommendation, with Sean Elo-Riviera choosing to support Moreno rather than Foster. Foster, aware he had already lined up enough votes to approve the Klauber project, was able to throw away his vote and vote “no” for show, to appear as if he’s “on our side” while secretly orchestrating the whole ordeal. This was perhaps his greatest parody yet; a performance designed to mask his true intentions. This wasn’t just a bad vote, it was a slap in the face. It showed us exactly where Henry Foster stands, with developers. With insiders. Not with us.
And after the decision was made? He walked out smiling and in good spirits, ignoring the
protests and concerns of community members. His silence is deafening, it’s the loudest
indication of where his loyalties truly lie.b This entire charade was deeply disturbing. We can expect Foster to continue to push for dense housing at any cost, especially the cost of our health and wellness. He will employ the same tactics, to mask his true stance, all while continuing to sell us out behind the scenes.
District 4 is worthy. We deserve leaders who listen, who fight, who care.
My name is Martha Abraham.
I’m running for San Diego City Council District 4 because I’ve seen enough.
I’ve lived the frustration. I’ve held the pain of families struggling to stay afloat. As a nurse, I’ve cared for our most vulnerable. As a neighbor, I’ve watched this district be ignored while others thrive.
Our streets are crumbling. Our families are being priced out. Our neighborhoods are overlooked and underfunded. And those in power either don’t see us, or they’ve chosen not to.
“We need change, not in a few years, but now.
This campaign is not about politics. It’s about our people. Our elders who are worthy of dignity. Our kids, worthy of opportunity. Our community, worthy of investment, not just promises.
I’m running because I refuse to let our voices be silenced any longer.
I believe in us, in our strength, our resilience, and our right to rise.
If you’re tired of being dismissed, disrespected, and disregarded; stand with me. Let’s take back our power and build the future our community deserves.”