3 weeks ago
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El Cajon Councilmember Gary Kendrick announced Monday that he left the Republican Party and registered as a member of the Democratic Party, citing deep concern over recent immigration enforcement.
“Today’s Republican Party is no longer grounded in the economic or personal well-being of the people that I swore an oath to serve,” Kendrick said. “We’re a city of 70 different ethnic groups, and we all get along really well, and I want to keep it that way.”
He was one of the longest-serving Republicans in municipal office in San Diego County before making the decision to switch parties. He has served on the El Cajon City Council as a registered Republican for 24 years.
Kendrick said he found himself splitting with the GOP on a variety of issues in recent years, with immigration enforcement being the most important.
“I cannot ignore the Republican Party’s betrayal of our immigrant community, nor its disastrous impacts on the people of El Cajon,” Kendrick said.
A year ago, the City Council passed a resolution brought forward by Mayor Bill Wells that asserted the city’s commitment to comply with enforcement of federal immigration law, including a designation that El Cajon is not a sanctuary city. Kendrick and Councilmember Michelle Metschel were the two votes against the resolution.
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