John Franklin is the current Mayor of Vista. He graduated from American University in Washington, D.C. where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. In Washington, D.C., he worked on Capitol Hill for two members of the United States House of Representatives as a policy advisor.
Now married for ten years, he and his wife Shanna work together in a family business which serves non-profit organizations, public leaders, and private companies, providing business management and administration services. The firm also specializes in marketing and public communications.
He was a Vista City Councilman for eight years, where he attempted to improve public safety and to deal with the homelessness problems facing this state. Franklin was appointed by his colleagues to serve as Deputy Mayor in 2017, 2019 & 2022. Franklin is the fourth directly elected Mayor of the City of Vista. His focus is on improving traffic, revitalizing, and building new parks, and to maintain fiscal responsibility.
But even more important he is in a bitter battle with the leftists who want to change how members are appointed to SANDAG, the San Diego Association of Governments board of directors. Under the city’s original ordinance, the mayor of Vista was solely responsible for submitting appointments to regional boards and commissions, including SANDAG. However, the leftist council members recently voted 3 to 2 to amend the ordinance. Franklin has stated, this is not about Democrats versus Republicans, “It’s downtown San Diego versus suburbia.”
He has been one of the most vocal detractors of SANDAG’s proposed road user charge, a mileage fee estimated to cost drivers 3.3 cents per mile starting in 2030. The program also calls for another road charge levied by the state at 2.5 cents per mile, two half-cent tax increases for all San Diego County residents, a tax ballot measure to charge fees to rideshare companies and installing toll roads on all highways.