600 Came to Plead for Our Safety. Dane White Called us Ridiculous
On February 25, 2026, Escondido held a public hearing on whether to cancel a contract allowing ICE agents to use the city’s police firing range. The turnout was overwhelming: 600 people attended, roughly 100 spoke in opposition (only 2 in favor), 34 elected officials submitted a letter urging cancellation, and thousands signed a petition.
To their shame, the Republican council majority kept the contract in place.
In the days that followed, Mayor Dane White sent a fundraising letter badly misrepresenting what happened that night. In it he repeatedly disparaged, name-called, ‘othered’, misrepresented. He outright dismissed even the presence of 100s of his own constituents. calling their fears ‘ridiculous’ and their speaking to him ‘relentless’.
Listen to some of that testimony and see what you think.
- If You Celebrate Us, Protect Us
- Esco is a beautiful city because of beautiful people in it,
- We have the right to say no
- 52% of Escondido should not be terrorized
- The contract represents alignment
- We are Acting from Love ,
Ask yourself, is a mayor who divides and distorts the one we want for 4 more years? Is Joe Garcia, who joined to keep the contract someone we want for 4 more years?
Tell your friends and neighbors, in November
VOTE DANE WHITE AND JOE GARCIA OUT!
Thankfully, we have candidates running for office here in Escondido who are already standing up for us.
Elias Velazquez Candidate for Mayor of Escondido eli4mayor.com
Anthony DiMartino Candidate for District 2 https://dimartinoforescondido.com/
Vanessa Valenzuela Candidate for District 1 Vanessa for Escondido
What you can do now
- Email Mayor Dane.White@escondido.gov and let him know you want the city to Cancel the ICE Contract.
- Learn about and support candidates running for Escondido who support the community. Share information about them and on social media.
- Stay Informed! Join a group working for a better Escondido like Escondido Democratic Club, Escondido Indivisible