Teresa Acosta: “Housing and Local Control Are the Challenges Facing Cities”

Latino representation in the spaces where statewide public policy is shaped has a new leader at the League of California Cities. Teresa Acosta, a Carlsbad councilmember since 2020, became president of the organization on September 25, becoming the second Latina to hold the position in the association’s 128-year history, she said during an interview with Fanny Miller, publisher of El Latino San Diego.

Acosta also said she is the first Latina from San Diego County to hold the presidency in 20 years and the first person from Carlsbad to serve in that role.

Founded in 1898, the organization officially reports 473 member cities and a 57-member board of directors, according to information from Cal Cities. Its work includes advocating for local control, training municipal officials and representing local governments’ interests before state and federal authorities.

In the interview, Acosta addresses issues that directly affect communities, including housing, affordability, homelessness, and climate resilience. She also affirms her Mexican American identity and urges people to cast informed votes and make their own decisions in the upcoming November 3 election.

What is the League of California Cities, and what is its purpose?

Teresa Acosta: The League of California Cities is an association of all the cities in California. The state has about 483 cities, and we all belong to this organization. Almost all of us are members. It helps us protect local control through education and advocacy to improve the quality of life for all Californians.

That is literally our mission statement. That is why we work on training councilmembers and city staff and helping one another become even better at our jobs so that California residents can have better lives.

How does the organization work, and what responsibilities does its board of directors have?

Teresa Acosta: Every city has a voting delegate in the League of California Cities, but the board of directors consists of 57 members. So only 57 people from the 483 cities can serve on the board, and they then elect their leaders to guide the entire organization.

We focus on both advocacy and education. On the advocacy side, we have a lobbying team in Sacramento, and we also do some lobbying in Washington, D.C. Our main focus is Sacramento. Our lobbying team works with cities throughout California to represent our interests, and we also have some influence in Washington, D.C.

In Washington, D.C., we have the National League of Cities, which has a lobbying team dedicated exclusively to advocating for cities’ interests.

That is the advocacy side. The other is education, where we train one another on best practices for cities. We teach one another how to be better fiscal managers so that we can have sound budgets, like the one we have in Carlsbad.

What do you think contributed to your election as president?

Teresa Acosta: We have been very successful in Carlsbad, and that is one of the reasons I was elected. I think the main reasons were my strong commitment and energy for the organization, my strong communication and advocacy skills, and, finally, the fact that I come from a region that is thriving. We are doing excellent work, and people want to learn from us.

How do your Mexican roots influence your work and your perspective on Latino representation?

Teresa Acosta: My father is Mexican. My mother is not. So I am half Mexican. I grew up in the Los Angeles area—I am from Pasadena—and moved to Carlsbad in 2010 because my mother had retired from teaching and moved there. She was a teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District, and we had always thought of Carlsbad and San Diego as very nice places to live.

Fortunately, I was able to move here when my daughter was in sixth grade, so she attended public schools and grew up in Carlsbad. By the time I seriously considered running for public office, my daughter was already in college and had gone through our schools, and we are very proud of that.

As for my Mexican heritage, I feel very connected to being Mexican American. I think it is very important that we stand up for Mexican Americans, especially during these difficult times when we are seeing racist and discriminatory policies at the federal level. We must make sure we protect everyone in our community and include Latinos in everything we do.

This is California. We were part of Mexico until 1848, when the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed. So we must remember our heritage as a state, as well as our individual heritage as Mexican Americans.

What is the League of California Cities’ most urgent priorities?

Teresa Acosta: Every year, the League of California Cities establishes its advocacy priorities, identifying the policy priorities we will pursue throughout the year.

They tend to remain fairly similar from year to year because we focus on infrastructure. We focus on protecting local control over housing and zoning while also helping people achieve homeownership and addressing affordability challenges.

We discuss homelessness and how to address it, and we also discuss climate resilience.

As you may know, with El Niño—and an extreme El Niño event this year—we in coastal cities are very concerned about potential cliff collapses, rising sea levels and flooding.

There are many things we have been doing for years at the League of California Cities that are helping us, but we will have to continue and intensify our efforts this year, especially with our new governor.

I am very happy that we are going to have a new governor. I am fairly confident it will be Javier Becerra, who was my congressman when I lived in Los Angeles, and I would be proud to work very closely with the new governor if he takes office.

What do you recommend to people who feel overwhelmed by ballot measures, especially young people?

Teresa Acosta: Thank you. That is an excellent question because ballots can be very confusing.

I often find that if you work with an organization you trust, it may already have established positions. You can look at its endorsements, the candidates it has supported, or the measures it has endorsed. You can have confidence in an organization you already belong to, whether it is a political party, an environmental organization, or something you feel connected to, such as an immigration organization.

Take a look at the organization you already know and trust, and follow its agenda.

But I also ask questions constantly. I am a critical thinker, so when people ask me for my opinion on a ballot measure, rather than telling them how to vote, I explain the measure so they understand it.

I want people to make their own decisions rather than simply telling them how I would vote. I think we need to be informed voters. There are many important issues, and they are confusing. Sometimes ballot measures are written in a way that makes you think they mean one thing when they actually mean something else.

That is why I strongly encourage people not only to register to vote but also to exercise their right to vote, especially now, when some people are trying to take away our rights, make things more difficult for us, and intimidate us.

I think it is very important that we vote and that we are informed, voters. Please vote. Everyone should vote. Everyone should get informed and make an effort to understand the ballot measures. And, of course, I am always available if people have questions about a ballot measure.

What does take on this responsibility mean to you, and what message would you share with the bilingual community?

Teresa Acosta: It is an honor and a responsibility to hold a position like this. Being president of the League of California Cities is very important, and I approach it with a sense of seriousness. I take this responsibility very seriously.