Luke Shaffer, 44, was born in Encinitas, has lived most of his life there, and expects to gain a new perspective on the town he loves while in his new job as the City Council District 1 representative.
“The goal is to learn a bunch of stuff… how this whole process works,” he said.
Shaffer will represent the city’s coastal Leucadia region as well as areas around Quail Gardens Drive and part of northwestern Village Park.
He attended Bethlehem Community Preschool, Ocean Knoll Elementary and Oak Crest Middle School, and started at what was then San Dieguito High School before becoming a member of the second graduating class at the new La Costa Canyon High School in 1998. In high school, he played football and lacrosse, and was a member of the wrestling and track teams, he said.
After high school graduation, Shaffer initially attended the University of Colorado in Boulder before transferring to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where he received a bachelor’s degree in psychology. He played football and lacrosse at both schools, he said.
His high school football coach, Tom Pellegrino, said Shaffer’s persistence, work ethic, honesty and ability to “lift other people around him” impressed him right from the start.
“He would always in practices be the one to run the extra sprints, or try to help somebody after practice get better,” said Pellegrino, who went on to lead a number of San Diego County schools as a principal or superintendent.
After college, Shaffer joined the U.S. Marine Corps and became a F/A-18 pilot. Flying for the military was a family tradition — his dad was a Navy pilot and his grandpa flew gliders in World War II, he said. Shaffer served 12 active duty years in the Marines, including three tours to Iraq, and followed that with three years in the Marine reserves, he said.
He and his wife Kamele, a former Coca-Cola Co. executive, now run a commodities and real estate business, specializing in introducing buyers and sellers to each other. They have 13-year-old daughter and a 5-year-old son, and Shaffer also has a 17-year-old daughter who lives in Texas. In addition to having parents living in Encinitas, he said, his sister lives near Leucadia Boulevard and his brother lives in Carlsbad.
Over the years he’s seen a great deal of change in his hometown. Shaffer, who ran on a platform of fighting state high-density housing mandates, said during his swearing-ceremony that he wished the city could go back to what it was like decades ago in the mid-1980s, but he’s learning to accept some of the changes.
His former high school coach, who later became a close friend and took surfing trips to Baja with him, said Shaffer has a diverse set of experiences, particularly military service, which will be helpful in his new role as a council member.
“I think he’ll be unexpected (as a council member) — he’ll surprise people,” Pellegrino said.
Encinitas resident Gini Cortez, a fellow La Costa Canyon High graduate who grew closer to Shaffer after her brother died five years ago, said she’s keenly looking forward to having him as a council member.
“I’m very excited to move into this new era with him on the council,” she said, adding that he understands the community’s needs because he grew up in Encinitas. He’ll approach “tough conversations with a sense of duty,” and be transparent, fair and honest, she said.
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