Murrieta City Council Race: Real Estate Broker Set to Run

A local real estate broker was among three candidates who had qualified as of Wednesday morning to run in November's Murrieta City Council election.

Joel Phillips, Jr., 52, a nearly 12-year resident of Murrieta, was officially set to run along with and former U.S. Marine Harry Ramos for two seats on the council, Murrieta City Clerk Kay Vinson confirmed in an email.

Phillips, who heads up Temecula-based Lighthouse Properties, told Patch this marks his first run for public office.

"I have felt a need to make a difference," Phillips said, by phone Tuesday. "I am always one to vote; I always have an opinion but I have never been proactive about it. This is my first foray..."

Phillips said although he "loves" Murrieta and plans to remain a resident, he sees a problematic real estate market—one of the issues he would address should he obtain the office of council member.

"I think we have done a horrible job of managing that," Phillips said. "We have done a disservice to the homeowners and the community."

Phillips said Murrieta is among the cities with the lowest inventory of homes for sale "in history," while the banks are not releasing foreclosures.

"Real estate is the backbone of the economy, but it has just been left to the cities and counties to hold the bag—we are talking about eminent domain in San Bernardino to overcome foreclosure blight."

He said he would work toward code enforcement of properties that are lacking upkeep.

"We have to pay attention and provide support to our code enforcement, and ensure lenders keep their properties up," Phillips said. "I know several properties where the condition is so abhorrent it drags down the neighboring property values."

Additionally, Phillips said a top priority of his is public safety. He said he would like to see Murrieta remain one of the safest cities in the U.S., as it has continuously ranked in the Top 10 for lowest crime rate among populations between 100,000 and 499,000.

Phillips said he was ready to lead should he be given the opportunity.

"[Murrieta citizens] are just looking for leadership, they are hungry for that."

The deadline was extended from Aug. 10 because

As of Wednesday morning, Ramos had also qualified for the race.

Murrieta newbie David Meuting had filed his packet but needed to still undergo final qualification.

Those who had pulled papers but had yet to file them with the City Clerk's office were former Temecula City Manager Shawn Nelson, Dan Strick, John Paul Serbin, Victor Marx and Paul Clay.

Discharged U.S. Marine Gary Stein filed to run when it was learned he lived outside of Murrieta city boundaries.

Editor's Note: This post was updated at 9:40 a.m. Aug. 15 to include Harry Ramos as a qualified candidate. Patch will seek to profile all candidates for Murrieta City Council.