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l Q&A NORTH COUNTY BUSINESS JOURNAL x SUMMER 2017 x sdnedc.org BY rOB lYOn J im Desmond has been a pilot at Delta Air Lines for more than 30 years, flying aircraft all over the globe. But of all his worldly trav- els it was the North County city of San Marcos where he landed, becoming a resident and eventually serving on the City Council for the first time in 2004. He was elected mayor of San Marcos in 2006, and then again in 2010 and 2014, and has announced plans to run for the county Board of Super- visors in 2018. We interviewed Desmond about his life, the city of San Marcos, his time as mayor, and some of his future plans: • • • Tell us a little about your life growing up. I was raised in northern Illinois and en- listed in the U.S. Navy at age 19. After four years as a Naval Aircraft Electrician, I went to San Diego State University and graduated with a degree in Electrical Engineering. While in the Navy, I earned my pilot's licenses and shortly after graduating from SDSU was hired as a pilot for Delta Air Lines. I am still employed at Delta flying as Captain on Boeing 767s and 757s both do- mestic and internationally. My wife, Kerri, and I have been married for 32 years and have two grown children. • • • How did you get started in pubic service? In 1993 I started a technical writing company in my home, Techni- cal Standards Inc, and sold it in 2000. At its peak, Technical Standards had more than 30 employees with $2 million in annual sales. As president and founder of the company, I dealt with issues concerning taxes, payroll, personnel, workers comp, 401k's, and medical insurance. From that experience, dealing with the burden of regulations and the government, l learned I was a fiscal conservative who be- lieves strongly in less govern- ment and personal respon- sibility. And that started my path into public service. • • • What attracted you to San Marcos? I love that San Marcos is a vibrant education hub that attract students, young professionals and young families. • • • What is the city doing to encourage business devel- opment and growth? We worked together on a regional economic development plan, Innovate 78, with the cities along the 78 corridor – Escon- dido, Vista, Carlsbad and Oceanside. Within the past three years we hired a San Marcos economic develop- ment director and created our own San Marcos economic development plan. In addi- tion, the Innovate 78 team has held several joint meetings with our educational institu- tions and regional employers. • • • What accomplishments has the city made during your tenure that help busi- ness? We completed and are currently implementing our economic development plan with a newly hired Economic Development Director. We streamlined our permitting processes and continually up- date them to improve permit- ting efficiency. And, all city employees now pay their full share of pension funding and contribute to the cost of health fi MEET JIM DESMOND n SAN MARCOS MAYOR REFLECTS ON PUBLIC SERVICE, PLANS FOR THE FUTURE "I want to take the important lessons I've learned as mayor of San Marcos and apply them to the Board of Supervisors. " – JIM DESMOND, Mayor of San Marcos