Meet Eric Faulkner, an Independent Candidate in Temecula, CA

Eric Faulkner is running an independent campaign for city council in Temecula, California. Faulkner hopes to bring meaningful, non-partisan representation to Temecula’s 2nd city council district. 

GoodParty.org spoke with Faulkner about what inspired him to run for office, how his experience as a veteran and public servant has informed his campaign, and what he hopes to accomplish once in office.

Eric Faulkner: Veteran, Public Servant, City Council Candidate

Located in the heart of southern California’s wine country, Temecula is known as the southwest anchor of the Inland Empire region. As a city council member, Faulkner would represent central and eastern Temecula, including the areas surrounding Ronald Reagan Sports Park, Redhawk Towne Center, and Vail Ranch Park.

Faulkner said that his campaign for city council comes as the culmination of a diverse set of experiences, from serving 27 years in the U.S. Navy to volunteering in his community and leading Temecula’s Race, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (REDI) Commission.

In 2014, Faulkner retired from the U.S. Navy. After returning to Temecula, he began looking for new ways to serve his community.

“Although I’d left the military, I still had a lot of energy to give back to my community,” Faulkner said. “One of the things that we pride ourselves on in the military is community service. Our service is all about servant leadership and serving others. We serve the country, and we also look for opportunities to serve in our communities.”

Faulkner soon began volunteering with a variety of organizations. He has served as a member of the Board of Directors at The View Church, as a mentor through Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, and as a member of the Temecula Rotary Club.

In 2020, Faulkner was appointed to Temecula’s REDI Commission. The REDI Commission is responsible for reviewing the city’s services, programs, and policies and making recommendations to improve diversity and inclusion. Faulkner currently leads the commission as Chair. Serving on the REDI Commission is part of what motivated him to run for office.

“The REDI Commission has been what lit a fire under me,” Faulkner said. “The Race, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Commission is about everybody. It’s about engaging with our seniors and seeing what their concerns are with the city, engaging with our youth, engaging with our college students, and engaging with every diverse culture we can.”

However, Faulkner said he initially hesitated before taking the leap and running for office. He recalled looking in the mirror and wishing that someone else would step up instead.

“The mirror kept speaking back to me and saying, ‘If not you, then who? If you don’t step up, who steps up?’” Faulkner said.

In the end, Faulkner decided to run for city council to provide better representation and leadership for his district.

Providing a Non-Partisan Alternative for Temecula

As a city council candidate, Faulkner is offering voters an alternative choice to District 2’s incumbent candidate, who would otherwise be running unopposed for reelection. 

While serving on the REDI Commission, Faulkner became more involved in local government and began attending city council meetings. He said he has observed increasing partisanship within Temecula’s city council, partially due to actions taken by the incumbent.

“I saw the creeping in of this dynamic of partisanship within the city council, which is supposed to be non-partisan,” Faulkner said. 

He described a growing disconnect between the real responsibilities of the city council, and the topics the city council spent its limited time discussing. Instead of focusing on local issues, city council members were spending time discussing subjects where only higher levels of government can make meaningful decisions.

“The things that the city council does are across the political spectrum, because they’re things that everybody wants. They want quality of life. They want good infrastructure. They want law enforcement to respond on time. They want the fire department to be there when they need them. They want healthcare. They want entrepreneurship and businesses to spark the economy. They want inclusive services that they can connect with,” Faulkner said. “Those are the things we should be working on as a city council, not talking about things that are going to take us down rabbit holes and that we can’t fix down here.”

Faulkner observed that the city council member representing his district, District 2, has been a notable contributor to this problem. This city council member, Jessica Alexander, has sparked controversy in the past year over issues including LGBTQ+ pride and laws related to transgender youth. In 2021, a Change.org petition was made to recall Alexander from her city council seat after she made an “undoubtedly racist” statement comparing herself to Rosa Parks because of COVID-19 mask mandates. Since the petition was started, it has gained 1,894 signatures.

Alexander is currently running for reelection on November 5, 2024. Faulkner hopes to provide voters with an alternative to her style of leadership.

“There’s a change that needs to be made, and I’m willing to make the change. One thing I don’t do is run away from leadership. I never do that,” Faulkner said. “From my 27 years in the Navy, one thing I understand better than any of the council members or commissioners is leadership, because I’ve done it for 27 years of my life.”

Faulkner also noted that he has observed a lack of responsibility and preparation for city council meetings from the incumbent candidate.

“It’s a lack of preparation and a lack of responsibility for the position,” Faulkner said. “You need to understand your responsibility as a city councilperson. I understand that when people win, they’re happy and jovial about winning, but now the work starts. What do you know about what the city manager and the staff do to run the city? First of all, you should be aware of what all the city departments do. At least scratch the surface of what they do. Then start doing your research to be prepared to make decisions and ask the right questions and move forward. 

“In four years, I would have thought that anyone in the seat would understand the responsibility, but still to this day, the incumbent struggles with that. That’s something I won’t struggle with.”

Faulkner cited his experience in the military as evidence that he is prepared to approach this leadership position with greater skill and tact than the incumbent.

“Once you come in and you’ve made rank, you have people that are forced under your leadership and you have to learn how to lead them,” Faulkner said. “As a leader, you have to understand that you have to meet people where they are, and you have to understand where they come from. Many leaders don’t do that, and some fear walking into a space where everybody disagrees with them. I thrive in that moment.”

Faulkner explained that he is not easily flustered by conflict or controversy. And instead of stirring up controversy, Faulkner hopes to move the city forward toward unity and progress.

“I am working to reestablish unity in our community. That’s my mantra as I go forward,” he said.

Faulkner plans to focus on local issues within the city council’s purview, including affordable housing, voting access, and emergency preparedness. To view a full list of Faulkner’s policy priorities, visit his campaign website here.

Running for Office as a GoodParty.org Certified Candidate

Faulkner is a GoodParty.org Certified candidate for Temecula’s city council, meaning he has pledged to run an independent, people-powered, and anti-corruption campaign. He has pledged to prioritize his community’s needs, not those of big-money donors or special interests.

“I want a grassroots campaign. I don’t want to owe anybody,” Faulkner said. “I don’t want all this money from people, because there’s an expectation when they give you money. I don’t care what people say; there is an expectation when [people or organizations are] going to give you thousands and thousands of dollars. As soon as you go against something that they want, because they gave you that money, they’re going to be the first ones to say, ‘Remember, we gave you that.’ No, I don’t want to be tied down to that.”

Faulkner is positioning himself as a truly independent candidate because he wants to be able to make his own, well-informed decisions for Temecula, with no donors’ strings attached. 

“If you’re giving so you can get something special out of Eric, you are sadly mistaken. I am for the residents and the residents only, period,” he said.

In addition, Faulkner wants to be able to connect with voters of all political affiliations and parties.

“I’ve seen families torn apart because of politics,” he said. “I just want to be a candidate who can go in all the spaces and have a conversation. I’m going to be the person that meets with you anywhere, no matter your political affiliation, because I don’t subscribe to either side.”

Joining a Community of Independent Candidates

Running for city council as a GoodParty.org Certified candidate has given Faulkner access to GoodParty.org’s free campaign tools and community for independent candidates. 

Faulkner said he has benefited from the tools’ AI campaign content generators, which help him spend less time drafting copy and more time connecting with voters.

“I was spending hours thinking about how I was going to write this and write that. That’s when the AI tool came in. That is amazing. I’ll put in all my information, and I’ll ask for a letter or a statement, and it just generates it, and all I have to do is go clean up a few words,” Faulkner said. “The AI tool gets right to the point, pretty close to how you would want it to be said, based on the information you put in. I’ve been using it like crazy. It’s cut down on staff that I thought I would have had to have for my campaign, and it’s really helped me navigate this.”

Faulkner also said he enjoys connecting with other independent candidates through GoodParty.org’s online candidate community.

“I’m on Discord almost every day, just listening to the feedback that candidates are giving as they’re running for office. It gets you to a point where you know that you’re not by yourself and that people are navigating this thing with you for the first time,” he said.

How You Can Get Involved

Eric Faulkner will compete in Temecula’s general election on November 5, 2024. Voters in Temecula will cast their ballots to elect their next city council members in Districts 1, 2, and 4.

Are you a Temecula resident? Learn how you can participate in the general election here. 

Want to learn more about Faulkner’s campaign for city council? Check out his campaign website here. 

Want to volunteer? You can sign up to volunteer with Faulkner’s campaign on his website. You can also volunteer in support of Faulkner and other independent candidates across the country by joining GoodParty.org’s volunteer community.