Jenkins, Sharon. Interview, February 2, 2023

Tanis Brown: Okay. So, today is February 2nd, 2023, and this is a part of the North County Oral History Initiative. My name is Tanis Brown, and today I will be interviewing Sharon Jenkins. So, hi Sharon. Thanks very much for coming in today. You and I have been friends for a long time, but there are some things about you that I don't really know. So, I'd like to find out a little bit more about your San Marcos story.

Sharon Jenkins: Right. Thanks for having me, Tanis. This--I'm excited you're doing this.

Brown: Good. Well, I'd like to start from the beginning. Where were you born, Sharon?

Jenkins: I was born in Quincy, Massachusetts--

Brown: Oh my gosh.

Jenkins: --and I moved from Quincy when I was very young. I don't even know how young, less than five. And I moved to Scituate, Massachusetts. And I lived there 00:01:00until 1971, when we moved to San Marcos.

Brown: Okay. So, you came to San Marcos in 1971, and would you still have been going to school at that time?

Jenkins: So, yes. I started San Marcos High School in 1971 as a freshman.

Brown: Okay. And the school was just ten years old at that time, so--

Jenkins: Yes.

Brown: --it was a new school.

Jenkins: Yes, very small.

Brown: How many students in the--in the graduating class, Sharon?

Jenkins: So, I don't remember the number. I would guess maybe less than two hundred.

Brown: Mm-hmm.

Jenkins: I know when we graduated, we could sit on the visitor's side of the bleachers in the old gym.

Brown: (chuckles)

Jenkins: So, that's how small we were.

Brown: Okay. Did you have a football team and everything, and--

Jenkins: We had a football team, yes, yes.

Brown: All right. So, any changes between the east coast and coming to the west coast?

Jenkins: I think I was so young that I probably didn't understand what those changes were.

Brown: Okay.

Jenkins: Um, I remembered it--I remembered feeling like it was very, um, --things were very scattered here, and--and not very busy.

Brown: Oh, compared to the east coast.

Jenkins: Right, right.

Brown: Interesting. Um, so other than changing coasts, do you have any other childhood memories that stick out in your mind that maybe you carry forward today, or any traits about yourself?

Jenkins: I would say, as far as high school and that era, um, making--making 00:03:00friends that some of them I still have as friends today.

Brown: Okay.

Jenkins: San Marcos was very small back then. So, um, there was a lot of people connected and, even though we're much larger today, a lot of those connections are still in place. When I moved here there were, I believe, less than 10,000 people in San Marcos.

Brown: Wow. That's so cool. And you actually moved to Lake San Marcos when you first came here?

Jenkins: Yes, I did. I moved to Lake San Marcos. Um, that's where my parents purchased a house. And my dad was a pilot and commuted to L.A. when he needed to fly. And, um, he decided on Lake San Marcos because he felt that it was such a great, safe community. And he had a friend in Escondido who told him that San 00:04:00Marcos had a new high school and had a very good reputation. So, that's another reason why he--he picked San Marcos.

Brown: Okay. Oh, that's interesting. So, Lake San Marcos was kind of an entity unto itself when it was first constructed and was highly touted as a--a kind of upscale community. Did you--did you notice any of that growing up in terms of--of students or residents of San Marcos? Did you always feel yourself a part of the community of San Marcos?

Jenkins: Yes, always. So, when I moved there, as I look back, I think there were less than five children living in Lake San Marcos, because it was a retirement 00:05:00community back then. And most of the homes that are there today were not there. It was m--majority was empty lots that homes hadn't been constructed yet--

Brown: Okay

Jenkins: --um, along the streets. (nods her head)

Brown: Okay.

Jenkins: So, I think the big thing I noticed, um, was very few--in fact, I don't eve--I think I only knew one or two--other kids that lived there, but always felt it was a part of San Marcos to me. (nods her head again)

Brown: Okay. That's great. Okay. So, just in terms of the overall community of San Marcos back in 1971 and during your high school years, wha--what were the big deals? What was--what was the city like at that time for you growing up?

Jenkins: Um, I was--since I was new to the community--I didn't have some of the 00:06:00connections that many of the other kids had that had been through school from however young. Um, so I think some of the connections were um, um, you know, as you made friends, hanging out with those friends, I remember a teacher encouraged my mom, "Get her involved in something." And I think I was on the tennis team for a year. (chuckles) Um, never play tennis. But the whole thing was, you know, the staff at that time was to get kids involved in--in things. Um, Friday night football was a big deal back then and um, um, just hanging out with whatever friends you had.

Brown: Mm-hmm. So, in the community, though, did your parents get involved in 00:07:00the community? Were they involved in Kiwanis and Rotary and that kind of thing?

Jenkins: No.

Brown: Were those organizations available at that time, or--

Jenkins: I don't know. I s--assume so.

Brown: Okay.

Jenkins: No. They were involved in playing golf. (laughs)

Brown: Okay. Okay. And that was a big thing in Lake San Marcos--

Jenkins: Yes!

Brown: --to play golf. They had, what, an executive course?

Jenkins: I don't think they had the executive course then.

Brown: Okay.

Jenkins: But they did have the big course, and I'm sure that was one of the reasons why my dad selected there, too, because they both played golf.

Brown: All right.

Jenkins: And I played golf too. My dad taught me--started to teach me, um, when I was about nine. And, um--and so I would go out and play. There was a couple of people--a couple kids at that time, and another gal and I would go out and play periodically.

Brown: Okay. So, today San Marcos is fairly well-known for its colleges. We have 00:08:00Palomar Community College and Cal State San Marcos. After graduating from high school, did--did you--you might not of even had those opportunities, although Palomar, I think, was here at that point in time. Where--what did you do after high school, after graduating from high school?

Jenkins: So, I graduated from high school and went to Palomar College because it had such a great reputation back then as it does now. I went to Palomar, and then, um, transferred to San Diego State. But it was right around the time--actually, I think that I was going on campus to San Diego, and then as I got closer to finishing--it took me much longer than two years, because I worked. But, as I got closer to finishing, they started to have some remote 00:09:00classes in North County, and I think a couple of classes I went to--one was in the--a middle school in Vista, on a Saturday, I think, and another one was in, um, a business class from an--off of Furniture Row. So, San Diego--so, Cal State San Marcos wasn't here, but they had started to expand some opportunities for the No--North County kids. So, it wasn't a lot of classes, but it was just enough that you could take a couple and not have to commute to San Diego.

Brown: All right. Great. So, you finished up at--at San Diego State, and did you have a vocation or an avocation in mind, um, while you were going to college?

Jenkins: Business.

Brown: Business.

Jenkins: Yes. I focused on business administration and accounting at the time.

Brown: Okay. And you said you were--you worked your way through college? You were working while you were going to college.

Jenkins: I worked while I went to college. I ended up, um--after I left Palomar--I always worked part-time. After I left Palomar, I think I might have started to work full-time and then I took classes at night, and would commute down to San Diego State at night, a couple of nights a week.

Brown: Oh. So, you had a busy life, even back then.

Jenkins: Yes.

Brown: (laughs) Wow, that's great. So, commuting to school--what was driving to San Diego State from San Marcos like? What--how--what was the timeframe?

Jenkins: So, I always thought it was a good, um, a good travel time if I could 00:11:00do it in about thirty minutes. (both of them chuckle) Most of the time it was more than that. But it depended, you know. If it was a class that ended at nine o'clock, then you could pretty much get home within thirty minutes or so.

Brown: Mm-hmm.

Jenkins: But there definitely were times of the day when it was more difficult to get there, even back then! That would have been in the, um, let's see, probably the late seventies.

Brown: Okay.

Jenkins: So. And the freeways weren't as big as they are today.

Brown: Right.

Jenkins: But we didn't have as many cars back then.

Brown: Okay. So, then after graduation did you look for employment in, locally, or interested in going someplace else?

Jenkins: So, while I was in high school, my first job during high school after my sophomore year was working at Taco Bell in Escondido. And then--um, and then 00:12:00I started my junior year and then I was an aide for one of the high school counselors and he had a neighbor who had a business in Escondido. And he said, "Sharon, you--this--my neighbor is looking for some work. Why don't you go see if they could--if, you know--apply for a job there." And that was the summer after my junior year. So, I worked the summer after my junior year at the company, and then when my senior year started, I was only going half-day. And so, I would go to high school in the morning, and then I would go work in the afternoon. And then I graduated mid-year my senior year. So, I was able to start Palomar and I still worked part-time for the company. And then, while I was 00:13:00going to Palomar, I just continued to work part-time and plan my classes accordingly. So, when I finished college, I conti--started full-time with the company. In fact, I probably started full-time before a graduated from college and finished college at night. I think that's how it went.

Brown: Wow. So, you were a working woman early on.

Jenkins: Very early.

Brown: Yeah. And did you stay in the accounting field for a long time?

Jenkins: Yes. Most of my work there was office type work, accounting related work. And then I worked there for about ten years, and then I applied for, while I was in college, I applied for a internship, I guess you will, at IBM in San 00:14:00Diego. And so, I was hired to work part-time. I don't know what it was called exactly, but similar to a internship. And then I worked a year doing that. And then--and then after that year, I started full-time there and I stayed there, um, for probably early 90s. And then--and then I quit so I could stay home with my kids.

Brown: All right. Wow. Okay. So, when I first met you, you were involved in real estate. How did that transition happen?

Jenkins: So, I think we actually met earlier than that, when Allan and I were on the school board together.

Brown: Oh, okay.

Jenkins: Okay? Um, and, um, so I--I stayed home with my kids. Did different part-time things. Volunteered a lot in the schools. That's how I met Allan and eventually you. And then as my la--my second daughter was about to graduate from high school, I thought well what am I going to do now? And so then a friend said, "Why don't you think about becoming a realtor?" And I never gave it a thought. But, I said, "Okay, well, I'll check into that." And so, I did that and it--it's a way to help people which is what I like to do. And so, it has worked out well. So, I've been doing that for, mm, probably close to seventeen years.

Brown: All right. That's great. Well, you segued right into the kind of second theme of my interview questions and that is your very long career in local government, starting with the school district. And so, my question to you about that is, um, you know, what--what--what inspired you to get involved beyond the local parent organization in the school district here in San Marcos?

Jenkins: So, I think being involved in--in the local parent groups actually was my segue into the next part. Because I was involved in different parent 00:17:00organizations. I was involved in the 1996 School Board Bond effort. I co-chaired that with two other people. And then after that, once you volunteer for something, as Dennis well knows, (they both chuckle) you are encouraged to volunteer for more. And one day somebody caught me in one of the school parking lots and said, "Have you ever running for the school board?" which I said, "I've--No." And then, so then finally in 1998, Lucy Gross who was a school board member for a long time which even Allan knew well, was leaving the board and she--and she also approached me and said, "You know, you should think about this because of the involvement with the schools." And so--so I was on the school 00:18:00board from 1998 until 2012.

Brown: Wow. So, during that time, how much did the school district change in those years?

Jenkins: I would say dramatically, more so towards the last half than the beginning. But San Marcos was growing considerably then. I want to say, when I first started, there might have been--I don't know--maybe eight, maybe ten thousand students. I'd have to go back and look at that. And now there are cl--close to, you know, approximately twenty [thousand]. So, it was a very growth intensified time, a lot of schools being built, always financial troubles 00:19:00from--due to state funding. But somehow, we got it all done.

Brown: Mm-hmm.

Jenkins: And I think during the last, um--you know, during the last five years or so, my term there is just, I think, when dramatic things change. It was always interesting. I was told, and I--I didn't realize this until--until later, but I was told that, um, at different times of an organization, there's different priorities. And sometimes it's a--it's a school building cycle. Sometimes it's a curriculum cycle that you're working to overcome. Sometimes 00:20:00it's a financial cycle that you're working to overcome. And, um, and so as I look back, I realize when I first got on, it was a growth cycle. So, it was building. And then later it became more curriculum focused cycle. All--always--always focused on curriculum, but you--you pick and choose things to make things happen sooner than later. And so, looking back, I--I--I now see what that very intelligent person meant.

Brown: So, what was your favorite thing about--or a couple of your favorite things--about being in a leadership position for a school district?

Jenkins: I would say my colleagues on the school board and staff. I think--you know, we're supposed to have the vision at a--at a high level, figure out what 00:21:00those goals are. And then it's the staff that makes it happen. And I think San Marcos--both on a school district and city-wide too--has always had great staff. I think we were lucky. And we had school board members that kept their focus on the kids and what was best for the kids. We couldn't always get there as quickly as we wanted, but eventually we would get there.

Brown: Yeah.

Jenkins: I think also the staff and the--the other electeds, but also, um, some of the things that I--I find the most memorable to me are buildings, seeing the new schools open. High school graduations are always great because, you know, 00:22:00it's a huge success for the kids and the--and the staff, to get them to where they were that day. And also, I think the--the two school bonds that we worked on over the years. Those were--that brought such change to the community, both of those. And--and as an elected official, sometimes it's difficult when you have to make really difficult decisions. But it's also gratifying when you--when you realize, okay, I made the right decision. It's difficult, but I made the right decision.

Brown: And you come out on the--on the other end of it feeling really positive.

Jenkins: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Brown: Yeah. That's good. So, from the school board, then you put your name in 00:23:00to be a city council representative and that comes with a whole 'nother group of--of learning curves and--and, uh, opportunities and challenges. So, any differences between the s--what you were dealing with on the school board versus the city council?

Jenkins: I would say, um, a couple differences. The--the school district had, probably when I started, maybe, I don't know, maybe not even a thousand employees and less than ten schools. Whereas I think the school district is more complex with a lot of the issues they have to deal with. I think the city 00:24:00is--just has a smaller scale to it. And the needs are--you're looking at different needs than what the school district is looking at. You know, we have, say, two hundred and some employees and many facilities. But those facilities are, in my mind, are less complicated than a school facility.

Brown: Oh. Interesting. Wow. So, what was the first year you were elected to the city council?

Jenkins: 2012.

Brown: So, 2012. So, there was no break between the school district and moving right into city council.

Jenkins: No. I was mid-term--

Brown: Okay.

Jenkins: --in 2012. So, I had two years into my four-year term. And there was a sitting councilmember who wasn't running. And so, again, I had a--a couple 00:25:00people approach me and say, "You know, you should think about this." And I said, "I know nothing about any of that." I said, "I haven't been on the planning commission. How do I learn all that." (both of them chuckle) And so about maybe--maybe about a year, maybe s--not quite six months before the election, I started to talk to as many people as I could to see, you know, what their thoughts were. We, at that point, had lost redevelopment money to the state. The state clawed back, I think it was twenty-some million dollars of redevelopment money, and I had a couple people say, "Why would you even want to go into that because, you know, there's a huge situation going on here." But I just decided 00:26:00that, after talking to a number of people, that I felt I had good support, and I thought, you know, I can--I can learn this. I can do this. I had a lot of people that said, you know, "Come back and talk to me whenever you need to." And so, I did it.

Brown: Yeah. Were the--was the campaigning different between the school board and the city council?

Jenkins: Um, not--not drastically back then. To me it was citywide and to me the school board at that point in time was also citywide. So, I had--I think I had some name recognition with the parents and then because of being involved in different things in the district, then that--I think that gave me a leg up.

Brown: Mm-hmm. Okay.

Jenkins: So, it's about--yeah, I would say, at that point in time, it was about the same.

Brown: Okay. So, another continuing growth effort in our city over the time that you have been serving on the city council. So, I'd like to ask you--in that time that you've been on which is like ten years going on a few more years--so, um, looking back on that last ten years, what are you--I mean--wha--what do you see as the most value that--that the city council and you, yourself, have been involved in for the--for the community?

Jenkins: Um, I would say doing our best to listen to all residents. We can't 00:28:00always do what residents want us to do. That can be a little frustrating because they don't realize--al--some of what we do is out of our control. We really push for local control here in San Marcos so that we make our own decisions. But more and more state, mainly, and federal is--is telling us we have to do things differently. Or we have to adhere to certain things. And, you know, sometimes we may feel like that's not the best thing for our community, but we don't have a choice.

Brown: Yeah.

Jenkins: Or we'd be sued.

Brown: So, if you had a magic wand today, is there anything in San Marcos that you would change or--or improve that would make a huge difference or, uh, for 00:29:00our future?

Jenkins: I can't think of anything right now off the top of my head. Um, I would like to see us, um--traffic is always a big concern in San Marcos. So, I would say we have continuing efforts to work on that. It's not necessarily all about expanding roads. Some of it's infrastructure and--and--and other things. So, I would say, um, just trying to keep working through what we can in that area and we're working on it. We're spending lots of money on it. I can't think of anything particular. We're--I'm excited to have the bridges done in a few months. That has been something that was talked about long before I got on the 00:30:00council. So, I think that would be a--a big plus to the community to get that traffic flow.

Brown: That's great. So, Sharon, I would like to kind of conclude this interview with giving you an opportunity to just--if there's anything we haven't covered. I--I do have one more question that I kind of have been thinking about in terms of my-- Knowing you for so many years, one of the things that I appreciate so much about you is your continually willingness and outreach to all the people that you've known for so long, which is, I'm sure, a growing number every year. How do you--how do you continue to keep in contact with this growing number of 00:31:00friends and colleagues that you have grown over the course of your time here in San Marcos?

Jenkins: Um, let's see. I don't know. How do any of us do that? I think you just make an effort to--to get together with people and have meet-ups and, um, see them at different events. I try to, when things are going on within the city, I try to email people that I know would have an interest in that. And almost always I get emails back saying, "Wow. You know, we really appreciate that, because we don't--we don't have access to that. And so, we're glad to hear about something." Just, you know, again just doing your best to try to reach out to people.

Brown: Mm-hmm.

Jenkins: And--and see them when you can.

Brown: Uh-huh. Well, I certainly think that makes you a very effective leader in our community in terms of keeping in t--touch with the way people feel. And I appreciate it.

Jenkins: Thank you. I think another thing that's important too is, um, as things have changed in the recent years, I think it is important for--for future councils and--and to understand that even though we're in voting districts, I think it's important that we represent all of San Marcos.

Brown: Yeah.

Jenkins: Um, I'm in a particular district but I reach out to people in other districts all the time. Listening is the best thing we can do.

Brown: Mm-hmm.

Jenkins: And responding to questions.

Brown: Yeah. So, in closing, is there anything else you'd like to share with us that we haven't covered today, but you'd like our audience to hear.

Jenkins: Let's see. I would say that I'm just very pleased that I've been able to live in one town for so long. Growing up I, you know, you always think, "Oh, I just want to get out of here." But I'm glad that I've--I've been here as long as I have. I'm glad my daughters--one lives here. Her--her two children are going to San Marcos schools. In fact, one of them is going to Discovery Elementary and I was one of the founding PTO board members of that. So, that's kind of fun to go back and see that school. And then my other daughter's nearby in San Diego. So, I think being able to see them enjoy what's going on here in North County--that, things that, you know, I enjoyed growing up. And they're now 00:34:00realizing that--that it's a good place.

Brown: Absolutely.

Jenkins: Yeah.

Brown: All right.

Jenkins: Thank you for having me.

Brown: Well, thank you very much for your time today and this concludes our interview for the North County Oral History Initiative.