Late last month, North County reporter Tigist Layne revealed that Encinitas Councilmember Luke Shaffer had been charged with a felony assault and two misdemeanors.

With Shaffer set to be arraigned on Tuesday, Layne kicked out a primer on the first-term councilmember.

Shaffer, a former Marine, was born and raised in Encinitas. He’s a political independent. While Shaffer campaigned partly on crime reduction and infrastructure improvements, he was part of a slate of candidates who took advantage of local backlash against housing construction.

He promised he’d help lead the city’s fight against state housing requirements and work to restore local control. Since winning his seat, he has spoken in stark terms about the state’s attempts to force housing-hostile enclaves like Encinitas to build

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