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also reached out to those who weren’t
friends.
“She wanted Encinitas to remain what the
vision of the founders was: a community
focused on the quality of life for residents,”
she said.
In 2004, during a triathlon in Encinitas’
sister city, Hondo, Japan, she stopped to
help a feral kitten in distress. She became a
citywide hero over there. Back here, politi-
cal opponents made it an election issue.
Once, a resident erected a billboard fac-
ing I-5 reading, “Houlihan is a Whore.” She
sued for libel and used the settlement to
build an enclosure for rescued turtles.
Houlihan reported ongoing harassment
and threats against her life to the Encinitas
Sheriff’s Department. She said only one
particular offi cer would respond.
Despite the attacks, her all-volunteer
campaign brought in the most votes in the
2004 and 2008 elections. She also served as
mayor those years. City councilmembers
rotate as mayor.
In 2005, Houlihan was diagnosed with
endometrial cancer. It returned in 2009.
Within days of completing her chemother-
apy, Houlihan found out that Thompson
had prostate cancer.
“Ian tried to do everything,” Houlihan
explained. “He’d have chemo at 8 a.m. and
drive to Orange County to work. I don’t
know how he did it.”
Thompson recuperated and continued to
care for his wife until her death. “It was a
green-card marriage that lasted 28 years,”
he said.
Today, he is committed to perpetuating
her legacy.
“I attribute some of this cancer to the
level of stress she had for years, and to
the fact that she wouldn’t back down,” he
said. “People over time recognized what
she stood for. Her message resonated with
people in the community.”
He added, “Maggie was one in a billion. I
have never seen anyone who could inspire
so many people to action in so many dif-
ferent ways while at the same time never
missing an opportunity to behave compas-
sionately to both humans and animals
alike.”
Slater-Price says she’ll miss her friend.
“There was nothing she liked better than
to get up in the morning and go out and do
as many things she could do in her role as
mayor or councilmember,” she explained.
“The fact that she would teach line dancing
at the senior center—that was Maggie.”
She added, “People loved and welcomed
that independent, truth-seeking spirit.”
// LILLIAN COX❯❯ NORTH COUNTY