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Randy was born and raised in Southern California and has lived in San Marcos for over 23 years. He is married to Kristen, and together they have two sons, Redmond (25) and Ryan (21), both educated in San Marcos Unified School District. For almost 20 years, he has spent considerable time taking on local causes that he believes are important and that improve our quality of life here in San Marcos.
San Marcos City Council
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In 2018, Randy was elected to serve on the San Marcos City Council as the representative for District 2. In his role as a Councilmember, Randy has emphasized the care and protection of our community.
During COVID-19, he championed the Discover our Recovery Business Promise program, and the Sunny San Marcos business sustainability program to support local breweries. He also created the Civic SMILE Award to honor those community members who work tirelessly to improve our community.
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Randy also led San Marcos in its effort to reduce the prevalence of single-use plastic in the passage of the city’s first Single-Use Plastics Reduction Ordinance, and currently serves on the board of directors of the North County Dispatch Joint Power Authority, the organization that provides fire and medical emergency dispatch services to most city fire departments in North San Diego County.
San Marcos Unified School District
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For 10 years prior to joining the San Marcos City Council, Randy served on the Governing Board of San Marcos Unified School District (SMUSD) and oversaw the dramatic growth in the district, both in student population and in academic gains. In the last two decades SMUSD has developed into one of the top unified school districts in the region which now routinely sends students to the finest colleges in the country, and has among the highest graduation rates, and lowest dropout rates of any district in the county. Randy loves SMUSD.
The goal of Randy’s first school board campaign was to rebuild San Marcos High School and once elected, he led the Proposition K school bond campaign and was actively involved in the oversight of the planning and construction of the high school (his office was the campaign headquarters). Indeed, in Randy's time on the school board, ten schools were named California Distinguished Schools, and two schools became California Gold Ribbon Schools. San Marcos High School and San Marcos Elementary schools were rebuilt, and the district was in the process of modernizing several other campuses when he left the board in 2018.
Community Service
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Randy is also a founder of The San Marcos Promise and the Valley of Discovery Education Foundation, two non-profits whose mission has been to create pathways to college and career for San Marcos students. The San Marcos Promise is especially important to Randy, as it continues to develop and to improve the lives of San Marcos youth. He remains an active member of its board.
Prior to his involvement in local education, Randy was appointed by the San Marcos City Council to help draft the city’s Ridgeline Protection Ordinance, a law designed to prevent damaging development to the city’s beautiful primary and secondary ridgelines. He also served as a board member and coach for several years in San Marcos Youth Baseball, and coached the San Marcos High School surf team, who won state championships three years in a row.
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Randy received his undergraduate degree from the University of California, San Diego, and a law degree from California Western School of Law, and for more than 15 years has operated Walton Law Firm in San Marcos. He is also a 2010 graduate of Leadership North County.
In his free time, Randy enjoys hiking the local trails, reading, listening to live music, and enjoying local craft beers. He also surfs the North County coast regularly. In addition to his law practice, he and his wife, Kristen, are also the proprietors of Walton Lemon Farm, a grove that produces certified organic lemons.
