I just received this e-mail from San Diego County Democratic Party chair Will Rodriguez-Kennedy endorsing Assemblymember Todd Gloria for Mayor of San Diego. I enthusiastically second that endorsement. Both Todd and his opponent, Barbara Bry, are nominal Democrats. But Todd is a true Democrat while Barbara is a DINO (Democrat in Name Only).
I lost any sympathy I might have had for Barbara when she came to a candidates' forum at the San Diego Democrats for Equality and boasted that she had killed off all the retail shopping space in Horton Plaza. Not only had she done this to fulfill her mad dream of turning Horton Plaza into a giant campus for high-tech firms, she was actually proud of it! She bragged that she had managed to stop the city from keeping at least some retail space in the center.
It's hard to list all the reasons Barbara's mad scheme is a terrible idea. One, it eliminated a major retail space from downtown and thereby forced downtown and East Village residents to shop at Mission Valley, Fashion Valley and other temples to southern California's notoriously auto-centric culture. It goes totally against San Diego's "City of Villages" plan to make each neighborhood as totally self-sufficient as possible and thereby minimze auto travel and its malign effect on the environment.
Also, as Barbara herself acknowledged, attracting high-tech companies to cities has invariably led to major increases in housing costs -- which in San Diego are way too high already! Barbara said she had a plan to counteract this, but she didn't say what it would be. What's worse, much of Barbara's TV campaign is based on the idea of giving neighborhoods more say in what gets built there -- a nice idea in theory, but in practice neighborhood organizations usually use that power to kill any attempt to develop affordable housing. So Barbara's proposals will raise the already astronomical cost of housing in San Diego and frustrate attempts by the city and nonprofit corporations to add to the affordable housing stock.
Finally, Barbara's attempt to turn San Diego into "Silicon Valley South" won't even work. Even before the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, high-tech companies were already decentralizing their operations and allowing more employees to work at home. The pandemic has already accelerated that change and led many companies to reduce instead of increase their use of office space. Suppose Barbara's reconstructed Horton Plaza opens -- and no one wants to rent space in it? Then she's just destroyed a valuable community resource for no reason at all!
I've known Todd Gloria for years. He's not a flashy politician who pushes great schemes and tries to convince voters he's their friend. He's a steady hard worker who quietly and unflamboyantly gets the job done. I will be proud to vote for Todd, for all the reasons Will lists below as well as what I've seen from him in his various offices. -- Mark Gabrish Conlan
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The San Diego mayor’s race is between two Democrats. Our party has endorsed one of them, Assemblymember Todd Gloria, and for good reason.
Not only are the candidates' positions on important issues different, but their behavior in seeking the office illustrates why Todd Gloria received the overwhelming support of the San Diego County Democratic Party and is strongly backed by our local, state, and federal Democratic elected officials. On the issues, Todd stands out.
• Housing: Todd doesn’t give lip service to this issue. He supports more housing near jobs and transit, and he’s willing to make the zoning and regulatory changes necessary to build more homes so prices come down. In communicating her housing position, Todd’s opponent has used language like “They are coming for our homes” and “There goes the neighborhood” and has continually misrepresented Todd’s position.
• Homelessness: Todd supports a compassionate, “housing first” approach to providing permanent, supportive housing instead of temporary shelters. We can’t expect people to tackle mental illness and drug addiction without a roof over their heads. He believes in providing the housing and wrap-around services that people need to get off the streets long-term. His opponent has changed her position and no longer supports the “housing first” model of ending homelessness, instead saying “reducing red tape” will solve this crisis.
• Pandemic Recovery: Todd understands that working and middle-class people have been left out of the economic boom of the past few years. He will work to ensure that ends with our pandemic recovery. Todd is endorsed by nearly every labor organization in San Diego because his policies are good for working San Diegans. His opponent says these endorsements are bad for San Diego.
• Racial Justice: Todd has a full racial justice plan that goes beyond police reform and lays out ways we can solve the racial injustices that plague our institutions. His opponent has no racial justice plan.
• Transportation: Todd envisions a clean transportation future for the City of San Diego and will fight to enact strategies that offer true mobility options, reduce congestion, conform to the City’s Climate Action Plan, and prioritize safety while encouraging economic growth. His opponent has no transportation plan but criticizes Todd’s, saying it will require tunneling under neighborhoods.
• Climate Action: Todd authored San Diego's Climate Action Plan, committing the city to move to 100% renewable energy by 2035. Under his opponent’s watch, the city has failed to meet many of the goals in the plan over the last four years.
San Diego County Democrats strongly believe that Todd Gloria is the best candidate to be our next mayor.
In Solidarity,
Will Rodriguez Kennedy
Chair, San Diego County Democratic Party
