District 6 faces a critical decision this year. For the first time since 2014, our D6 communities have an open seat to fill on San Diego City Council, and an opportunity to break the cycle of Downtown special interests that use our council seat to facilitate their aims instead of ours.
But in an example of successful grassroots messaging and basic campaign “blocking and tackling,” I managed to fight my opponent to a draw in the June primary, despite the fact he wildly outspent us to the tune of about $200,000. Our primary expenditures were considerably less.
On a grassroots effort, you learn to be wise with the money that you have – not a spendthrift.
Also, as a San Diego County Planning Commissioner, environmentalist, broadcaster, neighborhood advocate, and the endorsed Democratic candidate for the D6 seat in 2018, I’ve had the courage to speak up – again and again – on matters relating to our neighborhoods and the D6 community.
And we’ve gotten results.
- I worked with Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer’s office to help secure funding to restore the Mira Mesa Epicentre.
- I spoke out against the dangerous single lane realignment on Gold Coast Drive near Salk Elementary School. With help from our friends in media, we galvanized the community, and two weeks later City Hall changed the lanes back.
- I spoke out against the rezoning of south University City after the city dropped the proposal into the laps of residents with no advance notice. I continued to oppose the rezoning at a series of D6 candidate forums this spring. The city ulitmately withdrew the proposal.
- And I’ve spoken out against the destructive office park project to be built in Carroll Creek at the west end of Carroll Canyon atop a riparian area of sycamores and native species in violation of Mira Mesa’s own community plan.
We need truly affordable housing for working families in Kearny Mesa, Miramar, and across District 6 now, not more botched City Hall experiments.
We desperately need our broken roads rebuilt, we need to fully fund our public safety services, and we need effective public transit – especially in Mira Mesa, where we’re not going to get the trolley anytime soon.
Unfortunately, my opponent voted to support the office park project in Carroll Creek, and stayed silent about Gold Coast Drive and University City until after the mayor and city officials expressed their positions, in some cases belatedly. That’s not leadership.
Our campaign is about empowering neighborhoods, listening to neighbors, and making our city a great place to live, raise a family, start a business, and preserve our environment. That’s why we say Neighborhoods First.
How we move forward in D6 is up to you. Downtown special interests with deep pockets are about to spend outrageous sums of money in this race to elect my opponent. To win, they will say anything.
So skip the Downtown hype and vote for a proven neighborhood leader endorsed by the Sierra Club, San Diego Union-Tribune, Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer, former San Diego City Councilmember Harry Mathis, and many others as your next District 6 councilmember.
