As part of Endangered Species Day over the weekend, we celebrated the Western Snowy Plover and Ridgway’s Rail, two highly endangered birds native to our San Diego beaches. While these species are slowly recovering, we’re facing other critical environmental shortfalls here in San Diego that need to be addressed NOW – not later.
I recently had to stand up for the integrity of the endangered Least Bell’s Vireo in my role as a San Diego County Planning Commissioner, and as the co-founder of San Diego County Democrats for Environmental Action and veteran of ReWild Mission Bay and Surfrider, my environmental colleagues often tell me we’re overdue for a committed environmental voice at City Hall at the table with the city council, mayor, and city attorney.
With your help, I intend to be that environmental voice.
- The city’s landmark Climate Action Plan must be taken with the commitment and seriousness the issue and legally-binding deadline of 2035 demands.
- As sea levels rise we must devise actionable plans now for a managed withdrawal from low-lying coastal areas in the decades to come.
- We must restore green infrastructure like coastal wetlands to naturally filter and clean our water.
- We need to capture stormwater runoff west of I-5 so our beaches no longer become toxic soups when it rains.
- As we experience a year-round fire season, San Diego remains deficient in the number of fire stations compared to other cities of similar, even smaller size.
- We have a new Parks Master Plan proposal that substitutes a points system for actual park acreage, something we can’t stand for in District 6 with new housing going up in Mira Mesa and a massive build-out planned for Kearny Mesa over the next 10 years.
Support our grassroots effort for San Diego City Council District 6 today. We need your backing like never before. As a friend once described it, “Give until it hurts, then give a little more.”
Help support our Neighborhoods First effort with a contribution to a proven environmentalist, and keep an eye out for more events over the next several weeks as part of our campaign in Clairemont, Mira Mesa, Kearny Mesa, Sorrento Valley, Miramar, and Rancho Peñasquitos.