A 2020 Democrat vs Democrat Mayoral Contest in San Diego
First in a series on City of San Diego political contests on the November, 2020 ballot. I’ll be doing other contests between now and October, when mail-in ballots arrive.
Already covered: State Ballot propositions
This November’s general election will be the first I can remember where there isn’t a (usually moderate) Republican on the ballot for Mayor.
Running for Mayor of San Diego gets complicated. There’s a downtown business establishment that expects to get their way. There are many liberal/progressive leaning interests who see the pro-Democratic political landscape as opportunities to advance their agendas.
And there’s the Hatfields vs McCoys aspect to local politics, based on decades of real or imagined slights and misdeeds. People you’d think would be aligned with one candidate are actually in favor of the other, and political principles have little to do with it.
Assemblyman Todd Gloria, who has the endorsements of both the Chamber of Commerce and the Democratic Party, along with the backing of a police-union supported independent expenditure committee, is touting his humble background and long time commitment to the Democratic Party.
His campaign site describes him as a “mayor who will work for all of us.” I hope he means it.
His accomplishments as a politician should be appealing to those in the left lane of the Democratic Party--fighting for an increased local minimum wage, paid sick days, and a climate action plan that set the standard for other cities. Influential local unions support his candidacy.
In fact, if you look at the institutions supporting Gloria, it would be easy to assume he has an overwhelming advantage. I’m not so sure that is the case.
City Councilmember Barbara Bry describes herself as a high-tech entrepreneur, non-profit leader, and problem solver who’s “not” a politician. (Really? People still think voters fall for that?)
Contributors to the “non-candidate controlled” committee backing her read like a who’s who of wealthy local real estate developers.
She is promising to clean up the mess at city hall.
And Bry comes with her own set of notable credentials, having founded of Athena San Diego (advocacy for women in STEM), along with Run Women Run (trains and supports pro-choice women candidates). She is a Board Member, Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest and serves as President of the Children’s Museum of San Diego.
Setting the Scene
We’re in the middle of a historic year. A COVID-19 epidemic has heightened the contradictions in our economic and social order. An authoritarian sociopath in the White House has been actively undermining the social, environmental, and political pillars of the nation. The only thing we can be sure of next year is that things won’t be the same as we’re used to.
The local issue turning out to be central to the mayoral contest is housing, or lack thereof. Both candidates are in favor of building more places to live to meet overwhelming demand; how and where those residences get built is where they part ways.
Gloria tends toward what I’d call the “new urbanist” camp; more density through infill in existing neighborhoods, and less deification of the automobile. HIs attitude about homelessness is all about prioritizing creating housing and supportive social networks.
There is remarkable opposition to Gloria’s candidacy in some sectors of the activist community. He’s seen as too malleable to big money interests, despite his progressive sounding rhetoric. And the Assemblyman is totally plugged into the local Democratic establishment, which historically hasn’t been there when push comes to shove for minorities. (Note: New leadership may change that perception.)
Bry talks of protecting neighborhoods from Sacramento politicians. Unfortunately, some of her “they’re coming for your homes” rhetoric is reminiscent of the language used by segregationists.
She’s also bought into the thinking about homeless humans that says their “problems” have to be addressed as a priority.
The reality of so much community planning in San Diego (which is still in the process of being updated) is that the status quo exists because that’s what the predominantly wealthy, older, white people with time on the hand to volunteer believe is best.
So when Bry qualifies her commitment to infill housing along transportation corridors by saying projects must conform to adopted Community Plans, I think she’s sending a signal to wealthy homeowners to not worry.
Both Bry and Gloria served on the City Council during periods when the city’s supply of single occupancy hotels was wiped out by redevelopment, so there are no angels here, rhetoric be damned.
The way I see it, we had plenty of mental illness and substance abuse in our communities before homelessness was a major concern. Most people could still find places to live. Now there’s an eight to ten year wait for a Section 8 voucher, if somebody’s lucky enough to find a landlord that will take them.
One deal-breaker for me is Bry’s opposition to Assembly Bill 5, the legislation that made California employers get legit about using contract employees. What’s missing in her reasoning for wanting the law to be “repealed” --never gonna happen, so it’s just posturing-- is an acknowledgement of the underlying economic structural factors.
A lot more people were being abused by employers in industries employing contractors than were living la vida loca as freelancers. And then there’s the pesky little problems connected with re-arranging the employer-employee based social safety net. But if you realize that the high tech industry generally has relied on this no benefits/no protections model, then you understand Bry’s objection.
Like it or not, it’s clear that Bry is running to the right politically in this election. She’s all-but-blamed Gloria for every city problem short of the pandemic, while portraying herself as the underdog.
It’s probably the correct political strategy, given that Gloria hoovered up so many of the big name liberals in town. It certainly has benefitted Bry in terms of small donor (under $1150) contributions, where she has done quite well.
From the Union-Tribune:
San Diego mayoral candidate Barbara Bry more than doubled rival Todd Gloria’s recent campaign donations, a notable margin that Bry’s campaign is calling a significant momentum shift.
Gloria’s campaign officials note that much of Bry’s campaign haul was contributed by the candidate herself, and the Assemblyman still has more cash on hand than Bry, a City Councilwoman.
The question in choosing one of these candidates --and those are the only choices on the ballot---is what kind of government will we have under the winner.
Our strong-mayor form of government, permanently instituted in the wake of scandals a decade ago, has certainly brought its share of disappointments. Republican Mayors Sanders and Falconer used their executive powers in ways not ultimately in the best interest of a majority of the population, and all-too-often in ways diminishing the aspirations of people of color in this city.
Our short-term flirtation with Democratic Mayor Bob Filner proved to be a disaster, one that stymied progress on many fronts for the past eight years. Todd Gloria, as city council president/interim mayor, came in and undid both the damages and some of the advances of that administration.
There are people who have not forgiven him for those decisions.
Ultimately this contest comes down to a socially conscious (but maybe too pragmatic) Gloria vs a business solutions oriented Bry. If you ask each of them what they support in terms of actual progress, the answers won’t be very far apart, once you pick out the political “gotchas” and snark.
You can put me down as a strong “lean Gloria.” I’ll take a pragmatic liberal over a business management “problem solver” every time.
Government isn’t a business. Democracy is messy. There is no perfect candidate, unless you belong to a cult of personality. I believe Gloria’s political skills make achieving a consensus with the newly elected City Council in 2021 more likely.
Without a consensus on moving forward, we’ll be revisiting all the same problems and pointing the same fingers come 2024.
About the Candidates
Todd Gloria
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Endorsements
Bio: Third-generation San Diegan of Filipino, Dutch, Puerto Rican, and Native American descent; enrolled member of the Tlingit Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska.
Education: Attended Madison High School, University of San Diego, Summa Cum Laude grad
Relevant experience: Chair of the San Diego LGBT Community Center, District Director to U.S. Congresswoman Susan Davis, San Diego City Council (D3), Interim Mayor, California State Assembly (AD78).
A Significant Accomplishment: Authored San Diego’s Climate Action Plan
Politics in a nutshell: Community/Liberal/Activist/Democrat
Issues highlighted on website: Affordable housing, homelessness, climate, community equity, environmental justice, and income inequality
$$$$
Total small donors reported via Candidate Controlled committee: $362,027.
Largest contributors to Non-Candidate Controlled committees
“Democrats for a More Affordable and Sustainable San Diego in Support of Chris Olsen for Council and Todd Gloria for Mayor 2020- Sponsored by YIMBY Democrats of San Diego County”
$12,500* New Urban West - Real Estate Developer
$12,500* San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce PAC
*= Portion of contribution to joint primary committee with Chris Olsen
San Diego Small Business Coalition Supporting Todd Gloria for Mayor 2020
$27,500 San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce PAC
$2,500 Otay Truck Parking
$10,000 California Asian Chamber of Commerce
San Diegans from Every Community in Support of Todd Gloria for Mayor
$5,000 San Diego Police Officers Association
$10,000 SEIU United Service Workers West PAC
$3,000 WSP USA, Inc. (Engineering professional services firm)
$51,071 SEIU California State Council
$25,000 American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Guild Local 1931
$5,000 AMR Holdco, Inc (Ambulance contractor for SD)
$5,000 HNTB Holdings LTD PAC (Infrastructure design firm)
$5,000 Rancho Guejito Corporation (Owners of 23,000-acre ranch in county, est. 1845)
$10,000 LGBT Caucus Leadership fund
***
Barbara Bry
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Endorsements
Bio: San Diego resident for more than 35 years, newspaper reporter, editor, high-tech entrepreneur, founded Athena San Diego supporting the advancement of women in tech and life science. President of the Board of the Children's Museum of San Diego, as Vice Chair of the San Diego Jewish Community Foundation and on the board of Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest.
Education: University of Pennsylvania, Bachelor’s Degree, Sociology: Master’s Degree, Secondary Education; Master’s Degree in Business from Harvard
Relevant experience: City Council (D1) President Pro Tem, Chair of the Budget and Government Efficiency Committee and Vice Chair of the Rules Committee and the Committee on Public Safety and Livable Neighborhoods.
A Significant Accomplishment: Wrote ordinance to rein in short-term vacation rental companies (Repealed)
Politics in a nutshell: Centrist Democrat/liberal on social issues/ pro-business/neighborhood preservationist
Issue highlighted on website: Promises to clean up the mess at City Hall.
$$$$
Barbara Bry’s campaign reports indicate she has $110,000 in loans.
Total small donors reported via Candidate Controlled committee: $720,921 as of 6/30/20
Largest contributors to Non-Candidate Controlled committee:
“Success San Diego in support of Barbara Bry for Mayor 2020”
$20,000: Moran & Company - Apartment brokerage firm
$35,000 Browning Family Trust (J Stephen Peace, Trustee)
$7,000 Anita Busquets, Biotechnology Consultant
$5,000 Mary Ann King - Chairman Moran & Company
$7,000 Gwen Rosenberg - Corporate Communication Consulting Integrated DNA Technologies
$10,000 Jeffrey Silberman - President/CEO Carleton Management Inc. (Real Estate Developer)
$2,000 Sunroad Asset Management - Commercial Real Estate
$6,800 Gregorio Galicot - BBG Communications (International telecommunications)
$5,000 Peter Cooper - P.J. Cooper & Company (Strategic management)
$20,000 Thomas W. Sudberry, Jr - Sudberry Properties (Real Estate Development)
$45,000 MIP Advisors, Inc - Mortgage Insurance
$10,000 Scott Jones - ACE Parking
$5,000 La Jolla Investment Company - Commercial Real Estate
$5,000 Frederick Pierce - Real Estate Investor
$5,000 Alan Viterbi - Liquid Environmental Solutions (Non-hazardous liquid waste)
$7,000 Caren Viterbi - Retired
$25,000 ACE Parking
$2,000 John Behner
Up next week, City Attorney, followed by the Council Races. I'm typing as fast as I can....
Voter Guide – You’ve Voted for President, what’s next?
I’ll be writing about many ballot measures and candidates between now and the end of September. That work will be condensed into an handy-dandy voter guide just in time for your mail-in ballots to arrive. I’m the guy who coordinated San Diego Free Press’s Voter Guides over the past decade, so this won’t be my first effort. Stay tuned.
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