Hold That Thought... District 9 City Council Candidates: The Next Generation (UPDATED)
UPDATE: Information concerning candidate Kelvin Barrios has emerged significantly impacting my analysis of this contest. It's complicated, and involves subpoenas issued by the County District Attorney's office, along with decade-old social media posts that certainly seem to be racist.
Here's a link to the updated post, which you probably should read instead of his one. (I don't believe in taking posts down unless there's the possibility of unintended harm coming from them.)
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Seventh and final post 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: San Diego City Council District One, District Three, District Five, District 7, San Diego City Attorney, San Diego Mayoral; previously State Ballot Propositions.
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San Diego is required by the City Charter to redistrict at least every 10 years. City Council District 9 was born out of that process for the 2012 election. While its makeup is overwhelming Democratic (+38.75), some of the communities it incorporates have horrible records when it comes to voter turnout.
The mostly unspoken part of the last post-census redistricting process involved creation of a second “Latino flavored” seat (D9), along with a district (D6) providing the area’s growing Asian-American population with a shot of having a seat reflecting their influence.
The new ninth district was created by taking the neighborhoods of Kensington, Talmadge and City Heights out of District 3, running south to Southcrest.
Council member Marti Emerald, formerly of District 7, was designated as the first D9 representative. When she retired after a bout with cancer, a host of mostly Latinx candidates emerged to compete for the seat.
Georgette Gomez emerged as the winner of that first contest, and proved to be a power player on the council. Congresswoman Susan Davis' decision to retire in 2020 created yet another mad scramble in the primary, with Gomez and Sarah Jacobs making the final cut.
Seven candidates competed in the March 2020 primary for D9, with Kelvin Barrios and Sean Elo-Rivera making it through to the general election.
There’s big institutional (labor/developer) money betting on Barrios, who served as a legislative staffer for Council member Gomez. San Diego has a long history of staffers replacing their bosses in elected positions, and that certainly is a factor.
However, I’ve learned the hard way never to bet against Elo-Rivera. He came out of nowhere to best former City Councilman David Alvarez in a contest for SD Community College Board of Trustees.
Policy wise, the candidates aren't far apart. Given that they’re similar, it’s no surprise neither candidate garnered enough support for the local Democratic Party’s endorsement.
I hate not being able to choose: Barrios will bring existing experience with council to the job; Elo-Rivera has shown he can rise to the occasion. The best advice I can offer is for people to check out each candidate's endorsements. UPDATE: See revised post. Vote for Sean Elo-Rivera.
About the Candidates
Kelvin Barrios
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Endorsements
Bio: Raised in City Heights. Rode the bus to a variety of service industry jobs. Big into volunteering for nonprofits, served as Vice President of town council and as a member of a planning group. Late in 2019, he agreed to pay more than $4,000 in fines for making nearly $8,000 in illegal expenditures and for failing to keep adequate records of campaign finances following a Fair Political Practices Commission investigation. Was hospitalized and tested positive for coronavirus in March. Currently employed as Director of Community Outreach for Laborers Local 89.
Education:. n/a
Relevant experience: Policy Advisor for Council President Georgette Gomez
A Significant Accomplishment: Endorsed by Georgette Gomez
Politics in a nutshell: Liberal
Issues highlighted on website: Neighborhood services, Homelessness, Streets & Sidewalks, Transportation, Housing, Economic Recovery, COVID-19, Racial Equity.
$$$$
Total small donors reported via Candidate Controlled committee: $100,272.78
Support from non-candidate controlled committee: $227,377.81 raised by San Diegans for Transparency & Accountability in support of Kelvin Barrios for City Council 2020, sponsored by Laborers' International Union of North America Local 89
A sampling of links concerning Kelvin Barrios
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Sean Elo-Rivera
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Endorsements
Bio: Served as an English and Special Needs teacher in Peru; volunteered as an environmental preservationist in Ecuador; then taught English in a rural South Korean community. At Cal-Western, was president of La Raza Student Association and involved with Amnesty International. Was a director at District 9’s Mid-City CAN*, involved in community organizing. Currently employed as executive director of Youth Will.
Education: Attended Golden West Community College, transferred to and earned bachelor’s degree from Chapman University. Received law degree from California Western School of Law. Relevant experience: Board member of the Regional Task Force on the Homeless and Community HousingWorks.
A Significant Accomplishment: Was elected to Board of Trustees for San Diego Community Colleges.
Politics in a nutshell: Progressive
Issues highlighted on website: Racial Equity, COVID-19, Quality Housing, Safety & Justice, Clean and Healthy Neighborhoods, Opportunity for All
$$$$
Total small donors reported via Candidate Controlled committee: $$41,201.85
A sampling of links concerning Sean Elo-Rivera
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Next Week: Big News in Local Congressional Contests
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 a 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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