San Diego City Council District 5: Are Republicans About to Become Irrelevant in City Hall Politics?
Incumbent councilmember Mark Kersey is termed out. Earlier this year he quit the Republican Party, and that’s symptomatic of what’s going on in District 5.
Democrats recently surpassed Republicans by a small margin in voter registration. The district includes Rancho Bernardo, Scripps Ranch, Carmel Mountain Ranch and northern Rancho Penasquitos was represented by Carl DeMaio just a decade ago.
Both political parties are taking this contest seriously; the Democrats’s 6-3 majority on the council could shift to 7-2 (or even 8-1 if things go badly in D7). I expect that the two candidates endorsed by their respective political parties will both be on the November ballot.
The Union-Tribune has done an admirable public service in publishing interviews with candidates for all the major offices in San Diego, giving readers the opportunity to see where those seeking to serve the public stand on a variety of issues.
I’ve included links in each candidate’s profile and I urge you to read them. The transcripts include “uhs and ums” so there would be no misunderstanding about context.
(The term “money quote” in my listings of candidates means I’ve picked something out from the UT interviews that seemed to characterize the candidate.)
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Republican Joe Leventhal is an attorney with national law firm Dinsmore who served as City of San Diego Ethics Commissioner. He worked as an aide to former Vice President Dick Cheney.
His proposed Safe Schools Initiative involves tasking community planning groups with examining the areas within a half-mile of all K-12 schools in the City with the goal of increasing safe access.
Levanthal makes it clear that adding more lanes to highways is a priority, since he buys into the idea of reducing the number of cars idling as an antidote to climate change.
Why he’s running:
Joe believes that bold, collaborative leadership, as he’s demonstrated throughout his life, is the best way to approach San Diego’s persistent challenges. Through his work as an Ethics Commissioner, Joe has a crystal-clear perspective on what it means to serve with integrity as an elected official. Joe looks forward to the opportunity to improve the quality of life for San Diego’s citizens as a member of the City Council.
Link to Union-Tribune interview:
Money quote:
...a good story locally, for example, uh, is what I toured the, uh, the bridge shelter right in Golden Hall and I was a couple of weeks before the council was going to vote on whether it make that a permanent shelter or not. And you know, to me with homelessness being a big issue I care about, I wanted to see that facility. I had already toured toward Father Joe’s.
And uh, and I asked Deacon Jim, I said, you know how many council members have come and seen this bridge shelter? And I’m assuming it’s steps from where they meet twice a week, that he would say at least more than half. I didn’t think it was gonna be nine, but I thought it was going to be at least more than half. And he said it was only one, I’m not going to say who the one person was actually who toured it, but it’s that, again, as a local elected official, I think people need to remember that the decisions they’re making have impact on people, and look for those opportunities to actually feel an impact and see how it’s truly impacting people day to day instead of taking a vote on the, you know, in the council chambers and then assuming it’s done, going back to your life.
Organizational Endorsements: Republican Party of San Diego, San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, San Diego Asian Americans for Equality, Associated Builders and Contractors of San Diego, San Diego La Raza Lawyers Association.
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Republican Simon Moghadam is a restaurant owner, who bills himself as a “Fiscal conservative, social liberal, and intellectual independent.” He has run for mayor twice, opting for a City Council race this time because the filing fee was $300 less.
Says he’s against bike lanes; as a motorcyclist “we don’t have a motorcycle lane.” Makes the comparison with the idea of bike space with having “horse lanes.”
Why he’s running:
I come from simple roots with a strong ethical resolve. I believe we should look to our past to see what has worked and been successful and not trip over the future with those same problems. I would create a quality team to build a better San Diego.
Link to Union-Tribune interview:
Money quote:
...actually I don’t think it’s a homeless problem we have is, I think it’s like a homeless industrial complex we have, because it seems like a lot of groups make money off this homeless situation we have. And that’s, I Googled, actually, we spent, I think it was $120 million a year, the city does and their number was like 9,000 homeless. So I’m like divided that we spend more a thousand dollars per homeless and it doesn’t go directly to the homeless. You know, we have all these like nonprofit organizations that the money seems to flow through and a lot of them are getting really, really rich, you know. Um, I don’t want to demean Father Joe. But you know, but Father Joe doesn’t seem to be working that hard. He’s a pretty chubby guy, sitting in a wheel chair. You know, not to demean him. He’s really a nice guy, I’m sure.
Organizational Endorsements: None
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Democrat Marni von Wilpert is San Diego Deputy City Attorney, served in the Peace Corps. She is one of the city’s lead litigators for the opioid lawsuit against Purdue pharmaceuticals, the Sackler family and McKesson, Johnson, & Johnson, etc.
Her campaign is well funded, has a good ground game, and it’s likely she’ll be on the November ballot facing a Republican.
Why she’s running:
All the anger and division these days isn’t solving anybody’s problems – it is the problem.
I’ll bring a fresh approach to representing our community on the City Council. It starts with listening, focusing on solving problems and putting progress ahead of today’s divisive, angry politics.
As a Deputy City Attorney, I took an oath to do just that – to serve you, and only you, the people of San Diego. To protect our city and its families. To put people over politics.
On the Council, I’ll work to unite our community around the values we share - safer neighborhoods, a cleaner environment, more transit, less traffic, raising wages, reducing housing costs and creating good jobs along the way.
Link to Union-Tribune interview:
Money quote:
I worked at government entities throughout my career and getting different nonprofits, getting governments, getting folks together to tables where you wouldn’t think they could. So I worked for years at the National Labor Relations Board on enforcing workers’ rights all throughout the country, but enforcing the law. So sometimes employers broke it, sometimes union broke it, we enforce it against them, sometimes workers broke it. But a lot of my job is also brokering solutions between huge companies and their employees. I’d be on the ground negotiating major deals between these companies and we’re going to need that on city council.
You know, we have issues coming up against with Prop B in pensions and city employee pay. And so you want someone like me on city council who knows how to negotiate those deals and knows how to work with city workers. So I’m really excited to use the experience I’ve had in my life to come to city council and do these things.
Organizational Endorsements: San Diego & Imperial Counties Labor Council, San Diego City Firefighters Association, Local 145, San Diego Municipal Employees Association, Laborers International Union, Local 89, National Latino Peace Officers Association, National United Healthcare Workers, Run Women Run, Sierra Club San Diego, Bike SD, San Diego County Democratic Party + 11 Democratic clubs.
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Democrat Isaac Wang is the tech guy in this contest; says he cares less about ideology and more about making sure the city studies nationwide best practices and implements solutions that work. Attended Harvard Graduate School of Design, got a certificate in urban planning.
He understands the future for cars --as we know them now-- is limited, believes most retail malls will disappear soon, says they could be replaced with housing. As a self-described YIMBY, his views on the future of urban areas need to be heard.
Why he’s running:
I like tacos, and I like transit.
That’s the 1st thing you should know about me.
So when I found out that San Diego ranked as having the best tacos and the worst transit, I felt a cognitive dissonance.
For years, I wanted to leave San Diego because the transit was so bad, but I kept staying for the tacos.
Link to Union-Tribune interview
Money quote:
… I think if you were to look at how much we prioritize the car in America, just just look at the, look at the spending. If you were looking at federal transportation dollars, how much of it goes to cars? How much of it goes to transit? It’s like, it’s like a seven to one ratio.
If you were to look at how much we subsidize parking within the United States, it’s the most anti-free market thing I’ve ever seen. Like the idea that you can get that big of a piece of land for a dollar and 25 cents an hour, there’s no way that’s market rate. The amount of subsidies we provide to oil and gas, the amount of subsidies we provide to an entire car-centric society. We don’t value that.
And honestly, I feel like the same people who, who are arguing for a more free market approach, they, you know, as soon as it comes to your car way of life, they say, no, no, no, no, no, no. I want my stuff subsidized.
Organizational Endorsements: None listed
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