Seal the Deal, San Diego, Make Monica Council President
Voters in San Diego have overwhelmingly supported Democrats when it comes to local representation. The City Council has an 8-1 super majority. The County Board of Supervisors is no longer dominated by Republicans. And our representatives in Sacramento and Washington DC are overwhelmingly Democrats.
Not all Democrats are alike, of course. A new generation of progressive leaning candidates have raised expectations for what’s possible. New leadership in the Democratic Party and a work-in-progress at the Labor Council are fundamentally changing the nature of local politics as expressed by two of the most powerful forces in the city.
On December 10, the newly elected San Diego City Council will choose a president charged with setting the agenda and determining the makeup of committees. They will be the leader of our legislative body and will have to work with incoming Mayor Todd Gloria to tackle the many problems facing the city.
In the past, selecting the council president was a process arranged behind closed doors, involving wheeling and dealing among the area’s special interest groups. This year, that’s changed.
Here’s the San Diego Democratic Party chair quoted at Voice of San Diego:
“It’s very clear that in this conflict there are people who are very powerful who are operating behind the scenes to select the next Council president,” Rodriguez-Kennedy said. “What we’ve seen, mostly because of the leadership of activists is, this conflict has been brought into the open.”
Local media has made the positions of those seeking the role public, as opposed to the speculation surrounding past council elections. The Union-Tribune gave the candidates the opportunity to state their views in op-eds.
Council member Monica Montgomery Steppe (D4) is openly campaigning for the top job, supported by a community coalition of more than sixty organizations and hundreds of community members (including me).
From the her Union-Tribune article:
For me, this discussion around the council presidency hinges on the two pillars of public leadership — trust and courage.
Who can we trust to be bold in the face of myriad crises? Who has the courage to not hide from hard choices? Who has the perspective to lead in a post-George Floyd, racially charged political environment? Who has demonstrated the ability to be a consensus builder on hard things the city has delayed for years, even decades?
For two years, I have led honest conversations around hard topics, pushed us to see each other as human beings and to treat everyone equitably and with dignity. I believe we must confront and address the truth of what we know and what we see happening in our city. If we are to solve problems for the people of San Diego, if we are to truly be a city for all of us, we must face these realities head-on.
Council member Jen Campbell (D2) is also seeking the position, but apparently is more comfortable with the old opaque way of doing things. Asked about her opinion of open campaigning for the position, she told KUSI News “that was Monica Montgomery’s choice.”
She’s been more circumspect about her support, telling Voice of San Diego they were “people who know how I roll,” like the San Diego Police Officers Association.
From her Union-Tribune article:
I am doing this because I know I possess the qualities and characteristics that our City Council president needs to have. Being able to stay calm in the midst of chaos is a trait I practiced well as a physician and is definitely something I’ve incorporated into my approach as a councilmember, along with compassion, intelligence, common sense and a cooperative spirit.
Working well with other councilmembers — and with all the elements that allow our city and county governments to function — is also essential to this role. This means being able to work well with sectors such as labor, military, industrial, nonprofit, business and tourism, something I’ve prioritized throughout my term.
I suspect if you made an issue-by-issue comparison of the candidates’ positions on various issues, there would be general agreement on most topics.
So the difference here comes down to how Montgomery-Steppe and Campbell will act in their role as council president, and the way each has approached this challenge speaks to that issue.
Montgomery-Steppe has sought to involve the public and changed the process to be more open. Campbell, not so much.
Frankly, I don’t trust the District 2 representative when it comes to actions as opposed to rhetoric on racism and the other social justice issues facing the city. And if you look at District 4 councilmember’s supporters, you’ll see that the people doing the work on these issues agree with me.
It also troubles me that Campbell felt the need to highlight her support from the San Diego Police Officers Association right out of the box. One of the most critical tasks facing the city council this year will be implementing the will of the voters in establishing an empowered and transparent agency for oversight of police.
While I respect the right of the SDPOA to advocate for their members, as every workplace advocate should do, their track record involving resistance to change isn’t so good. And San Diego has a long history of law enforcement stonewalling and/or obstructing on issues ranging from racism to sexual misconduct.
Montgomery-Steppe’s history as an advocate with the ACLU and an impressive job of representing her district make the choice simple: she should be the next council president.
Use this toolkit to take action today to support Monica for Council President.
1. Email San Diego Councilmembers to ask them to vote for Monica for Council President.
2. Attend the Council meeting at 2 pm on Thursday, Dec 10 and provide a brief comment (by phone).
3. Share with your friends and family and ask them to take action too. Share posts on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
*** Also....
https://twitter.com/lucasoconnor/status/1335614478872760321?s=20
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Hey folks! I’ll be taking a “holiday break” starting on Dec 11th for cancer surgery. I really appreciate all the support and good wishes people have sent my way since going public. As I said, my break could be from 10 days to 10 weeks, depending on what they see when I’m cut open.
Email me at WritetoDougPorter@Gmail.com
Lead image: City of San Diego website