What Are the ‘Lingering Questions’ in the District 80 Special Election?
Mail In ballots for a (very) special election are arriving for 250,000 Assembly District 80 voters this week. Democrats Georgette Gomez and David Alvarez are the candidates of consequence in a very blue district.
San Diego’s daily, the Union-Tribune, says while either candidate is capable, they’re endorsing David Alvarez, because of his more “nuanced take on issues” and “lingering questions about Gómez’s failure to report any salary at all on her federal taxes in 2017.”
I’ll get to the more “nuanced take on issues” in a minute. What tax questions are we talking about? The only questions I can find are on the (Juan Vargas-style) attack mailers sent to D80 residents. Is she a “tax cheat?” Did she “pocket” the unpaid taxes? Did she really pose for a picture with her arms wrapped around a bag of cash?
You’d think with all the (very good) investigative reporters at the UT, they would have found answers to those questions after four years. Gomez’ accountant has taken the fall for the incorrectly filled out tax form (which the candidate released to the media) and the back taxes were paid.
Should she have taken the blame for the tax return? Probably, but after four years, the question seems moot. There is zero evidence of criminal intent. Gomez hasn’t been seen driving around town in new luxury SUV, so it doesn’t look like she got rich.
The short answer about the lingering tax questions is that there are none, just a campaign mailer from San Diego Families Opposing Georgette Gómez for State Assembly 2022, mostly funded from a Sacramento-based towing and trucking business.
While we’re down in the gutter, I should mention Republican perennial candidate Lincoln Picard, who has declared he’s really running against “Joe Biden, George Soros, Nathan Fletcher, Gavin Newsom, and other Democrat millionaires and billionaires.”
Three-time loser Pickard is so detached from reality that the Union-Tribune didn’t bother with a feature on him in their coverage of this race, not because of his party affiliation, but (I think) because they didn’t want to give him a platform to dish up misinformation.
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Incumbent Lorena Gonzalez stepped down as she continues to recover from breast cancer, and is expected to reappear on the political scene this summer as the new leader of the California Labor Federation. As chair of the powerful Appropriations Committee, she was one of the state's most influential lawmakers, who saw part of her job as being an advocate for causes large and small.
The 80th District encompasses coastal southern San Diego County, is majority Latino, and more economically challenged than the median for California. The only question during recent elections was whether or not Assem. Gonzalez would top 70% of the vote (She always did).
The Blue (and Brown) nature of the district makes it a great platform for candidates willing to take on issues unpopular with the state’s reactionary interests. For all the not-so-vague threats Lorena Gonzalez received during her term over things like AB5 and vaccinations, nobody actually dared to run against her. She has endorsed Gomez’s candidacy.
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From my perspective, i.e., number of emails per candidate, Georgette Gomez is the front-runner in this race. I’ll note that a) I don’t live in the district, and b) number of emails is not exactly the standard for measuring candidate popularity.
Still, Gomez’ list of endorsers is populated with big names, and progressive-leaning labor, Gay rights, and the California Democratic party. Individual contributors to her campaign include many progressive activists from the region.
Her political track record includes being a community-based environmental health advocate, being the first LGBTQ Latina City Council President, Chair of the Metropolitan Transit System, and involvement with impactful legislation in Sacramento.
Her time as President of the City Council was a mixed bag, and she made some enemies along the way.
One success story was the creation of San Diego Community Power, a community choice agency buying power for city residents, rather than San Diego Gas and Electric, in hopes of expediting the city’s shift to 100 percent renewable energy.
One failure was the decision to place (yet another) measure on a non-general election ballot to raise hotel taxes to expand the Convention Center and raise money for homeless programs. This was a time-honored tactic by special interest groups to avoid attention via lower voter turnout on contentious issues The council had previously agreed that measures belonged on November ballots to maximize the universe of voters.
Many local activists are still bitter about that move.
Gomez ran for retiring Rep. Susan Davis Congressional seat in 2020 and was defeated by Congress member Sara Jacobs.
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La Prensa San Diego, the city’s Latino outlet, endorsed David Alvarez based on his record on the San Diego City Council, namely the questions he asked going into the scandalous 101 Ash Street office building deal.
There can be no doubt that this deal –pushed by former Mayor Kevin Faulconer– was a disaster for everybody but the real estate brokers and their clients. It’s also obvious that the city council was misled as to the terms of the agreement, and that somebody in the City Attorney’s office enabled this deception.
The deal, however, was approved unanimously by the full council and the Land Use Committee, which included Councilmembers Todd Gloria, David Alvarez, Scott Sherman, and Chair Lorie Zapf.
Let’s set aside both the “taxes” and the “deal” and look at the nuances mentioned in the Union-Tribune’s endorsement.
In separate hourlong interviews with The San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board this week, Alvarez and Gómez made strong cases for why they should represent Bonita and parts of Chula Vista, National City and San Diego. Alvarez said he wants to address the achievement gap in education, rebuild aging infrastructure and improve mental health resources. He said he’d work to get a university in Chula Vista and use “infrastructure banks” to invest in district maintenance, two things Gómez didn’t mention. She said her focus would be environmental justice and income inequality and that she’d seek a state audit to cut or eliminate red tape and speed up development, an approach he didn’t mention.
Because of their years on the council, both have track records of bringing others to the table, and both seem equipped and ready to serve constituents well. Before some other California politicians zeroed in on pressing housing problems, Alvarez worked with Republican Councilmember Scott Sherman on housing issues, easing accessory dwelling unit construction, and streamlining and removing roadblocks to homebuilding. Gómez worked with groups long in conflict in San Diego to advance an inclusionary housing ordinance. Good: Both said they’d work closely with officials in Mexico, and understand the value of a strong binational relationship. Bad: Both support rebooting scandal-ridden state programs allowing local governments to siphon tax revenues to fund redevelopment projects.
They do have differences. Alvarez was far more critical of Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state Legislature’s uneven response to COVID-19. He called it “poor.” Gómez said it was “good.” Gómez seemed generally more receptive to tax hikes — she said she would “definitely support a wealth tax” while Alvarez was noncommittal — but Alvarez said he’d look at taxing people’s second (and third, etc.) homes more
Looking at the realistic (rather than aspirational) prospects for people living in D80, the difference on taxes stands out. Whether or not it’s a good idea or even viable, the concept of a wealth tax is favored by the progressive wing of the Democratic party.
Being non-committal these days is the politically safe language used by Democrats who sometimes side with business interests on legislative matters. Non-committal all-too-often means killing bills in committee or rendering them to be little more than symbolic via amendments.
This difference shows up in David Alavarez’ endorsements and fundraising. His endorsement list is populated with elected officials, South Bay activists, the Southwest Carpenters union, and the San Diego County Medical Society. The individual contributors for Alvarez’ campaign tend toward the more centrist parts of the local political spectrum; it’s worth noting that “center” is a relative term in a very Blue area.
His political track record starts with experience as a legislative staffer for former State Senator Denise Ducheny, two terms on the San Diego City Council, as a representative on the San Diego Association of Governments SANDAG), the Metropolitan Transit System (MTS), and the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority.
He ran for Mayor of San Diego in 2014, losing to Kevin Faulconer and Community College Trustee in 2018, losing to Sean Elo-Rivera.
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Bottom line…
Gomez's opponents think she’s shifty, despite the progressive rhetoric. Her proponents say she’ll be the one to continue Lorena Gomez’s progressive legacy in the Assembly.
Alvarez is clearly playing more to business interests (even though PACs aren’t controlled by candidates–cough, cough) who have served as a brake on progress in California. His campaign has focused more on issues of local concern –like establishment of a university in Chula Vista.
For More Information:
David Alvarez for Assembly (Democrat)
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Georgette Gomez for Assembly (Democrat)
Website | Facebook | Twitter |
Lincoln Pickard (Republican)
Website | Facebook | Twitter
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Email me at WritetoDougPorter@Gmail.com