Original photo by Slworking2 / Flickr
Today: Information on races in San Diego City Council Districts 2, 4, 6 & 8, but only two endorsements.
The San Diego Free Press and OB Rag are pleased to present part two of our 2018 Primary Election Progressive Voter Guide. As usual, we tried not to let perfect be the enemy of good in our decision making. This year we’re breaking it into parts to make it more digestible.
We endorsed (or didn’t) contests where editors and contributors had some working knowledge of the contests. Generally speaking, we didn’t endorse in non-competitive races with a Democratic incumbent (who you should probably vote for). Candidates with low fundraising totals or no campaign organization were not included.
Endorsements or lack thereof reflect a majority opinion of the Editorial Board, which includes: Brent Beltrán, Anna Daniels, Frank Gormlie, Patty Jones, Rich Kacmar, Annie Lane, and Doug Porter. It should be noted there were many non-unanimous decisions.
Democratic Candidates are Blue * Republican Candidates are Red
Many candidates names are linked to their websites.
An asterisk (*) next to a name indicates an incumbent.
A Summary of Our City ▲Endorsements▲
City Council Districts 2, 6 & 8 – No Endorsement (*See note)
City Council District 4 – Monica Montgomery
***
San Diego City Council
San Diego City Council Districts. Map Via City of San Diego
Even numbered City Council districts in San Diego are up for grabs in 2018, and the top two candidates making it past the June 5 primary will go on to the general election in November. Odd-numbered districts will vote on council persons in 2020.
City Council elections are technically non-partisan, meaning party affiliations don’t get listed on ballots. The council itself is partisan, with the political parties investing heavily in recent elections. The incumbent Republicans on the council are already backed with a total of $600,000 in PAC money for the coming election.
*Note: We did not endorse candidates who sought and/or received the blessings of the San Diego Working Families Council (WFC). The argument about endorsements from this breakaway group reflecting the interests of its affiliated union’s members doesn’t hold water when you take into account the departure of the Service Employees Internation Union Local 221, which represents County of San Diego employees, from the Council. Their choice for a County Supervisor candidate was not respected, which leads us to conclude the WFC is really just a one-man (Mickey Kasparian) show.
District 2
We were unable to endorse a candidate in this District.
A coastal district with a majority Democratic voting base and a history of electing Republicans due to poor turnout by younger voters. The incumbent Republican in this race is Lorie Zapf. There is an Independent Expenditure committee that has amassed $300,000 from the Chamber of Commerce PAC and the Lincoln Club in support of Lori Zapf’s candidacy. Link to San Diego Free Press overview of the contests.
Jordan Beane
Facebook | Twitter | Endorsements | Issues Page
Analysis: Jordan Beane is young, progressive, and new to the politics game. The hard work he’s put into this campaign all-but-assures him a future on the local political scene.
Jennifer H. Campbell MD
Facebook | Twitter | Endorsements | Issues Page
Analysis: Dr. Jen Campbell is a long-time party activist who’s decided to run for office now that she’s retired. Her connections to local politicos and fundraising prowess are needed to overcome poor name recognition.
Bryan Pease
Facebook | Twitter | Endorsements | Issues Page
Analysis: Activist lawyer, environmentalist, and animal rights advocate Bryan Pease has the best name recognition of all the Democratic challengers. His platform includes advocacy for rent control. While we believed he was best on the issues that matter for District 2, the San Diego Free Press & OB Rag will not endorse candidates associated with the Working Families Council.
District 4
District 4 encompasses the Southeast part of the city. Winning candidates have been traditionally backed by a coalition of socially conservative Black pastors. SDFP Overview Article on District 4 There is no Republican challenger in District 4.
Neal Arthur
Facebook | Twitter | Issues Page
Analysis: Former chair of the San Diego Housing Commission Neal Arthur is running on his business acumen.
Myrtle Cole
Facebook | Twitter | Endorsements | Issues Page
Analysis: Incumbent Myrtle Cole is the African American woman elected to the San Diego City Council. Her endorsement from a Mickey Kasparian-led group has alienated some activists.
▲Monica Montgomery▲
Facebook | Twitter | Endorsements | Issues Page
Analysis: Attorney Monica Montgomery has experience as a policy advisor to some of San Diego’s biggest name politicos. She has gained traction by calling out incumbent Cole’s lack of interest in actually campaigning in her home district. She has energized a community activist coalition interested in challenging the status quo.
District 6
We were unable to endorse a candidate in this District.
District 6 encompasses the north-central part of the city. During the redistricting process in 2013, the boundaries were set in such a manner as to favor Asian-Americans. SDFP Overview Article on District 6.The incumbent Republican in this contest is Chris Cate. There is an Independent Expenditure committee that has amassed $300,000 from the Chamber of Commerce PAC and the Lincoln Club in support of Cate’s candidacy.
Tommy Hough
Facebook | Twitter | Endorsements | Issues Page
Analysis: Tommy Hough was a popular dj on progressive rock stations for many years and co-founded San Diego County Democrats for Environmental Action. While we believed he was best on the issues that matter for District 6, the San Diego Free Press & OB Rag will not endorse candidates associated with the Working Families Council.
Fayaz Nawabi Has dropped out due to health issues. We look to seeing him involved in San Diego politics in the future.
District 8
District 8 includes communities in the southern part of the city and is split in half by the cities of Chula Vista and National City. More than 75 percent of the District 8 population lives in the southern section, more than two-thirds of the population is Hispanic. Republicans are an endangered species in this district and elections are often reflective of historical divisions in the community.
There is no Republican challenger in District 8.
Antonio Martinez
Facebook | Twitter | Endorsements | Issues Page
Analysis: San Ysidro School Board member Antonio Martinez started campaigning early for this seat and has won much of the Latino/liberal establishment’s support. His endorsement from a Mickey Kasparian-led group has alienated some activists. The San Diego Free Press & OB Rag will not endorse candidates associated with his Working Families Council.
Vivian Moreno
Facebook | Twitter | Issues Page
Analysis: As termed-out Councilman Alvarez’s policy advisor, Vivian Moreno brings both her boss’s blessing and at least some of the perks of incumbency to this contest. Has a strong canvassing campaign underway.
Christian Ramirez
Facebook | Twitter | Issues Page
Analysis: Christian Ramirez is a nationally and internationally recognized spokesperson on immigration and border enforcement issues and has been outspoken in his opposition to the policies of the Trump administration. He has deep roots in the community and an admirable history of local activism. While Ramirez did not get the endorsement of the Working Families Council, he did seek it.
Already Published:
Progressive Voter Guide for County of San Diego Elected Offices
A Summary of Our County ▲Endorsements▲
Judicial Office #37– Victor Torres
Assessor/Recorder/Clerk – Matt Strabone
Sheriff – Dave Myers
District Attorney – Geneviéve Jones-Wright
Board of Supervisors District 4 – Omar Passons
Board of Supervisors District 5 – Michelle Gomez
Community College Board – Maria Nieto Senour, Craig Milgrim, Rafael Perez
SD County Board of Education – Alicia Munoz, Rick Shea
Upcoming:
Friday- Statewide Offices & Legislative Seats
Monday-Federal Offices, plus Ballot Measures
Tuesday: Voter Guide Crib Sheet (All Contests)
Doug Porter
Latest posts by Doug Porter (see all)
- Last Call. Last Column. - December 14, 2018
- Which Presidential Candidate Will You Support in 2020? - December 13, 2018
- Mounting the Assault on Big Gay and Other Drivel From SDSU’s Minimum Wage Scrooge - December 12, 2018
Im confused. You said that “We did not endorse candidates who sought and/or received the blessings of the San Diego Working Families Council (WFC).” In District 8 – Vivian Moreno was the only credible candidate that didn’t attend the WFC endorsement interviews, yet you endorsed Christian Ramirez who submitted a questionnaire and attended the interview. I understand he wasn’t actually endorsed, but going through the interview process sure seems to eliminate him based on your WFC qualifier. I believe, as a matter of consistency you should have endorsed Vivian Moreno.
We were not aware of what you are saying happened and will investigate further. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.
You call it a “progressive voter guide”, yet you won’t endorse the most progressive candidate in the District 6 city council race, Jeremiah Blattler. Do I need to personally show you my voting record or is this simply a buy your way in/cronyism deal like with the Union Tribune? Look at my plans on public transportation, housing, homelessness, water, public safety, the economy, quality of life, infrastructure, land use and development, and the environment and try to tell me I’m not the most progressive candidate. Try looking beyond parties Doug.
Did you send us a press release? Did you send me an email? Do you stage any public events that might have been seen on social media? Do you have the support of any the dozens of activist groups I interact with weekly? If you’re not running with a political party’s backing how are you building an organization? Have you studied enough history to know that if you don’t have institutional / social support you have no way of getting votes?
My subscription to the psychic hotline ran out a while back. You can’t just file and expect me to come and find you.
How am I supposed to know you’re a progressive? Because you say so? What have you actually done in the community you want to represent? How do I know you’re not running on the “build a UFO landing strip and they will come platform?” Do you really think the lack of effort on your part makes me lazy?
I’ll make a bold prediction here: you won’t get more than a couple hundred votes, if that.
Change takes hard work. A platform that will get you votes is based on actual political and social practice, not something you read about at Bernie’s website.
I’ll not bother to give space for the other screed you sent in telling the world how politically pure you are and what a tool of the ruling class I am.
Relax Doug, I’m not here to attack your credentials as a journalist. I merely implied that you should at the very least, look over all of the candidates available and visit their respective websites and view their platforms in full before making a decision on who to endorse as the “progressive candidate”, which you clearly didn’t do. “Perhaps calling it a Democratic Party voter guide” would be more apt. There’s no shame in that and no need to get your eyebrows furrowed over it.
As for press releases, it didn’t take any to get the attention of the Reader or KPBS.
As for public events, yes, I have both staged and attended public events as well.
“Do you have the support of any the dozens of activist groups I interact with weekly?”
So just to be clear, I have to support the litany of activist groups that you interact with on a weekly basis to have my website/platform viewed (not necessarily endorsed), even if some of those groups could possibly be viewed as PACs or lobbying groups? Even if they were politically aligned to my interests, wouldn’t that be just as bad as the opposition using the SDCTA and Lincoln club as proxies?
“Have you studied enough history to know that if you don’t have institutional / social support you have no way of getting votes?”
Yes, I have. Try not to be so presumptive and condescending. The correct answer is that one would have a hard time getting votes, not necessarily “no way.”
“My subscription to the psychic hotline ran out a while back. You can’t just file and expect me to come and find you.”
Well, it certainly looks like you were summoning your inner Miss Cleo when it came to your predictions and endorsements (and reasoning), so perhaps that subscription is still running. And actually, you can “just file” and expect journalists to find you. The city literally puts it up on a PDF. That’s how the others found me.
“How am I supposed to know you’re a progressive? Because you say so?
It’s quite simple. You could actually read (which as a journalist, you shouldn’t be so bothered by) my website’s 10 point plan, along every other candidates platform and then come to your own conclusions. Every candidate is doing the exact same thing, including the one you quasi-endorsed until an association with WFC barred you from doing so. The only difference is that you may have actually met that candidate in person.
“What have you actually done in the community you want to represent? How do I know you’re not running on the ‘build a UFO landing strip and they will come platform?’ ”
Doug, if not for the WFC association, you would have endorsed Tommy Hough, which is fine. Your reasoning being that he is a member of the Sierra Club and various democratic clubs. Ask yourself, does Tommy have any experience working in the corporate world (particularly in district 6) as an employee, executive, or business owner? No. Does Mr Cate? No. However, I do, as does Matt Valenti. Can Mr. Cate or Mr. Hough do anything to address why the sunshine tax is so much higher here in San Diego than it is in Orange County or Los Angeles? Why for decades we San Diegans have had to make an executive decision on quality of life versus higher wages? Can they address why a city with such a low business tax rate couldn’t attract tech and CPG firms from more expensive locations if it’s life depended on it? Why we still struggle to this day to diversify from defense and biotech?
Does being a radio DJ or an intern in Kevin Faulkner’s office prepare one to address such issues? The simple answer is no, so I don’t think that my claims are unfounded, and in fact, can likely be substantiated. That’s not an attack on Mr. Hough or Mr. Cate, but they literally do not possess that experience from any previous job. Mr. Cate has the past four years of experience to go off of, but they most definitely have not been successful, effective, or without scandal.
All of these clubs and activist groups you refer to sound lovely, but how much work is getting done in them. How many budgets are being balanced? Are they addressing the aforementioned economic problems I just listed?
You asked what I have done. I work a roughly 60 hour work week. Like most San Diegans, I have a real day job. In the time I have off I coach boys volleyball at Clairemont High School. It may not be the Sierra Club, but it improves these boys’ lives, much the way it improved mine as a youth. Outside of that, I do attend city council meetings and town council meetings. I was there in 2015 when Mr. Cate and 6 others agreed to raise our water rates nearly 40% compounded over 4 years, against constituents’ wishes. Where were these activist groups and the candidate you almost endorsed then?
“Do you really think the lack of effort on your part makes me lazy?”
A loaded question, but I’ll bite. Yes, I do. That’s not an indictment against you, but you’re a journalist. It’s the job a journalist to investigate. That job is made even easier when that information is publicly available, which it was. The basic crux of my first comment, is that you likely had your mind made up before any of the candidate filings were complete, which is fine, but you should at least be upfront about it. If not, then it would be a good idea to at the very least read over the other candidates. It would lend credibility.
“I’ll make a bold prediction here: you won’t get more than a couple hundred votes, if that.”
Doug, you’re free to make your predictions, and there is a possibility that you could be correct (which doesn’t bother me at all, politics is a big boy/girl game), but that’s a non sequitur that has little to do with your endorsement process. Perhaps we should have a friendly wager: If I get more votes than you have subscribers, you can buy me a beer. If not, your beer is on me. Chris Cate won with only 13,000 votes, out of possibly 100,000 registered voters. Think about that. Apathy is the real problem in this town, and apathy comes from decades of politics as usual.
“Change takes hard work. A platform that will get you votes is based on actual political and social practice, not something you read about at Bernie’s website.”
Again Doug, try to refrain from presumptive straw man arguments. I get how hard it is to change things. I’ve seen how little things have improved politically in this city over the last 4 decades firsthand. I began this campaign nearly one year ago, and with my day job and other activities, it’s been hectic, but I wouldn’t trade running in this election for the world, regardless of the outcome or the current state of political affairs. I understand that your decision has already been made, but my advice for the future (which you’re free to casually dismiss) would be to look over all of the candidates available and visit their respective websites and view their platforms in full before making a decision on who to endorse as the “progressive candidate.”
Okay. Now you’ve used our comments column to get 10X more coverage than you have everywhere else combined.
Endorsements were made by majority vote on our seven editorial board.
Nobody mentioned your name. You got no votes.
From the article:
“We endorsed (or didn’t) contests where editors and contributors had some working knowledge of the contests. Generally speaking, we didn’t endorse in non-competitive races with a Democratic incumbent (who you should probably vote for). Candidates with low fundraising totals or no campaign organization were not included.
Endorsements or lack thereof reflect a majority opinion of the Editorial Board, which includes: Brent Beltrán, Anna Daniels, Frank Gormlie, Patty Jones, Rich Kacmar, Annie Lane, and Doug Porter. It should be noted there were many non-unanimous decisions.”