U-T Editorial Board Disses and Warns Gloria, Gives Props to Turner

About a week ago, the Union-Tribune issued its stance on the results of the just-held Primary and took swipes at Todd Gloria and gave props to the independent Larry Turner, all the while longing for the heavyweight pro who didn’t appear.

For Mayor Todd Gloria, the results are anything but a confirmation of voters’ faith in him.

And the editors rightly acknowledged that the incumbent mayor barely won half the vote, something the Rag did in our recent analysis; this is big; after 4 years a Democratic mayor in a Democratic city and all Democrats on the City Council barely won half the freaking vote!!??

In barely winning half the vote against well-meaning opponents with little mastery of basic issues, the former City Council president and Assembly member showed he would have been in real political peril had he gone against a high-profile Democrat with little City Hall baggage.

But the editors are not shy in giving Todd some advice and telling him he has “to be a tough-love leader” over the next 8 months or so to the General Election. Particularly, since “the city [is] facing a $167 million shortfall in its projected budget for fiscal 2024-25,” and Gloria “has already ordered a partial hiring freeze, sought to limit “non-essential” spending and reduced departments’ flexibility in changing how they use already-budgeted funds.”

Spending cuts are expected in categories including street paving, parks, libraries and arts programs. Gloria says when he releases his budget proposal in April, his goal will be protecting “core” services — public safety and infrastructure, homelessness and housing programs.

But this only hints at the headaches that await the future mayor. The idea that relying solely on spending cuts is the right way to go has little appeal to many elected officials.

They note that “a parcel tax to pay for stormwater projects in the city of San Diego won unanimous support from the City Council’s Rule Committee last month and looks headed for a November vote, where it would need two-thirds support to pass under state law.” And that Gloria and others “are interested in adding 1 cent to the city’s sales tax. As a general tax, it only needs majority support to become law.”

Gloria is again warned that if he “depends on San Diegans embracing higher taxes, unpleasant political realities may intrude,” and that “support for higher city taxes will be a tough sell to scores of disillusioned voters,” partially due to a countywide half-cent sales tax for regional transportation projects on the November ballot.

Yet, the editors end up on a positive beat and express that an enhanced Turner campaign “Turner 2.0” will benefit the “voters in a city with little confidence in its elected leaders.”

Yet there is also a possibility that coming months won’t be as politically dangerous as they might have been for Gloria were he facing a different opponent.

His November rival, San Diego police officer Larry Turner, offers populist takes on homelessness, housing reforms and crime that strike a chord with many. In his interview with The San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board last month, the political independent also offered sharp critiques of decades of city miscues, with the disastrous purchase of a decrepit, unusable office tower on Ash Street only one example of many.

But the former lieutenant colonel in the Marines only offered superficial insights into city budget issues — and his initial embrace of a cockeyed homeless relocation scheme is not a good look for a would-be big-city mayor.

But here’s hoping we see Turner 2.0 in coming months.

The former intelligence officer should seek to develop a broad understanding of the challenges the city faces — then offer his own ideas on how to improve the city’s responses. From bricklayers to teachers to coders to pro athletes, it’s a fact of life that many people improve on the job. If nascent politician Larry Turner follows this path, November’s mayoral race won’t necessarily be the pro forma affair many have expected since it emerged last year that Gloria would not have a high-profile challenger.

That would be good for voters in a city with little confidence in its elected leaders.