From Pickleball Association of San Diego
For four years now, Mayor Todd Gloria has refused to meet with San Diego pickleball representatives. He has told his staff to shun us. He has consistently acted in bad faith to the pickleball community. For example, when PASD presented our proposal to the Mission Bay Parks Board, the chair asked us “why are you here wasting our time, when you know the Mayor has already decided that no tennis courts will ever be converted to pickleball?”
When PASD met with the Mayor’s staff, PASD came prepared. PASD showed the Mayor’s staff millions of dollars of unreported tennis revenue and the staff was appalled. But the Mayor did not care.
When PASD showed the staff that pickleball had twice as many players as tennis, the Mayor did not care. And when PASD showed the staff that pickleball had just two courts at our parks while tennis had 550 public courts, the Mayor still did not care.
That’s right, pickleball has a population 2:1 that of tennis, and yet tennis has more courts 275:1 that of pickleball and the Mayor does not care.
Tennis is NOT the enemy. A lack of leadership is. As an example of leadership, the independent candidate, Larry Turner, not only met with us, but promised us an equitable and concise process to fairly apportion courts for both sports.
San Diegans that play PB are just as much members of the San Diego community as those of us that play tennis. Many of us play both. But none of us will be second class citizens. Please make your voices heard.
Pickleball in San Diego
PASD will continue to communicate the need for more fairness and equity in our public parks. And we will continue to encourage elected officials and candidates to serve the public interest.
An election is right before us. Let’s make sure our voices are heard!
I would think Larry Turner would be open to listening about pickleball.
I appreciate the continued effort put forth on behalf of the many Picklers. We deserve the same access to the city’s abundance of space for our well-being. Thank you, Pickleball Association and Larry Turner!
Larry Turner is the candidate that listens to his constituency. He’s a people person and WANTS to hear what the communities want for their community. The people who live in the neighborhoods and the ones that should have a voice, and the council reps and mayor should be listening. And they’re not! Larry is a smart guy, and has over two decades of leadership skills. He’s worked in the real world, and lives in the real world. It’s way past time for a change in SD elected officials. It’s time to elect leaders. Vote Larry Turner and Terry Hoskins to replace Todd Gloria and Elo-rivera in Council Dist. 9.
I’ve read Jill Stein is enormously fond of pickleball
She’s also fond of Putin.
I do not play pickleball, nor do I have an opinion on those who do. I do, however, have an opinion about Todd Gloria as Mayor. Mayor Gloria may not care about Pickleball, or the need for Pickleball courts, but then again, what does the Mayor care about? Certainly not his constituency. We need change at city hall! Mayor Gloria has failed this city’s residents for far too long on the issues that real San Diegan’s care about, homelessness, street repair, crime, lowering the cost of living in San Diego, etc. I will be voting for Larry Turner, and I suggest you do as well. Oh, he may not be the cure to all of San Diego’s diseases, but it sure won’t hurt to throw Gloria out on his Heinie and allow someone new to take the reins at the Mayor’s office.
Not a big shock that the mayor who vigorously controls communications citywide and even among volunteers (see Scott Rodd KPBS) and who, on the rare occasion he deals with communities at all, sends flunkies; will not talk with park using constituents.
He doesn’t do parks unless there’s a press conference opportunity. Just look at what he did in his former district and what he’s done with current parks. If one of his donors isn’t getting a contract, he does not care.