The Callen Report
By Kate Callen
Tonight’s second debate between incumbent San Diego mayor Todd Gloria and challenger Larry Turner takes place as the race tightens and the surprises stack up.
The debate will be broadcast live on KPBS-TV at 8:00 p.m. and aired again on Sunday at 10:00 a.m. The moderator will be KPBS investigative reporter Amita Sharma.
Panelists will be Voice of San Diego CEO/Editor-in-Chief Scott Lewis, inewsource managing editor Jamie Self, and KPBS metro reporter Andrew Bowen.
Gloria is lucky; host KPBS and at least two panelists lean left, so he can expect gentle treatment. And right now, he needs all the luck he can get. The Democratic career politician is running against an independent first-time candidate. Gloria should be heavily favored, and he was – until a SurveyUSA poll showed him leading Turner by only four points, 37% to 33%, with 28% undecided.
The same poll reported that 49% of respondents say life in San Diego “has gotten worse” over the past 4 years.
Then last week, conservative donors Steven and Carol Richter, who contributed the max to Turner in June, made an extraordinary $1 million gift to the right-leaning
Lincoln Club and stipulated there are “no strings attached.”
Speculation is that the Lincoln Club has quietly earmarked $450,000 of the Richters’ money for Turner. The other $550,000 is still on the table.
For the first time in his career, Gloria cannot glide through a campaign for office with a wink and a smile. He now has a record of executive performance to defend. He must answer for the homelessness crisis, the affordable housing crisis, and the budget crisis. And the lingering scandal of 101 Ash Street. And a string of other botched real estate deals.
The bloom appears to be off the rose. In the first mayoral debate on September 18, Gloria was scripted and robotic. He looked weary. Turner was lively and confident. He looked like he was having fun.
Since he entered the race as a long-shot, Turner has had the zen demeanor of a candidate who thinks, “I really have nothing to lose.” Tonight, he will enter the studio as a candidate who thinks, “I really could win this.”
Win or lose, I will still be voting for Larry Turner. Mayor Gloria has shown us who he is, and I for one, don’t like what I see. I believe that there are plenty of reasons to vote for Larry Turner, however, I have no reason to vote for Todd Gloria. I mean really, what has he done that has made the lives of San Diegan’s better in the last four years? Go ahead, I’ll wait…..
I would like to know if the OB Rag will be publishing a full list of its recommendations for this year”s elections? I know they have endorsed one or two candidates, but I feel a brief recommendation on each race and issue (measures and props), could be very informative for those who aren’t “in the know” or perhaps have only been focused in on one or two races. Maybe on e has already been made but I havent been able to find it. Please advise. Thank you.
Lie to me once and shame on you, but lie to me twice and shame on me!
Adios Todd. You have consistently lied lied and lied some more to those who trusted you to do the right thing. Shame on us if we put up with it for four more years !!
At a recent 2024 Coastal Candidates Forum, I asked mayoral candidate Larry Turner how his Marine and police experience would help him manage San Diego’s $5.8B budget, noting that similar-sized corporations have CEOs with strong credentials. Turner, admitting his inexperience, immediately suggested shifting to a weak mayor and a highly qualified City Manager. Mayor Gloria, who skipped the coastal candidate forum, has struggled with the Ash Street issue and managing homelessness funds. In my view, both candidates are unsuitable for the role. However, since one will win, we should advocate for a return to the City Manager system. But, if I had to pick at this point, it would be Gloria.
While both candidates were loose with the facts last night, Gloria comes across as a hard drive spewing out numbers. Whether its miles of roads slurry sealed or number of bed for the homeless, it’s a constant barrage.
At one point, I believe, Gloria bragged he secured $730 million in federal funds for storm water projects and a few minutes later he said nothing could have been done about last year’s flooding due to under funding. On the sales tax increase Turner brought up a good point that all the money will to the general fund, (black hole) and that there is no sunset provision to it.
As for the homeless, it sound like Gloria’s strategy is to keep building more housing until everyone can afford something. Turner is approaching it from getting people mental and drug addiction help along with some kind of housing.
Turner certainly doesn’t have all the answers and is winging it at times, but he doesn’t have the years of political calcification that Gloria has.
Paul Jamason, one of the leaders of San Diego’s developer-linked YIMBY movement, says: ‘“Progressive” OB Rag shilling for a conservative doing his best Trump impression last night, with a never-ending stream of lies and sheer incompetence. And all because Turner is pandering to your conservative hatred of safer streets for bicyclists, and allowing needed housing. Priceless!”‘