By Larry Turner
Cynthia and I, first and foremost, would like to thank every San Diegan who stepped forward to make our city a better place; everything we accomplished in this campaign was because of the amazing volunteers, contributors, and voters who joined in the fight.
We started out as a no-name, grassroots campaign surviving on $5 donations, taking on “the system,” and became a force to be reckoned with, knocking the high-profile incumbent to less than 50% in the Primary Election, and 55% in the General Election.
Even though we were outspent by special interests and developers who directly benefit from City actions, our election margin was still closer than any of the other high-profile campaigns in the region, including for City Attorney, City Council, or County Supervisor.
Nearly our entire campaign team was made up of unpaid volunteers, and what we accomplished through sheer grit and determination is amazing.
Our campaign was more than a political race, it was a movement. A movement which proved that we can overcome the factors that divide us, and instead focus on what unites us, for the good of our community. Our team and our volunteers came from all walks of life, across the political spectrum, and formed one coalition: we are the San Diego Party – non-partisan, independent, and common-sense! To quote Louis Brandeis, American Lawyer and Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, “The most important office, and the one which all of us can and should fill, is that of private citizen.”
Nearly half of this city voted for change and my hope for San Diego is that this is a wake-up call to current leadership that San Diegans deserve strong, competent, and transparent leadership that is not beholden to special interests.
It was a privilege to run for Mayor of our amazing city, and it is a privilege to continue to serve San Diegans as your police officer working hard to keep you safe.
Cynthia and I extend our congratulations to Mayor Gloria on his hard-fought reelection.
Thanks. We all truly hope for ‘a wake-up call to current leadership’. Its time for more talk about bringing back a City Manager. A ‘Strong Mayor’ Form of Governance does not work with this current leader.
Affirm, as a native San Diegan, I miss those old Jack McGrory days.
Well said Larry Turner!! You were the strength SD needed to right the crazy train. You had excellent campaign manager, coordinators, working with you. It was great fun to get the word out to the Community Planning Groups, Town Councils, Meet and Greets, with Cynthia, and most of the time the little ones right there by your side. Kudos to you all. I think San Diegans will soon find out more of, how little todd gloria will continue to NOT do for the taxpayers. Seems his motto is he does whatever he wants “TO the people and very little FOR the people”. Time will tell if the mayor can bail the constituents out of the very deep holes he’s put them in.
Thx very much, Larry, for all the time and effort you and your team put into the campaign. You gave voters a choice. You offered a credible alternative to a mayor who to often does not represent the best interests of San Diego residents, and who often ignores our valid concerns about his policies and ignores or disrespects our perspective on the important issues facing our city. That’s a big “win” for democracy, and has hopefully created a durable framework for future efforts to elect more independent-thinkers guided by the interests of their city, their neighborhoods, and their constituents, not their narrow political ambitions and their donors’ interests.
SDPD veteran Officer Larry Turner did really good this time. Hopefully he’ll consider another run for Mayor in the future.