The election for the San Diego City Council is over a year and a half away, but already candidates are jostling for position for the District 2 race. Because current councilmember Jen Campbell is termed out, there won’t be an incumbent for new candidates to run against.
Those who’ve already declared — or near to declaring — are the following:
- Andrea Schlageter has been head of the OB Planning Board for years and also heads up the city-wide City Planners Committee;
- Point Loma neighborhood leader Mandy Havlik; she ran for the seat in 2022 and is involved in the Point Loma- OB Democratic Club; Havlik focused on maintaining the city’s 30-foot coastal height limit for development and fighting proposals for higher-density housing she argued would damage the character of beach communities;
- Deputy City Attorney Nicole Crosby — she lives in Clairemont Mesa, has been with the City Attorney’s office for more than a decade, and worked as a prosecutor and has focused on domestic abuse, sexual predators and preventing gun violence;
- Former City Hall staffer Josh Coyne, a resident of Point Loma, who served on Campbell’s staff from 2019 to 2021, and currently works for the nonprofit Downtown Partnership;
- Another potential candidate is former Assemblymember Lori Saldaña who also ran in 2022 and was subjected to a vicious hate campaign from Mayor Gloria supporters; the U-T reports that she is discussing the possibility of running with supporters.
- The only Republican in the race so far is dentist Linda Lukas, a resident of Sunset Cliffs who ran in 2022, benefiting from the Democrat candidates cancelling each other out to run against Campbell.
Other factors worthy of note: any endorsement from the county Democratic Party could be key to winning District 2, where registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans 42,377 to 24,243.
District 2 stretches from Clairemont to Point Loma and Ocean Beach.
Some info from David Garrick at the U-T.
Who do you endorse?
Don’t you think it’s a little early for endorsements?
I notice you say, “any endorsement from the county Democratic Party could be key to winning District 2”. Though you may be right, this is incredibly sad for the people of District 2. The Democratic Party of San Diego (and I say this as a registered Democrat) has consistently endorsed people like Todd Gloria and Jennifer Campbell, people who have done nothing for our district, and have voted for things that have hurt our District. Whether it be the failed vendor ordinance, the failed STVR ordinance, or trying to ruin our neighborhoods with over-saturation of housing, these career politicians are just interested in lining their pockets and not solving problems.
There are a number of candidates in this race that are not part of the current political machine and who really care about the people of our District. The Democratic Party will very likely endorse someone who is already part of their machine. Don’t vote for them. Let’s choose a newcomer who really cares about us.
Thanks Glenn, it’s sorry but true. “The Democratic Party of San Diego … has consistently endorsed people like Todd Gloria and Jennifer Campbell, people who have done nothing for our district, and have voted for things that have hurt our District.”
Right on!…couldn’t agree more.
Huzzah! We need someone endorsed by community leaders, not these self-serving insiders. And then we need to get the word out to the mass of uninformed voters that rely soley on shiny mailers, party lines, and the voter pamplet they read on voting day (maybe).
Also these token republican candidate either needs to stay home, or we need more of them to split up that voting bloc. Linda Loser Lukacs f’d up the last primary by clearing the path for Campbell to win in the general election…. Despite Campbell being the most unpopular incumbent councilmember in 60 years.
Assuming the comment about Lucas is true, insults undermine the argument. Let’s resist the urge to trumpify our dialogue.