San Diego District 2 City Council Candidates: Follow the Money

OB Rag Staff Report

In an August 8 Rag Post, “2026 District 2 Council Race: Will Voters Get Fooled Again?”, we promised to “scrutinize the candidates in the … primary: who they are, what they’ve done, what they say, and most importantly, where their money comes from.”

The primary is six months away in June, and candidates have filed early campaign financial reports. A review of the city’s Campaign Disclosure Reports (Series 400) shows a real difference in the sources of support for three candidates who filed disclosures: Josh Coyne, Mandy Havlik, and Nicole Crosby.

Three other candidates in the race – Mike Rickey, Nicole Quillin, and Daniel Smiechowski – do not have reports on the website, which is common for candidates who don’t reach the reporting threshold.

Josh Coyne

Coyne is in first place in District 2 fundraising totals with $69,148. He has made a $30,000 loan to his campaign. According to the Voters’ Voice Initiatives, his contributions from outside District 2 amount to $57,000, or more than 80 percent of his take.

Many of Coyne’s contributors are corporate leaders and lobbyists, some of whom have close ties to Mayor Todd Gloria. They include:

Chris and Jennifer Wahl, Southwest Strategies, $1,500
Daniel Reeves, The Juniper Group, $1,500
Robert Gleason, Evans Hotel, $1,500
Phil Rath, Rath Public Affairs, $1,500
Marshall Anderson, California Strategies LLC, $1,000
Katherine Johnston, mayoral aide to Kevin Faulconer, $1,000
Chris Cate, San Diego Chamber of Commerce, $750
Ben Haddad, California Strategies LLC, $500
Gil Cabrera, The Cabrera Firm, $500

Coyne is Chief of Staff to Betsy Brennan, President and CEO of Downtown San Diego Partnership. He has been endorsed by CA Senator Catherine Blakespear and CA Assemblymember Chris Ward.

Campaign website: https://www.electjoshcoyne.com

Mandy Havlik

Havlik is in second place with $22,058. She has made a $20,000 loan to her campaign. According to the Voters’ Voice Initiatives, her contributions from outside District 2 amount to $6,050, or 36 percent of her take.

Most of Havlik’s contributors are retired or self-employed. Her largest contributions have come from:

John Behner, Retiree, $1,600
Donald Sevrens, Retiree, $1,600
Ricardo de la Rosa, Pacific Princess Partnership Ltd., $1,200
Raymond Volker, Warren-Walker School, $1,000
John Conway, Retiree, $800
Scott Andrews, Retiree, $800
Angela Hawkins, Retiree, $800
Thomas Mullaney, Community Organizer, $800

Havlik is a community advocate, an organizer for food distribution to families in need, and an activist against child marriage.

Campaign website: https://mandyhavlik.com

Nicole Crosby

Crosby is in third place with $21,834. According to the Voters’ Voice Initiatives, all of her contributions have come from outside District 2.

Many of Crosby’s donors are in the legal profession and in government. Her largest contributions have come from:

John Hemmerling, former Assistant City Attorney, $1,500
Joshua Adams, General Atomics, $1,500
John Vellis, Retired, $1,000
Aaron Meyer, Psychiatrist, $900
Theresa Hemmerling, Criminalist, $750
Peter Blair, Attorney, $750
Joan Letson, Retired, $750
Nancy Tung, S.F. District Attorney’s Office, $500

Crosby is the City of San Diego’s Chief Deputy City Attorney. She has been endorsed by AFSCME Local 127, San Diego Democrats for Equality, and the Latina Democratic Club.

Campaign website: https://nicoleforsandiego.com