U-T City Hall Reporter David Garrick: ‘Beyond the Headlines’

Town Hall Hosted by San Diego Community Coalition on Dec. 13

Rag Staff Report

At the December 13 San Diego Community Coalition Town Hall, Union-Tribune City Hall Reporter David Garrick spoke candidly, listened carefully, and laid out the challenges facing journalists who cover local government.

As the City Hall reporter for the city’s major metropolitan daily, Garrick is the unofficial dean of the San Diego press corps. When he started covering City Hall in 2014, Kevin Faulconer was the new Mayor, Todd Gloria was City Council President, and Sempra Energy occupied the tower at 101 Ash Street.

In an hour-long exchange at the Logan Heights Library with community activists from across the city, Garrick was straightforward and thoughtful.

He explained that while journalists rarely report things perfectly, they always try to report things accurately. Throughout the discussion, he was open to hearing views that had not occurred to him.

Here are excerpts from his remarks:

“It’s an amazing beat to cover because this city has so many issues: the Port, immigration, the border, wildly different neighborhoods with different challenges, putting wetlands back in Mission Bay, legalizing marijuana, and obviously, housing, housing, housing. …”

“When Todd Gloria was a City Councilman, I was excited about his focus on transparency. It may be unfair to criticize him; maybe it’s the nature of the job. But he has not been as committed to transparency; people have told me his administration has not embraced the public very effectively….”

“Friday is a light day for most people. But for a daily newspaper reporter, Friday is the hardest day of the week because we’re putting together our weekend stories. If you email me on a Friday, I’m probably going to ignore it because I don’t have time to look at email. It’s better to email me on a Monday or a Tuesday….”

“Everything I’ve heard is that Sean Elo-Rivera is going to run for mayor. The way the field is shaping up, if Scott Peters and Raul Campillo both run, as it seems they are, they have a similar centrist Democrat voter appeal, so they would battle for the spot to run against Elo-Rivera….”

“If there’s something going on in a community that I should know about, don’t assume I know – email me. We get so many story ideas from communities like La Jolla and Pacific Beach. We don’t get story ideas from Skyline. There are parts of D4 and D9 who feel they’ve never gotten a fair shake, so they don’t see the paper as something that could help them fight their battles. I wish they would….”

“I appreciate Neighbors for a Better San Diego’s comprehensive approach to things. Instead of just complaining, you actually show what’s going on. When Neighbors requests information, I don’t think City Hall wants to work with you because the attitude there is ‘We need more housing, and you guys are in the way….’

“When you’re reporting a complicated subject, getting it right is Task #1. Making the story lively and interesting is Task #2. Unfortunately, balance is 3rd or 4th on the list. I have to tell readers, ‘Why does this matter?’ because sometimes your average reader doesn’t know. Why did the ADU rules matter? Because a lot of neighborhoods were losing their character because City Hall approved these crazy rules without thinking them through….”

“When I was dealing with NIMBYism early in my career, they really were NIMBYs: ‘We want this empty lot in our neighborhood to stay empty because we run our horses in it.’ Now most folks in that category are talking about legitimate impacts, like giant shadows from high-rises built in the wrong spot or no parking because ADUs were added to a neighborhood where you already couldn’t park…”

Here at the Rag, as Garrick’s peers, we were struck by how well he understood the symbiotic relationship between the people who report the news and the people who read it. He was receptive when people suggested analyzing density patterns in neighborhoods across the city and challenging City Hall to monitor demolition of existing homes, especially naturally occurring affordable homes (NOAH).

A word of advice: If you want to pitch a story to Garrick, keep it short, get to the point, show the impact, and back up arguments with facts.

The Community Coalition’s next “Town Hall with a Newsmaker” will feature prominent land use attorney Everett Delano on Saturday, January 17, at 10:30 a.m. at the La Jolla/ Riford Library. The series, co-sponsored by Neighbors for a Better San Diego, is free to the public.