OB Rag Staff Report
When the Rag began our 2026 San Diego City Council election coverage, we promised to “scrutinize the candidates in the June primary: who they are, what they’ve done, what they say, and most importantly, where their money comes from.”
Our first post reviewed Campaign Disclosure Reports (Series 400) for three District 2 candidates and listed their top contributors. This post focuses on three candidates in the District 8 primary.
Venus Molina
Molina is in first place with $66,234. Many of her contributors are corporate leaders and lobbyists, some of whom have close ties to Mayor Todd Gloria. They include:
Mel Katz, Manpower, $1600
Marco Sessa, Sudberry Properties, $1,600
Alan Viterbi, Elm Grove Strategies, $1,600
Chris Frahm, Attorney,/former Water Authority Chair, $1,600
Juan Carlos Hernandez, CA Southern SBDC, $1,500
Ben Haddad, CA Strategies, $800
Craig Benedetto, CA Strategies, $800
Gil Cabrera, The Cabrera Firm, $800
Robert Gleason, Evans Hotel, $800
And a political action committee, San Diegans for Fairness Supporting Venus Molina for City Council District 8, has collected $5,000.
Molina is Chief of Staff for District 2 Councilmember Jennifer Campbell. She formerly served as Chief of Policy for District 4 Councilmember Tony Young.
Antonio Martinez
Martinez is in second place with $49,688. Many of his donors are in real estate and development. They include:
Japhet Perez, UCSD Research Analyst, $1,600
Donald Ashley, Real Estate Agent/Investor, $1,050
Michael McPhee, La Jolla Pacific Development Group, $1,000
James Matson, Kimley-Horn, $800
Mark Arabo, Refined Management, $800
David Beacham, RAHD Affordable Housing Group, $800
Colin Rice, RAHD Affordable Housing Group, $800
Tim Walsh, RAHD Affordable Housing Group, $800
Martinez was a staffer to Congressman Juan Vargas for over 6 years, until September 2025. He has served four terms on the San Ysidro School Board.
Rafael Perez
Perez is in third place with $19,080. Many of his donors are in real estate and business development. They include:
Andrew Ballester, EyePop.ai, $1,600
Jason Madiedo, Panorama Mortgage Group, $1,000
Talia-Sharina Carbajal, Planned Parenthood of the Pacific SW, $800
Robert Apodaca, Business Development, $500
Michelle Krug, City of San Diego Mobility Board, $539
Denise Newell, Palisade Realty, $500
Max Zaker, Realty of America. $500
Perez is the Board Chair of the Casita Coalition and a former Board Member for the Pacific Southwest Association of Realtors. He currently serves on the San Diego Regional Airport Authority Board.
Other District 8 Candidates
Four D8 candidates – Francisco Mayoral Munoz, Miguel Ochoa, Kenia Peraza, and Gerardo Ramirez – did not list contributions in their reports.
The Districts 2 and 8 2026 Council races are for open seats with no incumbents running for re-election. In two other 2026 Council races, Districts 4 and 6, incumbents are running. The Rag will review those in future posts.
Let’s remember that Venus Molina was the architect of the short term vacation ordinance as Gen Campbell’s staffer. I know how happy the landlords are with that, and I expect she will get some contributions from them too.
Damn Paul! You beat me to it. And let’s not forget that Venus had a huge hand in pushing Campbell to support Measure E that called for the elimination of the 30 foot ht limit in the Midway / Pacific planning area.
Are the comments in support of Venus, or not?
Geez, Chris, you read my comments regularly and you ask that question? Definitely not in support of Venus. Won’t speak for Frank
Sorry but “the landlords” giving contributions to Venus was a twist. Many categories of landlord. STVR, apartment, SFR owner, etc. Needed a clarification.
Venus Molina is pure evil. Worse than the succubus that is Jen Campbell. Venus put the Jen in Hyper-Gentrification.
Thank you for your coverage.
*the map above is pre-redistricting. District 8 no longer includes Stockton and now includes Southcrest.
https://www.sandiego.gov/citycouncil/cd8/communities
Thanks Rafael for notifying us of this; the new map of District 8 is now posted and the former one removed.
Mayday! Send help. We need to fill up all District seats this year with normal people or we are doomed. Dist 2, Dist 4, Dist 8 and Dist 6. I do not see any good normal candidates for District 8 and this is scary. I appreciate the OB Rag providing readers with this valuable information.