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Here’s more on the District 2 candidates — first in a video of the April 7 Ocean Beach Planning Board meeting where 3 candidates were questioned, and second, in interviews of 3 candidates by the editor of Explore Clairemont, an online platform.
Only three were present as per plan by the OBPB. They will interview others at the next board meeting. See the OBPB for the video.
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Javier Espinoza on A Rebuttal to ‘Framing the News About Bicycling?’: “Paul, thank you for your levelheaded approach to responding to journalism critiques. A lot of authors on this site publish…” May 12, 02:14 Javier Espinoza on A Rebuttal to ‘Framing the News About Bicycling?’: “You’re right, the city of San Diego nor the housing developers didn’t enact the 1947 Collier-Burns Highway act – that…” May 12, 01:55
Ronald May on A Rebuttal to ‘Framing the News About Bicycling?’: “I totally agree with Kate and would add that neither the City of San Diego nor the housing developers who…” May 11, 20:37
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kh on A Rebuttal to ‘Framing the News About Bicycling?’: “I have to agree with Kate. As far as bike safety is concerned, the lowest hanging fruit by far, is…” May 11, 15:54 kh on Larry Turner Endorses Richard Bailey for San Diego City Council D2: “How many years is a few? Where is the business? Is it in Mission Beach? Is the mayo in my…” May 11, 15:41 kh on Larry Turner Endorses Richard Bailey for San Diego City Council D2: “Whoever created that website isn’t doing themselves any favors. The tone is extremely off-putting, I couldn’t get through 1/4 of…” May 11, 15:39 kh on San Diego City Council to Consider Settlement in Trash Fee Case in Closed Session — Monday, May 11: “I agree the previous system wasn’t balanced. Everyone was paying for trash via the general fund and then residents of…” May 11, 14:49
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For those who don’t want to sit through the full interviews, here’s a quick recap of what our good friend MAGA Mayor Bailey had to say –
On Sanctuary Cities
“Opposed.”
On Transparency
“I have so many publicly stated positions on so many issues that I think it would be really hard for… someone to accuse me of not being on the record on an issue and then you know, you know, of hiding… where I really stand on issues.” (Weird how he won’t go on the record of who he voted for in the last three presidential campaigns huh??)
On Climate Action Goals
“When the city can’t fill potholes, the notion that the city is actually going to somehow reduce the earth’s temperatures through our actions is just absurd to me. I love the environment…however, all these burdensome regulations that don’t actually improve the environment but do increase the cost of living…actually make San Diego less enjoyable to live.”
So, again, he’s anti-sanctuary city (so clearly pro-ICE then!), doesn’t believe we should as a city do anything about climate change and says that he’s got so many publicly stated positions that no one could accuse him of not being on the record… when he refuses to say he who he voted for for president in any interview (but will say in the comments of the Rag that he did not vote for Kamala).
Guys, if it quacks like a duck, walks like a duck and looks like a duck, it’s a duck. And in this case D2 simply will not bring back 2010’s San Diego Republicanism on the back of a MAGA Trump loving carpetbagger who clearly has not changed his ideology, only his political identification because he thinks D2 voters are gullible idiots. Seeing him, and every other GOP member across the country, lose this year will be joyous.
What an idiot.
Climate related disasters are costing governments billions and this includes cities
We need a representative who understands that ignoring the environment will cost us much much more.
He disgusts me.
Nah your list would accept another Todd Gloria, and we’re sick of that for sure. Personally I like him: focus on real issues like horrible spending choices for dingbat reasons and the fostering of a terrible bias that is fog for clarity of position.
Sanctuary city? Not sure what that does for everyday people living here, lots more to focus on.
Climate agenda.. go read about diesel trucks shipping in hydrogen and the cost my gosh such garbage to spend on, both climate wise and budget cost and severely misguided.
I say get over the maga that’s old news. Find solid candidates that will help the situation and not burrow down into stupid gotcha politics.
Transparency is so meaningless, every person/candidate will not meet that criteria .
I am all for him these days.
I only got through the first minute of D2 Candidate Nicole Crosby’s video interview with Explore Clairemont when I disagreed with her position on the existing $4 BILLION long term pension debt owed by taxpayers to the City’s Union. I may be wrong, but this is what I remember the pension saga went.
In the first minute Nicole Crosby did not put any blame on the Unions, Mayors, and weak City Council who negotiated gifts of public funds to create a new $4 Billion in pension debt.
Instead Nicole Crosby stated that our current Pension problem was due to poor financial decisions in the 1996 when Mayor Susan Golding borrowed money from the City Union’s pension fund to put on the Republican National Convention at our downtown Convention Center.
Then around 2002 the Pension problem and the hidden unfunded pension debt that was not acknowledged in City’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports (CAFR) was brought into the light by Dianne Shipione. People went to jail. And the City had to reissue their faulty illegal CAFRs.
Then during the 2000s the former Mayor Sanders started paying down the long-term Pension debt through cuts in City services, and increase Pension payments.
Then in 2012 things changed again when former Council Member Carl DeMaio put forth his Comprehensive Pension Reform Ballot Measure which passed. With the goal of a future 5-year pensionable pay freeze if Carl DeMaio wins the Mayor’s office later in November 2012.
The best part of Carl DeMaio Comprehensive Pension Reform package was to change the City Charter to get rid of the Employees and Unions having automatic Veto power over the City Council and Mayor. The automatic Veto vote in the City Charter is a Blank Check for the Unions on the amount of annual Pension Payments.
Instead of Carl DeMaio, Mayor Filner won in November 2012. And in late June 2013, former Mayor Filner passed a FY-2014 budget with a new Comprehensive Pension Reform package that includes a 5-year pensionable pay freeze, agreed to by ALL the City Unions. So the structural Pension debt problem would be fixed in 5 years by FY-2019. Problem solved for then. The 5-year Pensionable Pay Freeze would have caught up on all Pension debt, and our Pension problem would have been solved forever.
Sadly, Mayor Filner harassed City Workers and other women, got run out of town, then i-Mayor Todd Gloria took over. Then i-Mayor Todd Gloria sabotaged the Pension debt solution.
In 2013 i-mayor Todd Gloria came up with a legal loophole to get around the signed 5-Year Pensionable Pay Freeze by using City Charter Section 117(a)(17) to take Union employees out of their Unions, by Exempting the position from Classified Service, by City Council action. Making an unlimited amount of former union members Middle Managers instead with insane raises and increasing the pension debt.
The City Charter states that pension debt cannot be added to without a public vote and actuary reports on the future costs before the City Council votes on exempting position and increasing salaries tremendously. This never happened.
i-mayor Todd Gloria, Mayor Kevin Faulconer, and Mayor Todd Gloria continued the Middle Management scam from 2013 to 2026. According to the San Diego County Taxpayer Association:
“One of these trends, observed by Michael Zucchet of San Diego’s Municipal Employees Association, is the growth of middle-management positions titled “program manager” and “program coordinator” which Zucchet found to have increased from 70 to 393 over the past decade, a 461% increase.”
Former Council Member Carl DeMaio 2012 Comprehensive Pension Reform was repeal years later at a cost of a few hundred million. Not the current $4 BILLION in Pension debt.
Based on my reading of the City’s Employee Compensation Reports, I think Mayor Todd Gloria increased staffing from 12,605 positions in CY-2020 to 14,570 positions in CY-2024.
In four years there was +15.6% increase in employees, totaling:+1,965 total new positions, for no gains in services.
According to the Compensation Reports:
In 2020 there were 308 Middle Managers making up to $184,330.
In 2024 there were 423 Middle Managers making up to $267,946.
In 4 years there was: +37% increase in Middle Managers, totaling 115 new Middle Manager.
There is no information for 2025 or 2026.
In summary, in 2013 the pension debt problem was almost solved and was going to be cured in 5 Years. Instead i-Mayor Todd Gloria, Mayor Kevin Fauolconer, Mayor Todd Gloria again, the weak City Council, and the City Unions conspired to give themselves everything they ever wanted.
We now have a new $4 BILLION pension debt that cannot be blamed on Susan Golden and the Republican National Convention of 1996. This new pension problem from 2012 belong mainly to Mayor Todd Gloria.
You definitely have more and better information than I have researched. I still believe that Murphy and Golding got the ball rolling. There was a period when city employees, using DROP and great timing, retired making more annual income in retirement than the last years of work. I support unions for many reasons, but I could see this is unsustainable. The best you could achieve after 45 years at my civil service job was about 80%. Seemed realistic and fine to me. Would anyone know how many former San Diego city employees are making greater than 100% of their last year(s) income for life? And sadly, with bribery being legalized by a conservative picked SCOTUS, I don’t believe there are any ‘Donna Frye’ types running for the seat, especially the MAGA candidate.
Actually, last month when Mandy Havlik and I presented our two Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) Ballot Measures on Mike Aguirre’s KNSJ podcast Talk of the Town, Mike called Mandy Havlik the next Donna Frye. A high compliment.
I agree. Mainly because Mandy reads everything, studies civic issues, comes up with her own analysis, changes her mind with new information, comes from the community. Mandy is also Vice-Chair of the Sunset Cliff Natural Park Council.
Most importantly, Mandy has passion and cares deeply. Just like Donna.
You kind of wonder about Crosy, who was reported to make $360K plus a couple of years ago. Why run for a paycut, unless she is funded by the unions to continue their ownership of the City Council and Mayor?
Nicole Crosby pushed thru the Clairemont Community Plan Update that change the Clairemont height limit from 30 feet maximum to 240 feet near transit, without adequate parking or infrastructure improvements.
Video of Nicole Crosby with D2 Council Member Jen Campbell and the City Unions during a Press Conference for the approval of the Clairemont Community Plan Update that includes up to 240 foot buildings near transit, on her Instagram account.
https://www.instagram.com/reels/DUBLVMPjJ0d/
Nicole Crosby stated:
“Over the last several years, as President of the Clairemont Town Council, I worked closely with our neighbors and City Staff to ensure the Clairemont Plan Update was reflective of our community needs. This plan includes improved infrastructure, comprehensive transportation options, and more housing.” If Nicole Crosby was not fine with the Clairemont height limit increasing to 240 feet in limited areas where most of the new housing would go, she would not talk about her support for the full plan and additional housing at a Press Conference with Jen Campbell.
Personally I was against the Clairemont Community Plan Update only specifically because it allowed up to 240 foot building heights, and reduced parking requirements.
Nicole Crosby touts that she is on the Deputy City Attorney Association’s (DCAA) negotiating team for pay and pension increases. Where she gave herself and the City Attorney’s office massive raises without a source of funding. Raises without funding is why our infrastructure is crumbling.
The City’s 2023 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) from the Deputy City Attorney Association (DCAA), granted the City Attorney Union five +5% raises every 6 months over 3 years in 2023. With Compounded Interest every 6 months, the raises should be greater than +25% over 3 years.
See Page 7 “Employees while occupying special assignments will qualify for 5% additional pay for Chiefs and 2.5% additional pay for Leads/Supervising Attorneys.”
So she should have received anywhere from over 27.5% to 30% increases over 3 years herself, depending on if she is a Chief or Lead/Supervising Attorney.
However, according to Transparent California who only has info online up to 2024, from 2023 to 2024 Nicole Crosby received a +12.3% increase in Regular Pay, and a +$78,125.47 or 25% increase in Total Pay and Benefits to $387,976.61 in one year.
The strangest thing is the column for Pension Debt that started in 2022. It this an additional payout or DROP? Or Unknown?
Also interesting is in 2022 when she ran and then dropped out of the race for City Council District 6, according to Transparent California, Nicole Crosby received a +108,420.54 or +52% in pay and benefits in one year. This seems like she might have been given a reason to drop out of the District 6 race in 2022.
The city council should not be planning and building for Gen X and Boomers. It needs to build for the needs of Gen Z and Gen Alpha. And since we likely ruined car ownership for them and potentially owning homes, they will need housing close to public transport. (Not leaving out Millennials, but they already got screwed.)
Elect someone with a vision for the next 20-30 years, not someone who wants to take us back to the way it was when we grew up. We need to build a city that will be ready for the challenges of 2040 and beyond, including climate change. We owe that to “our” kids.
Are you referring to the OBPB video or the Explore Clairemont video? There’s no article with the OBPB video, so I’m assuming you’re talking about the other one. If you’re referring to the other one, it’s my video, and of course, it’s edited. No one is interested in hearing us chat about our dogs or grandmas in an interview about how candidates will run District 2, so any unrelated talk is cut. I left in the questions and answers only. I did not edit any responses if that is what you’re inferring. And I’m not on anyone’s campaign.
Ignore my comment to you. The one I was originally responding to seems to have disappeared!
Wow, what a vision? LMAO
Mel, the City and County have built nothing but predatory market rate luxury apartments by the thousands along public transit corridors while they have enabled 192 New York Stock Exchange listed Real Estate Investment Trusts and 28 publicly traded NASDAQ Real Estate Investment Trusts to usurp nearly all the single family homes put up for sale since 2008.
In the absence of condos and town-homes the City, County and State have deliberately created rental slave classes of Millennials, Gen Z & Alphas with no hope of housing security, ever. So much for your theory that overpaying Civil Servants and Elected Officials brings a higher quality employees and candidates to office that will be less likely to grift huh Mel?
You’re late to the discussion here Mel, but welcome. Now that you are up to speed, where do you propose we find and elect these hypothetical 20-30 year Visionaries ?
I don’t want MAGA candidates or old guys who won’t live long enough to see the impact their decisions will have on the environment.
I question why a lawyer would take on a lower paying job and am skeptical because of that.
I don’t object to expensive places being built because it will still address supply and demand. Right now people are paying high rents for mediocre places. Let’s get them into the fancy new places which will put pressure on rents overall. Rents have already been coming down in SD this past year.
And I will vote for a YIMBY candidate who cares about the district more than their political career and someone who will do unpopular things if it is right for the city.
“I question why a lawyer would take on a lower paying job and am skeptical because of that.”
Actually, you don’t.
“I don’t object to expensive places being built because it will still address supply and demand. ”
Actually, it won’t. No one, including yourself truly believes that.
“And I will vote for a YIMBY candidate who cares about the district more than their political career”
YIMYB or NIMBY, no human being that chooses elected office as a career cares about anything other than their political career. No one.
No on Bailey
Fifth Column
No Mas MAGA
Basta!