By Arturo Castañares / La Prensa San Diego / April 29, 2026
In the race for San Diego City Council’s 8th District, one candidate stands out as uniquely UNQUALIFIED to run for higher office: Antonio Martinez.
Martinez has served on the San Ysidro School Districts Board of Trustees since December 2012, but has also run and lost twice for the same San Diego City Council seat he is running for again this year. He lost twice to Vivian Moreno, in 2018 and 2022, and is now running when Moreno is termed out of office.
District 8 includes the San Diego communities of San Ysidro, Otay Mesa, Ocean View Hills, Barrio Logan, Logan Heights, and Sherman Heights.
Maybe serving on a local school board for 14 years would seem like a good background to run for higher office, but the San Ysidro School District is currently under financial distress and has certified that it may not be able to meet its current year and next two years’ obligations to pay teachers and staff.
Under Martinez’s leadership, the school district has faced financial mismanagement and planning that led their debt bond rating to be lowered to “BBB”—three levels down from the top AAA rating—and the Fitch Rating agency this month labeled the District’s financial outlook as “NEGATIVE”.
Not exactly the kind of resumé that would merit a promotion to higher office.
The District’s finances are so bad that the San Diego County Office of Education—which oversees the financial stability of local school districts—placed the San Ysidro School District under direct supervision due to “fiscal distress,” one step before a takeover that would suspend the Board and fire the Superintendent.
One of the most shocking moves Martinez made was to support staff raises last year even when the County Office of Education advised against the additional ongoing expenses. He ignored expert advice and voted to put the District further in a financial hole.
Not surprisingly, the district’s teachers union that benefited from the pay raises has now endorsed him in his City Council race.
Why would the district’s teachers endorse a Boardmember who is trying desperately to leave their district? Payback!
Now Martinez is endorsed by the City of San Diego firefighters union which stands to benefit from more pay raises and avoid layoffs that even Mayor Todd Gloria is starting to realize may be unavoidable given the City’s dire financial condition.
But, putting aside the financial mismanagement, Martinez also has and continues to show an affinity for corrupt school officials that calls into question his integrity.
Back in 2013, more than a year into his tenure on the Board, Martinez supported and defended their embattled Superintendent, Manuel Paúl.
After Paúl was indicted by a County criminal grand jury for accepting free gifts from prospective contracts looking to secure work from the District, as well as being under investigation by the FBI for accepting cash from another contractor, Martinez voted AGAINST accepting Paúl’s resignation. Martinez voted “NO” along with Yolanda Hernandez, who was also indicted with Paúl for receiving unreported gifts from contractors.
Both Paúl and Hernandez later pleaded guilty to misdemeanor counts for failing to report dinners with contractors, and Paúl was sentenced to time in federal prison for accepting cash from a contractor.
But not all of his bad decisions are in the past.
In his current election, Martinez boasts the endorsement of former San Ysidro School Boardmember Raquel Marquez Maden, and she is serving as his campaign manager.
Marquez Maden was elected to the San Ysidro School Board in 2004 and re-elected in 2008, before deciding not to run for a third term in 2012.
In April 2012, her husband, Gareth Maden, testified under oath in a legal deposition that he and Marquez Maden lived outside of the school district boundaries while she served on the Board, and that she used her mother’s home as her voter registration address, despite not having lived there for several years.
Both using another voting address and continuing to serving on the school board after moving out are violations of California elections laws, and constitute felony voter fraud.
Several elected officials have been convicted of felonies for the exact same thing.
Last week, La Prensa San Diego asked Martinez if he had committed to hire Marquez Maden as his Chief of Staff if he were to win the election.
Martinez wouldn’t say yes or no, reinforcing rumors that he is expecting to hire her to run his City office. Marquez previously worked at the City Council when Ben Hueso represented that same district from 2005 to 2010.
Hueso is also endorsing Martinez in this race, as he did previously, but another high profile politician who supported Martinez last time he ran for City Council is conspicuously missing.
Congressman Juan Vargas supported Martinez in his 2022 City Council race against incumbent Vivian Moreno, but this time, Vargas has NOT endorsed anyone in the race.
Vargas has endorsed San Diego City Councilman Henry Foster III in his re-election in another district, but so far has stayed neutral in the 8th District race.
The lack of endorsement is even more telling because Martinez worked for Vargas until last September, leaving many to wonder why the popular Congressman is staying out of the race for the same City Council seat he held from 1993 to 2001.
Martinez has shown his naked ambition for higher office in his three runs for City Council, but has failed to do the job he was actually elected to do—run a school district.
If he can’t be trusted to run a $80 million school district, how could he help run a $5 billion a year City? His track record would argue he is not qualified to be on the San Diego City Council.
Martinez has also shown his lack of judgment and character by supporting and associating himself with public officials who violated the law. His decision-making should also make voters think twice before voting to elevate him to higher office.
Like the old Spanish proverb says:
“Dime con quién andas y te diré quién eres.”
Tell me who you’re with and I will tell you who you are.
Antonio Martinez is unqualified for the San Diego City Council.
The only one unqualified is the author of this article, who didn’t disclose his lawsuit with the school district, how he almost drove the district to bankruptcy, how he terrorized teachers and staff, how he took millions from the children of San Ysidro (some of the poorest in the county) and used that money to buy La Prensa, and how he has been exiled from the community ever since. He is just pissed, because Antonio is one of the few that stood up to him and won. This author is known in San Ysidro as “Art the Clown,” and the OB Rag should be ashamed of giving this sociopath, coward and thief more attention than what he deserves. OB Rag, do better! District 8 residents do not need more white-splaining. Please get the stank of white privileged off of you and keep to your own neighborhoods.