Todd Gloria’s Staff Need to Get Him in Front of San Diego Citizens Besides Photo-Ops

Krueger’s full statement, unedited, is published below

By Paul Krueger / Letter to the Editor, U-T / August 25, 2026

Re “Can Gloria break San Diego’s mayoral curse?” (Aug.16): Thanks to Carl Luna for his insightful take on the unforced errors that define Mayor Gloria’s second term. But I disagree with Luna’s speculation that the mayor’s staff has been “keeping him in the bunker of City Hall.” A cursory review of the mayor’s daily social media posts and newsletters confirms he spends significant time outside his office. We see him marching and smiling at the Gay Pride Parade, singing and smiling at the start of a 5K race honoring military members, shaking hands and smiling at an affordable housing summit.

But those are always friendly audiences, happy he’s there to support their cause. I’ve been to several mayoral photo ops, and never heard a participant go off-topic to bluntly criticize any financial or policy missteps. Our mayor needs to venture into hostile territory, listen closely to frustrated residents and actually do something about their valid concerns.

— Paul Krueger, Talmadge

Here’s Paul’s full letter, unedited:

In a recent Union Tribune commentary, political analyst Carl Luna offered an insightful take on the unforced errors that define Mayor Todd Gloria’s second term.

Luna notes that the city budget has increased 40 percent since Goria’s first year in office, with much of that cost due to increased staffing and personnel costs.

But Luna also observes that the Mayor’s efforts to increase the revenue have failed miserably. Those whiffs include the defeat of a proposed city sales tax increase, and, more recently, the imposition of paid parking in and around Balboa Park, the elimination of funding for arts and culture organizations, and the closure of 13 restrooms in Mission Bay.

Facing intense public backlash, the mayor abandoned those ill-conceived budget strategies. “And that’s the second signature of the Gloria administration: When the going gets tough, Gloria backs down, a lesson not lost on his political opponents,” Luna concludes.

I agree with much of Luna’s analysis, but take issue with his speculation that “the Mayor’s staff has been keeping him in the bunker of City Hall… confronting the rest of San Diego in us-verus-them terms.”

In fact, the Mayor thrives on interacting with the public, and a cursory review of his curated social media posts confirms that he spends a significant amount of time outside his office.

His Facebook and X accounts show him marching and smiling at the Gay Pride Parade; singing and smiling at the start of a 5K race honoring military members; shaking hands and smiling at an affordable housing summit.

Some days, he’s center stage at three or more private or semi-public events.

But those audiences are always friendly, and uniformly happy he’s there to support their pet projects and pose for an Instagram moment.

I’ve attended several mayoral photo ops, and never heard a participant go off-topic to criticize any of his financial or policy missteps.

Plus, he’s surrounded by aides, who are adept at collaring anyone who dares raise a politically uncomfortable issue.

Our mayor also spends considerable time moving around the city. But he’s chauffeured to and from work and outside appointments, and never needs to hunt for a parking spot, navigate public transit, search for an open and functioning restroom, or cross the street to avoid a homeless encampment, all of which further insulates him from the reality of life in “America’s Finest City.”

And I do wonder if the Mayor reads any of the reactions to his social media posts.

They’re a pretty accurate barometer of public opinion, and 99 percent of those responses are negative.

Yes, some (even many) are regrettably profane and churlish.

But many of the mayor’s social media followers express righteous exasperation that he appears to have unlimited time to attend these friendly, choreographed meet-and-greets, and precious little interest in hearing their concerns and frustrations.

And it’s not just social media.

At the August 12 meeting of the San Ysidro Community Planning Group, Adriana Castaneda expressed her frustration that the Mayor appeared for a ground breaking without inviting community members who’ve been deeply involved in that project.

“I would love for him to come to our community,” Castaneda told the mayor’s representative. “But not a private event where he’s going to be taking pictures and stuff. I’m talking about the community.”

Another example was the mayor’s notable absence from a well-attended August 9 community meeting on the very controversial Midway Rising development.

Completion of this proposed high-density, high-rise housing and entertainment complex is a top priority for the Mayor, who strongly supports special state legislation that would exempt the project from legal challenges based on inadequate environmental impact reports.

The Mayor clearly wanted to avoid pointed questions about his efforts to tilt the playing field in favor of fabulously wealthy developers who generously funded his reelection campaign.

Mayor Gloria’s daily routine wraps him in a political geo-fence, repelling his critics and insulating him from the real-world impacts of his political missteps. He needs to step outside that comfort zone, take the heat, rebut what he likely feels is uninformed and unfair criticism, while also acknowledging the valid concerns voiced by San Diego taxpayers.

His failure to do so is arguably the main reason he faces a premature end to a once very promising political career.