By JW August / Special to the OB Rag
There are clear differences between the candidates and they were on display at a debate at the Point Loma Library last night, October 1. Nicole Crosby is the Democratic Party’s choice and is supported by local organized labor groups Richard Bailey says he is now an independent after years representing Republican interests. He is supported by the Lincoln Club, conservative, pro-business PAC (Political Action Committee) which says they are independent of the Republican Party but have supported party candidates as a matter of course.
They were given two minutes for an opening statement. Those are provided here, in part, from both candidates.
Nicole Crosby:
“when I launched my campaign for San Diego, it is because we’re dealing with crumbling infrastructure. Our politicians are pushing forth half-baked solutions to complicated problems, and I’m raising my daughter in this community, and we want it to be better for her, her friends, and all of our family”
Richard Bailey:
“I previously served as the 53rd mayor of Coronado, and as the mayor of Coronado, we focused on getting the basics of local government right. We focused on public safety, infrastructure, reasonable housing policies, and accomplishing those objectives in a financially responsible manner, and I think the track record speaks for itself.members, and that’s not what we’ve been seeing.”
Bailey would continually point to his records for the City of Coronado as an example of his ability to govern. Crosby pointed out that the island city will be far different to govern that the City of San Diego .
The room provided by the Point Loma Library was standing room only. The audience was clearly engaged throughout the debate and told ‘no applauding’ for either candidate after their opening statements. It was difficult to measure who had the most support at the end of the meeting.
The candidates responded to a series of questions from the audience — there was no live interaction between the candidates and those in attendance. The question I had for Crosby was would she support cutting staff to reduce the city’s deficit? Her response to audience’s question sounds like ‘no’ but with an explanation, That explanation follows in the Q & A.
I submitted a question that I wanted to ask before the packed room. It was directed at Candidate Bailey and questioned his new role and was about his claim he is an independent candidate. What was his relationship now with Republican Carl DeMaio, a failed candidate for mayor who was reborn as the voice of the conservative movement in California as a member of the State Assembly? The question was never asked and I was not allowed to ask it.
They both disagree on a number of volatile issues in the community. Bailey says cut the funding for the homeless. Crosby believes the solution lies in better coordination between the agencies involved. Crosby suggests more traditional monthly billing for property taxes, in light of the recent confusion where 87,000 customers were overcharged or undercharged. Bailey says the city should get out of the trash business. Crosby said she supports rent control for senior citizens to help avoid homelessness. Bailey said there are not many economists who agree with rent control.
Provided are some detailed questions and answers to give OB Rag readers insights on the two District 2 candidates, edited for brevity and clarity
Q-Do you support allowing state density bonus laws to be used to permit buildings above San Diego’s voter-approved 30-foot coastal height limit in the coastal zone?
Both were in agreement, they were adamant in their opposition to the city’s strategy.
Q Identify one major policy adopted by the current mayor or city council that you believe was a mistake, and tell us what you would have done differently?
CROSBY She targeted SB79, Sacramento’s solution to allow higher-density, multi-family housing near major public transit stops. “We do not have a topography like San Francisco or New York, where transit exists, that plan has in place and transit that may never exist, never manifest. It doesn’t actually have to be there. There are neighborhoods that are high density right now that don’t have buses that work on the weekends and they’re not frequent. So the fact that we are not delivering and only And SB 79 is a problem.allowing private equity and profit developers to come in and pick city pockets, while not delivering our infrastructure, not delivering for San Diegans, is a really big problem.”
BAILEY Went after the controversial midway project. “I disagree with the mayor the most is the preferential treatment he supported for Midway Rising, that is fundamentally unfair. When a city can’t complete your CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) analysis to the degree required by law on multiple occasions, and instead of trying to do it the right way, the way that applies to all of the projects in the state of California. Instead, you seek out preferential legislation to benefit one project over all others to take away community input. That’s not right.”
Neither candidate answered the question of what they would have done differently. They would expand on their solutions in other responses.
Q The departments or classifications where you believe staffing should actually be reduced at City Hall, and how many positions would you or could you eliminate?
BAILEY “I would argue they have a spending and management problem. Over the past decade, the city’s population has increased by just one and a half percent. City staff has increased by about 27 percent. I would look to my department heads, ask them to baseline the 2015 staffing levels, and that would reduce your employee count to the point you’d go from $100 million deficit to a $200 million surplus.”
CROSBY “It’s just preposterous. My opponent wants to do the DOGE to the city.” (Trump’s program to cut federal staffing), “When you’re looking at the departments and the staffing levels we have now, and trying to do a comparison to 2015 means you’re going to be firing 1000 people, including the firefighters, the lifeguards, the police officers, the stormwater workers, the pothole fillers. I mean, these are people that are necessary, and in 2015 we were working with this shoestring budget and shoestring staff because of salary freezes.”
