Category: Election

By Scott Lewis / Voice of San Diego / June 1, 2026

A campaign text message hit phones Friday with a striking claim: “No more overdevelopment! Richard Bailey will stop the Midway Rising mega-development, limit ADUs, and stop city hall politicians from destroying our communities.”

The mailer was paid for by Steven Richter, the resident who poured money into an effort to support Larry Turner for mayor in 2024,

This was interesting because we’ve tracked Bailey on Midway Rising for months now and, while he was at first saying pretty harsh things about it, he seemed to be settling into a it’s-not-my-favorite-but-what-are-you-going-to-do message.

Rag Writer Signed Up for Nonpartisan Voter Assistance

By JW August

3:18 p.m.  Kearny Mesa Rec Center

Much more activity compared with other stops.  Can’t say if it’s the time of day or location. All 5 check in spots are busy. Small line of voters on occasion.

My Common Cause Partner Jo Curcio is watching the check in desk. Monitoring the exchanges. They all have praise for the county registrars hotline

Site manager Olena tells me her parents were from the Ukraine.  She speaks passionately about the war and its toll.   “They are dying, they want to be able to vote as we do.” To be able to vote.

One poll worker smiled and nodded “we are ready for November. Hope the country is.”

2:27 p.m. San Diego – At Islamic Center of San Diego

When we arrived it looked like election day coverage as its supposed to be. Lots of people moving around.

But then I find out their midday service just ended.

VOTE TODAY

VOTE TODAY

With Election Day upon us and uncertainty in the governor’s race, let’s recap some common election questions to prepare you.

[Go here for all links from below, at Times of San Diego]

Why are so many people running for governor?
It’s a wide-open field in part because the big names in the Democratic Party — former Vice President Kamala Harris and U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla — passed on running for governor. Democratic voters in early spring appeared to be coalescing behind former Rep. Eric Swalwell, but he withdrew from the race following allegations of sexual misconduct.

By Corey Washington / Patch San Diego / May 31, 2026

Just days before voters will cast their ballots in California’s contentious primary election, a record 23.1 million Californians have already registered to vote, according to figures released on Friday by the Secretary of State’s Office.

The latest Report of Registration, released by Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber, found that 23,155,447 eligible Californians were registered to vote as of May 18, the highest total in state history.

“California’s record voter registration numbers show that our democracy is alive and well, powered by millions of Californians who are excited to take part in shaping both the future and values that strengthen our state,” Weber said in a statement. “Our voters are not only staying engaged, they are stepping forward with purpose.”

Democrats continue to make up the largest share of the state’s electorate, with nearly 10.4 million registered voters, or 44.9 percent of the total. Republicans account for about 5.8 million voters, or 24.96 percent, while 5.28 million voters, or 22.82 percent, are registered with no party preference.

By Dave Rice

Is Measure A going to affect a significant number of properties? Is it going to affect affordable housing in any meaningful way? Come now, let’s not be dense – this hits a handful of rich people who can absolutely afford to drop $10K in the city coffers if they’re leaving a vacation home vacant on purpose – let’s say that’s their civic contribution that would be realized in other ways if they actually lived, worked, and shopped here full-time.

Or it hits STVR hosts, who can either factor the cost into their business model or give it up if margins are really that thin (maybe not everyone needs to fancy themselves an amateur hotelier). But let’s not kid ourselves and believe the kind of housing this will free up will be plentiful or affordable.

By Chase

Here are some counterpoints to the Rag post “Why I’m Voting No on Measure A”:

“Supporters claim it will free up housing supply by encouraging owners to sell their property or rent it out to local residents.”
– I would claim it will EITHER free up housing supply OR raise revenue as a penalty for underutilizing housing. Every property owner this applies to has a choice, utilize the property, OR pay the tax.

“It includes retirees who maintain a second home to be closer to doctors, family, or grandchildren. It could impact military families deployed for extended periods if they fail to properly file paperwork with a new city bureaucracy. It affects people navigating inheritance, relocation, family illness, or other life transitions.”
– This statement can be boiled down to “it includes property owners who are underutilizing housing” and I fail to see how “if they fail to properly file paperwork” is included in this. Every US citizen is at risk of arrest if they fail to properly file their taxes…

This is a brief summary of David Garrick’s piece at The San Diego Union-Tribune, published May 26-27, 2026, entitled “Here’s who’s drawing the most money in San Diego City Council races”. Our primary focus is on District 2, and Garrick’s review was primarily on the candidates drawing the most money.

Josh Coyne

Josh Coyne — who’s a Democrat (as are all the D2 candidates except Bailey) has been receiving strong financial support — “more than $200,000 — from an independent committee led by Local 89 of the Laborers International Union of North America.”

In terms of positioning for a future campaign should he be one of the winners in the Primary, Coyne has “essentially nothing — he has $30,000 in cash on hand but a matching $30,000 in unpaid bills,” reports Garrick.

However, all the top Democrats in this race expect party and labor help for whichever of them wins in the Primary.

Nicole Crosby

Nicole Crosby, is also getting labor support, mainly from the largest labor union for city workers — the Municipal Employees Association

OB Rag Staff Report

San Diego’s 22-year experiment with a “strong mayor” has been hobbled by a string of financial crises.

Is it time to consider restoring the position of City Manager?

Jack McGrory, a former city manager for San Diego, will share his thoughts at a town hall forum on “Why We Need a City Manager and Other Insights” on Saturday, June 20, from 12:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Mission Valley Library, 2123 Fenton Parkway.

Sponsored by the San Diego Community Coalition (SDCC) and Neighbors for a Better San Diego (NFABSD), the forum is the fifth in a series of question-and-answer sessions on important civic issues.

These events are free and open to the public, but seating is limited.

By Ed Harris

My experience as a former District Two Council Member and Lifeguard taught me that most of our elected officials do not represent the communities. They spend their careers pleasing special interest to ensure they get donations for their next office. When deciding who to vote for please follow the money. The other candidates in this race are already indebted to special interests. They are getting ads paid for by committees and parties who spin the truth. When you are flooded with campaign mailers take a look at the bottom to see who funded it. Then you will know who will own that candidate. Mandy is the real deal. She’s not bought and paid for by special interests.

She hasn’t sold out our neighborhoods, our coastline, or our community values for political favors or insider backing. She’s independent, she’s authentic, and she’s exactly the kind of leader we need at City Hall right now.

We do not need another rubber stamp politician.

By Jacob Mitchell

I am a fourth generation San Diegan and the son of an Olympian. My life has been defined by the idea that if you play by the rules and put in the work, you deserve a fair shot at the podium, but if you look at San Diego today, you’ll see a city where the playing field is tilted.

We are currently governed by a system that treats residents as a revenue source and institutional developers as the only viable solution to our problems. I am not a politician, as a chemist and an MBA candidate, I don’t believe in vague talking points; I believe in data, systems, and accountability. It’s time we stopped managing San Diego through headlines and started managing it for long term results.

Housing: Bridging the Generational Divide

The most pressing issue facing our beach communities is the housing crisis. State policy mandates a certain number of new homes San Diego needs to build in 9 year cycles. Currently, the City’s response to the mandate is to drop development fees for corporate entities and hand out subsidies for hyper-dense projects that lack community oversight.

I hear two very different, yet equally valid, fears in our district.

By Gary Wonacutt

Eight years ago, District 2 Councilmember Jennifer Campbell campaigned against whole-home short-term rentals (STRs) in residential neighborhoods. Three months into her term, after extensive communications with Airbnb and Expedia, she shifted to a compromise that leaned heavily toward the platforms’ recommendations. Campbell asserted her plan would substantially cut the consultant-estimated 16,000 STRs citywide, but that number has since proven greatly exaggerated.

Early regulatory efforts faced stiff resistance. The Kevin Faulconer “anything goes” proposal failed at City Council, and the Bry/Zapf “primary only” ordinance was rescinded after threats of lawsuits from STR organizations.

City Attorney Mara Elliott’s letter confirmed that short-term rentals violated existing zoning and were illegal. Rather than amend the zoning code or land-use plan— which would have triggered complex procedures, potential Coastal Commission review in coastal zones, and greater difficulty for future tweaks— the City exercised its general police power.

The resulting Short-Term Residential Occupancy (STRO) ordinance (Ordinances O-21305 and O-21464) applies citywide to all dwelling units, regardless of base zoning. It overlays a licensing, permitting, tax, and enforcement regime— including a tiered lottery system and caps— without reclassifying properties in the zoning code. This approach allowed quicker implementation and easier future amendments by simple Council vote.

Here’s three media reports on the candidates for District 2, including on the last candidate debate / forum, held May 14th at Paradise Point Resort & Spa. We have reports from Times of San Diego, the Union-Tribune and Axios San Diego.

Here’s Dave Schwab of Times of San Diego‘s account:

District 2 candidates Richard Bailey, Josh Coyne, Nicole Crosby, Mandy Havlik, Jacob Mitchell, Mike Rickey and Paul Suppa answered curated questions from a panel of community leaders on far-ranging issues from the city’s budget to people living out of their vehicles, homelessness, housing density, public safety and quality of life.

The Ocean Beach Community Foundation along with the Pacific Beach and Mission Beach town councils joined forces to host the event ahead of the June 2 primary election. It is the last public candidate forum before the primary, which will send the top two vote getters to a November runoff election to replace termed-out incumbent Jennifer Campbell.