Category: Politics

By David Garrick / SD Union-Tribune / June 18, 2025

San Diego’s most turbulent budget season in at least a decade took another turn Tuesday when Mayor Todd Gloria vetoed some last-minute cuts and expenditures the City Council added to the budget a week ago.

Employing a controversial and rarely used tool known as a line-item veto, Gloria rejected millions in council cuts — including $1.4 million in middle-management layoffs — and canceled nearly $5 million in new council spending.

The nine-member council now has until June 26 to accept or possibly override Gloria’s package of vetoes, with an override requiring a supermajority of six council members

By Pamela Begeal / June 17, 2025

Final 5-4 Decision
Yes Votes: Joe LaCava, Jennifer Campbell, Henry L Foster III, Marni von Wilpert
Raul Campillo
No Votes: Stephen Whitburn, Kent Lee, Vivian Moreno, Sean Elo-Rivera

Number of ADUs permissible by lot size:
Lots under 8,000 sq. ft. – 4 ADUs
Lots 8,001 to 10,000 sq. ft. – 5 ADUs
Lots 10,001 sq. ft. or larger – 6 ADUs

Maximum size: ADUs are limited to 1,200 sq. ft. or less

By Lisa Mortensen / June 16, 2025

San Diego Council President Joe LaCava does a valiant job of maintaining order at very heated meetings, like the one that will take place today when the Council votes on Bonus ADU program amendments.

But LaCava only does half the job. While he insists that members of the public respect the proceedings, he does not require the same respect from his Council colleagues.

At the June 9th meeting on the Solid Waste Disposal program, LaCava displayed a keen sense of understanding of the public’s passion for this issue. And the audience complied with his requests for order and moderation.

He needs to impose those same standards on the eight people sitting next to him. He should issue warnings to Councilmembers who display anger or disappear for long stretches.

By OB Rag Staff / June 15, 2025

The long-awaited San Diego City Council showdown over the catastrophic Bonus ADU program is in 24 hours. But you can (and should) send in a comment electronically to start the opposition drumbeat.

We know Todd Gloria still wants to cram as many as 10 units on single-family lots. That is unacceptable. Let’s unleash a tsunami of opposition messages on the Council.

Submit a comment on the City Council’s Agenda Comment Form.  After you fill in your personal information, the comment type is “City Council Comment,” the agenda item is “202,” and we “Oppose” the item. Here is a message you can copy and paste into the “Comments” box:

By Neighbors for a Better San Diego / June 15, 2023

Capping the total number of dwelling units is a win/win for everyone. Here’s why FOUR is the right number:

THE BREAKDOWN:

— Existing home
— A converted ADU, such as a garage (State law)
— A detached ADU (State law)
— An Affordable deed-restricted Bonus ADU (San Diego incentive)

By capping the total units on all San Diego residential parcels to 4 TOTAL units (including the main home), San Diego would be

— Complying with State law
— Protecting neighborhoods and homeownership, and
— Fulfilling the Bonus ADU commitment it made to the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) as part of the 2021-2029 Housing Element Cycle.

By Neighbors for a Better San Diego / June 11, 2025

According to San Diego’s fire codes, new development in San Diego requires at least 20 feet of unobstructed street width and a 50-foot turning radius for fire engines.

This applies EVERYWHERE in San Diego, not just in high-risk fire zones.

Yet, San Diego’s Bonus ADU program has allowed 15+ Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) to be packed behind homes, such as the project shown below in Rolando, which sits on a narrow cul-de-sac.

It is concerning that we are still discovering regulations that the Development Services Department (DSD) has not been enforcing.

By Swasti Singhai / Times of San Diego / June 10, 2025

Following months of deliberations — and facing a $258 million deficit — the City Council finalized San Diego’s 2026 budget on Tuesday.

The first budget draft proposed by Mayor Todd Gloria included reductions of recreation center and library operating hours as well as various community programs, such as the Small Business Enhancement Program — a move widely criticized by the public throughout the budget revision process.

The finalized budget includes an increase of $48.4 million in expenditures from the April budget draft, funds that restore some of the programs that had been on the chopping block.

By David Garrick / SD Union-Tribune / June 10, 2025

A sharply divided San Diego City Council voted 6-3 Monday to impose the city’s first fee for trash collection at single-family homes, despite complaints the $43.60 monthly charge is much higher than earlier estimates.

The vote came shortly after City Clerk Diana Fuentes determined that a protest against the new fee had failed to get enough support. Residents turned in just over 46,000 protest cards — well short of the 113,000 necessary.

Supporters said the fee will help San Diego close a large budget deficit, lengthen the life of the Miramar landfill by boosting recycling rates and eliminate an unfair situation for people living in condos and apartments.

By Michael Smolens / San Diego Union-Tribune / June 6, 2025

Not long after President Donald Trump was sworn in to his second term, there was plenty of advice from law firms and analysts on how businesses should prepare for increased immigration raids.

Among the highlights: recheck employee documents, advise workers of their rights and tell them who to notify should immigration enforcement officials show up.

One thing that didn’t appear on many lists: Get ready for a SWAT-like operation.

By Arturo Castañares, Editor-At-Large, La Prensa San Diego

The Mayor of Imperial Beach made a false claim against the Mayor of Chula Vista as the two city leaders face off in a special election to fill a vacancy on the County Board of Supervisors.

Paloma Aguirre posted on social post this week that  John McCann was “at the center” of a school district political corruption scandal that saw 18 people indicted in 2012, including six school board members, but McCann was the only sitting Board member not charged with any crimes in the investigation that included three school districts.

McCann, who had previously served two four-year terms on the Chula Vista City Council before being elected to the Sweetwater Union High School District in November 2010, later returned to the City Council in 2014 and was elected Mayor in 2022.

In early 2012, San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis charged 15 individuals in a years-long corruption ring that included the Superintendents of three school districts, school board members, and a private company executive who conspired to direct lucrative construction contracts to companies who had provided campaign contributions and expensive dinners to officials.

But the majority of the corrupt acts occurred before McCann was even elected to the school board.

By Kate Callen / June 3, 2025

San Diegans who feel the strain of overdevelopment in older neighborhoods won’t recognize the halcyon city in Wesley Morgan’s May 31 Times of San Diego commentary, “Opinion: Privileged Homeowners Like Me Shouldn’t Resist New Housing.”

Morgan, treasurer of YIMBY Democrats of San Diego, describes how he and his wife bought a Mission Hills home 11 years ago where they “raised our daughters surrounded by great schools, walkable streets, and reliable city services.”

Over time, Morgan writes, “it became painfully clear how few others had that chance and how little our neighborhoods were doing to welcome others.”

The rest is a story of virtue and evil. Virtuous people like Morgan want to see a lot of new housing bring a lot of new residents into their flourishing communities. Evil people want to keep new residents out because they are mean and they hate strangers.

Morgan’s essay reads like a fairy tale because it is. Let’s look closely at some of his assertions and see how they square with reality.

By Frank Laughton / June 3, 2025

First, a true confession, I am not a financial wizard, and I have never run for or held a public office. I’m just a lowly taxpayer, and recent decisions from our political leaders make me feel even more lowly.

I was a firm supporter of the strong mayor concept in 2004, when the passage of Proposition F eliminated the city manager form of government on a trial basis, and again in 2010, when the passage of Proposition D made the new arrangement permanent. I believed at the time that the Mayor needed to have the flexibility to carry out his or her agenda.

But the past several years have delivered a strong wake-up call. Everywhere I look, I see hard evidence that the Mayor and the City Council do not have the competence to run the affairs of the city.

Let’s start with fiscal mismanagement. I’m a former long-distance biker who is all for safety. But how can the City justify spending $90 million on 26 miles of bike lanes that are hardly used? There was no cost-benefit analysis done (that I know of). When the Mayor was asked for a justification of the large expenditure, his answer was “safety.” Where was the data to support that position?