The special election to fill the Board of Supervisors District 4 seat Nathan Fletcher vacated is less than a month away.
Voters in that district should already have their ballots. And the last day to vote is Nov. 7. The candidates joined Voice of San Diego for a debate at Politifest 2023 Oct 7.
San Diego Councilwoman Monica Montgomery Steppe and licensed private investigator Amy Reichert had plenty to say about housing, homelessness and transportation. (You can watch the full debate here.)
Here are some interesting moments from the debate:
- During a tense exchange, Reichert asked Montgomery Steppe to apologize for an email characterizing her as a science-denying right-wing extremist. Instead, Montgomery Steppe doubled down. She said she didn’t think anything about that was not true. Here’s what happened.
- When the candidate got into the region’s homeless crisis, Reichert explained that she did not agree with Montgomery Steppe’s opposition to the city of San Diego’s camping ban. Montgomery Steppe defended her “no” vote, and said, “What is happening on our streets right now? It is criminal, and I’m not going to support that, and I never will.” Our Jakob McWhinney followed up with Montgomery Steppe on what she specifically believes is “criminal.” Read the post here.
- All things Politifest: Our managing editor created a guide to all the conversations. You can read that here and watch recordings of the panels and discussions here.
The Mayor: City Attorney Measure Is Not a Vibe
In the latest Politics Report, Scott Lewis confirmed Friday that Todd Gloria does not support the proposed measure to eliminate the elected city attorney as it is now.
Lewis gets into why that could be and what’s next for the measure. It is not unalive: As Lewis writes, the City Council delayed its discussion about the measure but it can very easily bring it back.
Read the Politics Report here.
Lewis also wrote about his favorite conversation at Politifest. It was an interview between our Lisa Halverstadt and Dr. Margot Kushel, the director of the Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative at UC San Francisco. You can watch the video here.
VOSD Podcast: The pod crew also breaks down the UCSF team’s findings on addiction treatment and unhoused populations. Listen to the full episode here.
Planning Group Shake Up
At least three board members of the Barrio Logan Planning Group have quit. In the latest Cup of Chisme, our Andrea Lopez-Villafaña writes that their resignations come after weeks of tensions among the members.
Here’s what’s going on: At the group’s September meeting, a former board member and community activist demanded that the planning group remove a police officer from the meeting. The group’s chair asked the officer to leave and he did.
Some members of the community did not want the police officer at the meeting because the day before two officers tackled and arrested two teenagers at Chicano Park in Barrio Logan. A video on social media shows that the officers were investigating the boys for truancy.
In the weeks after the September meeting, board members argued over email about meeting decorum. The group is grappling with its obligation as a city-recognized entity and demands from activists and community members to keep police officers out of the meetings.
In Other News
- One of San Diego’s own will be named one of the most influential Filipina women in the world. San Diego Superior Court Judge Rohanee Zapanta will be one 19 women picked from a group of nominees from 10 different countries. She will receive this award in a summit in Prague at the end of the month. (Union-Tribune)
- A San Diego Police captain is suing the San Diego Police Department and Chief David Nisleit. Leos claims discrimination and describes an alleged incident in which he was pressured to alter a report regarding Chief Nisleit’s son. (CBS8)
- The San Diego MTS on Sunday unveiled its first all electric rapid bus route, taking riders from Otay Mesa to Imperial Beach. Rides on this new route, Rapid 227, will be free from Oct. 15 through Oct. 31. (Times of San Diego)
The Morning Report was written by Andrea Lopez-Villafaña and Hannah Ramirez.