San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria has not yet attracted a prominent opponent to his re-election campaign. So, why is that?
Our Scott Lewis wanted to know. He surveyed experts on the left and right about what is going on. He found that there are three reasons: money, negative job vibes and no candidates.
It would take a lot of money to make the case against Gloria. It’s also not a super hot job. It has become less cool to be mayor and more cool to be a county supervisor. And no one seems interested in presenting a vision for the city.
Worth noting: Yes, Larry Turner, a San Diego police officer, is in the race and could certainly make an impact. But it won’t be easy or cheap. He doesn’t have the name recognition required in these sorts of races.
A name that came up: U.S. Rep. Scott Peters has fielded calls from some leaders trying to get him to run, Lewis writes. But Peters’ team confirmed he’s not interested in running at this time. He is also sticking with his endorsement of Gloria.
Read the Politics Report here.
VOSD Podcast: What’s Up With H Barracks
In the latest episode, our hosts get into H Barracks. This is a site that the city identified as a possible location for a safe campsite or parking lot site for unhoused residents. It could take on 300 to 700 residents.
Only problem? Point Loma residents are pissed. Some launched a petition against the plan.
Listen to the full episode here.
Our Lisa Halverstadt checked in on what we know about the plan so far. Read that here.
The Special Election Is Almost Here
This is the final sprint for the candidates in the race to fill the San Diego County Board of Supervisors seat vacated by Nathan Fletcher. The last day to vote is Nov. 7.
The county opened in-person vote centers already, you can find a map here.
Supervisor candidates Monica Montgomery Steppe and Amy Reichert joined us for a debate at Politifest 2023. They got into the issues of housing, homelessness and transportation. Watch a recording of the debate here or read a transcript of their discussion.
Other races: Voters in Chula Vista will be voting for a new city attorney. The Union-Tribune spoke with the candidates in the race. Read that here. And residents served by the Fallbrook Public Utility District and Rainbow Municipal Water District will vote whether to allow the water districts to separate from the San Diego County Water Authority. Our MacKenzie Elmer has closely followed that push. Catch up here.
In Other News
- This week our Jakob McWhinney wrote about the 10 schools San Diego parents are avoiding the most. Our managing editor highlights some of the shocking numbers in Cup of Chisme. Read the newsletter here.
- A judge has ordered Grecia Figueroa and her attorneys to turn over all correspondence between her and former County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher. Figueroa, a former employee of MTS, accused Fletcher of sexually harassing and assaulting her while he was chair of the agency’s board. (CBS 8). Read Voice of San Diego’s past reporting on this here.
- Oceanside is inviting residents to give suggestions for their newest climate action plan. They are accepting answers through an online survey until 6 p.m. Nov. 10.(Union-Tribune)
- The City of San Diego’s Public Utilities department is warning residents to be cautious of fake water update notices that appear to be from a private company. (Times of San Diego)
- One of the newest Navy hospital ships will be named USNS Balboa after the Naval Medical center in San Diego. This is part of a new fleet of ships expected for late 2026 to provide rapid treatment to deployed troops and damaged warships. (Times of San Diego)
The Morning Report was written by Andrea Lopez-Villafaña and Hannah Ramirez.