It’s the question on everyone’s mind. (Well, maybe just those who nerd out on politics.)
Who will replace former Councilwoman Monica Montgomery Steppe on the San Diego City Council?
Why it matters: Earlier this month, a bare majority of the City Council voted to re-elect Sean Elo-Rivera to another one-year term as Council president. And that only came because Montgomery Steppe stayed to make sure she cast a vote. The meeting was spicy.
In the latest Politics Report, our Scott Lewis writes, “The four members of Council who didn’t get their way certainly signaled they were ready to make a change the moment the balance shifted and the unsaid part of that was the race to replace Monica Montgomery Steppe.”
He spoke with some of the candidates running to fill the seat about the divide at Council. He also explains how the race is shaping up.
Read the Politics Report here.
Related: Voice professional chismosa, Andrea Lopez-Villafaña, spoke with Montgomery Steppe about the City Council race for a special VOSD podcast episode (We’ll have that interview in your feed soon). Lopez-Villafaña shared some deets from their conversation in the latest Cup of Chisme. You can read that here.
Another Rejection Letter
Also in the Politics Report, Sunbreak Ranch got another rejection letter.
In early October, a deputy director with the city’s Department of Real Estate and Airport Management wrote to the Federal Aviation Administration about Sunbreak Ranch, the plan to build a camp on thousands of acres somewhere to shelter homeless residents.
His description of the plan: A population of more than 250 people in a campus with many different services. The facilities and temporary housing would stay for more than three years at Brown Field Municipal Airport located just north of the border in Otay Mesa.
“Please let me know when your team would be able to meet to go over this,” he wrote.
The FAA’s response? We are not having it.
Lewis writes that in a letter back to the city, Cathryn Cason, manager of the Los Angeles Airports District Office reminded the city of the history of the site.
“F.A.A.’s longstanding policy is that residential use, which includes accommodating people experiencing homelessness, permanently or transiently, on federally obligated airports is not permissible and is incompatible with airport operations,” she wrote.
Related: Mayor Todd Gloria’s deputy director of community engagement told the Union-Tribune that “barring something drastic,” they plan to fully pursue a plan to open a shelter space for unhoused residents near the airport. The site is known as H Barracks. The paper reports on where the plan stands. Read more here.
VOSD Podcast: One Big Story
With 2024 around the corner, our VOSD Podcast hosts took a closer look at the biggest local politics story of 2023: The fall of Nathan Fletcher. He was one of the most powerful elected officials in San Diego until he resigned after a former employee of the Metropolitan Transit System accused him of sexual assault.
We reported that there are now new claims the agency needs to address.
The chief information officer for the MTS, Emily Outlaw, claims the agency retaliated against her because of her lack of cooperation in the wake of the scandal.
Turn up your volume and lean in as our hosts discuss the lates updates. Listen to the full episode here.
In Other News
- Immigrant rights groups have filed a new complaint on the conditions migrants are living in at the open air detention sites in Jacumba Hot Springs. Aid groups are concerned about how incoming winter weather could further impact migrants. (Union-Tribune)
- NBC7 reports that the owners of Public Market owe a dozen small business thousands of dollars. The stores closed earlier this year.
- The county of San Diego announced Thursday that an affordable housing project for San Ysidro is set to be completed in 2025. Fifteen of these units would be dedicated to those at risk of falling into homelessness. Residents would receive services from the County Behavioral Services. (FOX5)
- San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria was selected by the US senate to serve as a trustee on the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation board. The scholarship is a federally funded program that awards up to $30,000 to demonstrate leadership potential and a commitment to public service. (Times of San Diego)
- San Diego Taxi drivers now have their own app for riders. (KPBS)
- Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday went off on counties – including San Diego – that have opted to delay implementation of conservatorship reforms that would have otherwise taken effect next month.
The Morning Report was written by Andrea Lopez-Villafaña and Hannah Ramirez. It was edited by Andrea Lopez-Villafaña.
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