Politics Report: How Close Are Harris and Gloria?

The hottest and most unsubstantiated rumor in San Diego politics right now is that Mayor Todd Gloria is poised to take a position in the administration of a President Kamala Harris, should she actually win the presidential race.

Its origin seems to be only that Gloria and Harris are perceived to be close. The Union-Tribune this week wrote about their relationship, making the case it was something more than acquaintanceship and yet just less than friendship. Here’s how the newspaper made the distinction (a distinction we had a little fun with on the podcast):

“While their personal relationship hasn’t risen to the level of exchanging birthday presents or asking each other for health advice, Gloria said Harris has consistently been a key person for him,” the U-T’s David Garrick wrote.

You know you’re close when you’re comparing notes on how to treat a bunion, amirite?

Of course Gloria would never come out and say he is interested in serving her in D.C. should she win. First, it’s hardly a given she will win and that’s got to be the first priority. Second, the first rule of getting a job in a future administration is to definitely not say you want a job in a future administration.

But that doesn’t stop us from speculating.

Shawn Van Diver, a progressive activist close to the Harris-Walz campaign, said it would be natural for people to think of Gloria as a candidate for a good post in a Harris Administration but he hasn’t heard anything.

“There are a lot of people measuring the drapes but I don’t think he is one of them,” Van Diver said. “Is there speculation he would be on the shortlist? Yeah. I would expect him to be. We’re seeing a generational shift and he is part of it.”

He’s certified unburdened: In the U-T story, Gloria said he had been particularly grateful to Harris for coming to San Diego to support his campaign for mayor in 2020, in the months before we had to wear masks at such thing. And she did rally his supporters. And we actually have the video from that day.

Here was her quote about him, using a phrase that has now become ubiquitous as an amusing example of her sometimes loose public speaking style.

“I came here because I love Todd Gloria. And I love him for so many reasons that are personal but also about who we are as a state and who we are as a nation. And when I say who we are, my definition of that is what we all know, which is what we can be – unburdened by what we have been,” she said.

But he didn’t speak at the DNC: Gloria went to Chicago and his face showed up many times as cameras panned the joyous crowd at the Democratic Convention.

The mayor, however, did not get a speaking opportunity. We heard he requested a speaking slot and Harris’ team declined. Nick Serrano, a spokesman for his campaign, said it was more nuanced. He sent over a written statement:

“Just like he always has, the Mayor continues to make himself available to support Kamala Harris however he can. We received suggestions from different groups that he might serve as a good voice on the DNC stage on key issues we’ve been able to make progress on thanks to the Biden-Harris Administration, and naturally, we made him available to do that if it served the campaign.

“Every decision is strategic for the DNC, and designed to speak to key voting segments of America in order to win in November. The Mayor’s goal is to elect Kamala Harris as our next President. If that meant speaking on the DNC stage, the Mayor was happy to do that. If it means continuing to serve as a surrogate in swing states, the Mayor is happy to do that.”

Four mayors spoke: Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson got a speaking slot. That makes sense considering the event was in his city. Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson also spoke. That makes sense, I guess, as he is in a swing state. And Mesa, Arizona, Mayor John Giles spoke. That makes sense because he’s both in a swing state and he’s a Republican and convention organizers love nothing more than featuring someone from the other party.

The fourth? Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval. Pureval is neither a Republican nor a mayor in a swing state.

Peters: ‘I Didn’t Think It Would Be This Good’

If Gloria were to leave his second term as mayor early for Washington, D.C. to serve in the Harris Administration, it would provoke a special election to fill his seat and one of the top contenders would be Rep. Scott Peters, who was also in Chicago this week. Peters was one of the first members of Congress to call on the President Biden to drop out of the race.

But Peters did not back Vice President Kamala Harris at first.

I caught up with Peters after the DNC to see what he thought a month after he first raised concerns about Biden’s re-election plan. Here is our lightly edited conversation:

Politics Report: Did you have any idea this would be how things turned out a month after you first called for change on the ticket?

Scott Peters: “I thought it would be better, but I didn’t think it would be this good. This is the convention I wanted. It has been flawless — she’s done an amazing job. Lot of people weren’t impressed with her first campaign and were not sure how well she would do but this has been amazing.”

PR: It did seem like a really impressive display of leadership for her to gather all the support she did and all the resources so quickly.

SP: “She has completely changed the mood – there’s a positive energy that wasn’t there before. I love Biden but Biden and Trump seemed like a couple of cranky old guys just bitching at each other. Harris has picked up things that are important to people. She’s got Trump on the defense about security. On the economy, she has recognized we should not try to solve everyone’s problems but we should give them a fighting chance to compete. I can’t believe the Dems are so organized and it’s been really impressive overall.

“It sounds cliché but we pledge allegiance to the flag and the Republic. We don’t pledge allegiance to one man. I like Joe Biden but he was the wrong horse to ride in this fight. I don’t think the Republicans are capable of doing anything like this. They are just so fearful of Trump. They’re in line and paralyzed. We have our extremes but we are much more functional at this time.”

PR: One thing that the discussion in July after Biden’s debate revealed was this fascinating dynamic where moderates and centrists like you were calling for him to step away from the campaign but progressives were his most stubborn defenders. I don’t think I had recognized how much support he had earned from the left.

SP: “Joe Biden’s style was always to be bipartisan but he certainly governed way from the left. The Build Back Better framework he pushed looked to me like it was intended to make us into a Western European style social economy. It was a $3.5 trillion attempt he made but it was not where people were. He governed from the left. Progressives saw they had a president who really supported the progressive agenda.”

PR: What could change for San Diego if Harris wins or Trump wins?

SP: “We’ll see much more rational conversations and policies about the border when we elect Kamala versus if Trump won. I thought it was very noteworthy that she said she would pass the bipartisan border bill crafted by one of the most conservative members of the Senate. It will provide a lot more security than Democrats thought they could vote for and things will be a lot more rational than they would be under Trump.”

If you have any feedback or ideas for the Politics Report, send them to scott.lewis@voiceofsandiego.org.