In his State of the City address, Mayor Todd Gloria said that 2025 will be a year of “steep” budget cuts in San Diego.
The cuts aren’t a surprise. The city is staring down a $250 million plus deficit. Gloria said he had hoped the sales tax increase on November’s ballot, Measure E, would have given the city the money it needs to expand services. But Measure E didn’t pass and the city is now headed toward an era of austerity.
Gloria made all the mandatory promises for a politician forced to make spending cuts. City officials will continue to roll out new initiatives. They’ll “reimagine” how the city operates. They’ll right size.
Notably absent: The mayor did not mention his proposed mega-shelter in Middletown. The proposal has faced a series of roadblocks and it seems quite possible, if not likely, the project won’t move forward. Gloria, nonetheless, promised to expand shelter options in 2025.
Called out: Gloria had harsh words for other cities and the county for, according to him, not doing their part when it comes to homelessness. In particular, Gloria called out the county for not providing enough behavioral health beds for people in need.
“My fellow San Diegans, it is my hope that any time you see a person on the street suffering from extreme mental illness or addiction, you think of the county of San Diego and ask, ‘When will they step up to provide the services they need to end this crisis once and for all,’” he said.
County Supervisor Monica Montgomery Steppe, who was in the audience Wednesday, didn’t love that.
Clapback: “Frankly, the mayor has not, in my opinion, done his due diligence to even reach out to my office to help navigate some of the issues that he talked about or get the facts about what he’s talking about because I heard a lot of things that were misleading,” Montgomery Steppe said.
Speaking of beds: Montgomery Steppe on Wednesday announced her proposal for the county to start talks to add up to 30 new behavioral health inpatient beds at Paradise Valley Hospital, expand outpatient treatment options for people with Medi-Cal insurance, bolster long-term housing options for people with behavioral health conditions and expand behavioral health workforce training.
South County’s Shift to the Right
South County has been a sure bet for Democrats over the last four years.
In November that changed.
Voters across San Diego County slipped away from the Democratic party in the November presidential election.
Take for example, San Ysidro. In 2020, just 29 percent of voters in San Ysidro backed Trump. Four years later, Trump’s share rose to 41 percent—more than a third higher. Shifts were similar, if slightly smaller, in Nestor, National City and Chula Vista, our Jim Hinch reports.
Hinch spoke to voters in South County to understand the shift. One National City voter Sherry Gogue summed it up well: “We’re tired of the status quo. We want change. We’ve had the same thing over and over. And not much change has occurred.”
Another, Sandy Naranjo, a Democrat and former port commissioner, told Hinch,“There’s going to be a shift to the right because we have Democrats in power, and they’re not doing what they’re supposed to do.”
ICYMI: Our Public Matters partners at KPBS reported that the last election was the first time Imperial County has backed a Republican presidential candidate in more than 30 years. Read more stories in our series here.
Battle For North County Supe Begins
The countdown to Election Day 2026 has begun.
In North County, two mayors have already set their sights on a supervisor seat, and one councilmember plans to take a shot at a state Senate seat in 2026.
San Marcos Mayor Rebecca Jones and Vista Mayor John Franklin are running for the District 5 County Supervisor seat currently held by Supervisor Jim Desmond, who is termed out. And San Marcos Councilmember Ed Musgrove recently announced his campaign for the District 40 State Senate seat, which is currently represented by Sen. Brian Jones, who is also termed out.
Our Tigist Layne took a closer look at the three Republicans’ campaigns and what could become of their current seats if they win.
Read the North County Report here.
In Other News
- Seven intersections in San Diego that have had above average collisions are scheduled to get new safety features. (Union-Tribune)
- A 550-gallon sewage spill closed a stretch of beach in La Jolla Wednesday. (NBC 7)
- San Diego’s Red Flag Warning — which means conditions for fire are at their highest — expired, but top wind gusts in the mountains peaked at 74 miles per hour. (FOX 5 & KUSI)
The Morning Report was written by Will Huntsberry, Lisa Halverstadt and Andrea Lopez-Villafaña. It was edited by Andrea Lopez-Villafaña and Scott Lewis.
You didn’t mention the public testimonies at the state of the city and how the 50 people from Encanto were barred from entry into the council hall at 3pm, even though they were there at 1:45, and how they were then surrounded by police.
Anyone interested in the truth can watch the public comment here: https://sandiego.granicus.com/player/clip/9064?view_id=3&redirect=true
Why does a $250 million deficit on a budget of over $5 billion – about 5% – create “steep” budget cuts? 5% should be a small belt-tightening, not “steep” cuts. If the politicians won’t tell us why a 5% cut translates into “steep” budget cuts, how about VOSD?
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