Mayor Todd Gloria has been in office for a little more than five years — and many of his allies are unimpressed, so far, by how he has handled the job, reports our Will Huntsberry.
Huntsberry spoke to dozens of people close to City Hall who described their disappointment with Gloria’s progress so far.
The criticism of Gloria is two-fold. Many people are disappointed he hasn’t advanced bold policies and solutions to meet the challenges of the moment. Others are disappointed, because they believe Gloria isn’t effectively managing the city.
“I’ve never seen a mayoral office be this ineffective,” said one City Council staffer. “I used to think I was being gaslit — like this is a weird prank show. Now I think, ‘No, this is just how terrible they are.’”
Many people who have known Gloria for decades are both surprised — and saddened. He came into office with nearly unlimited potential, they say, as both a charismatic politician and someone with the deep experience at City Hall to get things done.
Many also point to Gloria’s relationship with the City Council, which has devolved into near-total chaos, as a reason for their disappointment. The mayor and his team have had trouble counting on votes on issues both big and small.
Gloria spoke to Huntsberry for the story and defended himself. He said certain outside forces had made it difficult to operate in the last few years — from the pandemic to President Donald Trump and the economy — but Gloria steadfastly maintained that his administration is clearly making progress.
Price of Public Energy Shoots Up, Still Undercuts SDG&E
On Thursday, San Diego’s public power company – San Diego Community Power – will pass big rate hikes on the price of the energy they buy and sell for their almost 1 million customers.
The cost per kilowatt hour (how energy use is measured) will rise between 9.5 and 14.3 percent, depending upon the power plan the customer uses. Still, the company’s leaders say that price undercuts what San Diego Gas and Electric offers their 250,000 or so customers still buying power from the investor-owned utility.
San Diego Community Power’s governing board will vote on the proposed rate increases at its Thursday meeting.
Barrera for State Supe Faces Make-or-Break Moment
Longtime San Diego Unified board member Richard Barrera’s campaign for state superintendent faces its first, and perhaps most consequential, vote this week. But it won’t happen with official ballots.
Barrera, like many of the other candidates vying for the state’s top education role, made the pilgrimage to Sacramento this week for an endorsement interview with officials from the state’s largest teachers union.
Leadership from the union, the California Teachers Association, which represents more than 300,000 teachers statewide, will then vote on whether to endorse Barrera.
The decision will likely be announced soon.
Barrera’s campaign hopes may very well hinge on the CTA’s endorsement, which carries significant weight and funding. Read more here.
What County Supervisors Did Tuesday
Democrat Terra Lawson-Remer will continue to chair the Board of Supervisors this year following a unanimous Tuesday vote. And Damon Brown, now a special assistant attorney general, is going to be the county’s top attorney.
Here’s what else went down at the county:
- Board Democrats took the first of two votes needed to approve an ordinance that restricts county cooperation on federal immigration crackdowns. Voice contributor Kate Morrissey provided more details in her latest Border Report.
- Supervisors approved Lawson-Remer’s I’m pilot project to gauge whether Cal Fire’s assistance on small capital projects and allowing firefighters to handle maintenance work could reduce costs and delays.
- Supervisors also voted to advance what county officials describe as a “cost neutral” deferred retirement program for public safety employees that will allow sheriff deputies and others to simultaneously receive paychecks and set aside retirement funds. Officials have said the goal is to keep more public safety employees on the job longer, minimize overtime and avoid staffing shortages.
In Other News
- In a new op-ed, former Coronado Mayor Richard Bailey makes the case for why the city of San Diego needs to cut back on spending and middle managers. Read more here.
- More bad news on the price of water in the city of San Diego. City budget analysts say water rates must go up another 44 percent through 2031. That’s on top of a 31 percent rate hike the City Council OK’d late last year. (Union-Tribune)
- Sand dredged from the Batiquitos Lagoon will help widen South Ponto Beach in Carlsbad this week, a side benefit of a project to add a second set of railroad tracks to improve train service from San Diego to Orange County. (Union-Tribune)
- Police arrested two men for “surfing” the Coaster train in North County, a scene caught on video that went viral on social media. (NBC San Diego)
- Five cities in San Diego County recorded their wettest New Year’s Day on record.(CBS 8)
- Gray whales are migrating from the Arctic to the warm waters of the Baja Peninsula where they breed and give birth right now through April. (Fox 5 San Diego)
The Morning Report was written by Will Huntsberry, MacKenzie Elmer, Jakob McWhinney and Lisa Halverstadt. It was edited by Andrea Sanchez-Villafaña.