National City Mayor Ron Morrison drives around town in a black Ford Mustang with a license plate reading, “NATCITY.” For 34 years, he has defined politics in his scrappy, diverse, working-class hometown.
His surprise retirement announcement last weekend marks the end of an era in an urban linchpin of San Diego’s industrial economy. But Morrison is making his way to the door even as his city faces existential questions about its future.
City finances are headed toward insolvency, we recently last week. And more fundamentally, a chorus of concerned residents says the city needs a new economic vision and a reset after years of turnover among top bureaucrats and dysfunction among elected leaders.
Morrison said he’s proud of many accomplishments, most notably a renewal of civic pride following a previous era of rampant gang violence, widespread neglect and shady political dealings.
Even the budget, he said, could have been worse if he hadn’t applied the brakes to what he called some of his fellow city councilmembers’ free spending ways.
“Everyone is realizing there’s a problem and starting to realize the severity of it,” he said. “Until you get to that point, nothing can be done.”
Bonus: Go behind the scenes to see the taxidermy and Wild West arcana in Morrison’s City Hall office.
What Bathroom Closures?
It was as inevitable as the tides.
City Hall has reversed course on its disastrous decision to close half the bathrooms at Mission Bay Park. The 13 restrooms will be reopened until at least the end of the year.
The closures united people across the political spectrum in fury — and only saved the city a meager half million dollars a year, which is far less than the park generates in lease revenue.
Councilmember Raul Campillo had suggested in mid-July where Mayor Todd Gloria might find the money to reopen the bathrooms. Gloria said “no.” He said the city might run into other unexpected expenses in the coming months and also… El Niño?
The reversal itself is not quite so surprising as the frequency with which predictable reversals have occurred in recent years. From the quiet phase out of the Covid vaccine mandate for public employees to the very definitive reversals of paid parking at Balboa Park and the elimination of city arts funding, City Hall can’t seem to stop stepping in it, as one former councilmember (and almost-mayor) recently put it.
If you missed it earlier this year, read our Will Huntsberry’s comprehensive takeout on Gloria’s legacy.
New and Related: In an op-ed San Diego researchers make the case for increased access to public restrooms across the city. “Downtown is a sanitation desert – it lacks the basic water, sanitation, and hygiene infrastructure to support its residents and visitors,” they write. Read more here.
RFK Jr. in Town to Promote Anti-Housing First Policy
RFK Jr. came to town Wednesday.
The secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services was in town to promote what Times of San Diego described as a “faith-based” approach to housing.
RFK and several other federal officials heavily trashed what’s known as the Housing First approach — which posits that getting people into housing, as opposed to treatment, is the first and most important step in getting homeless people stabilized.
“Recovery requires treatment and accountability,” Kennedy said, according to Times. “For many Americans it is a spiritual battle … We are giving state and local leaders a practical roadmap to help Americans win that spiritual warfare.”
Someone posted a picture of RFK in the Gaslamp on Reddit. Check it out for the comments.
“Tell him the swimming’s best off Imperial Beach. No snorkels, just raw dawg it champ. That’s what real men do,” one person wrote.
Found in the Scroll: A NIMBY Poet Rises
People who fight against new housing are notorious for making a multitude of arguments that, on their face, seem disingenuous. (It’s ok to just say you think it’s ugly, will mess up parking and irrevocably change the neighborhood’s character.)
A picture of a poem posted somewhere in San Diego, and circulating on X, appears to add a very genuine list of new reasons to the NIMBY critique.
A smattering of lines:
“new condos coming as in they’re destroying an infinity of Palestinian life and culture”
“new condos coming as in 56% of violence against women happens in the home”
“new condos coming as in homes for hip cops”
Some of the logic is a little harder to argue:
“new condos coming as in ugly piece of shit”
In Other News
- Sharp HealthCare on Tuesday announced plans to layoff or reassign roughly 260 employees in what the healthcare provider called a strategic “realignment.” The move, which leaders blamed in part on federal budget cuts, follows layoffs last year of 315 employees. (Union-Tribune)
- San Diego County Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer on Wednesday proposed new ethics requirements for county employees, including a two-year ban on lobbying for private clients following county employment and a ban on county employees’ use of prediction markets to place bets on matters related to county business. (Union-Tribune)
- Finances are looking up at San Ysidro School District, which faced severe budget problems last year. (inewsource)
- Local inflation is down. We’ll take it. (Union-Tribune)
- Bye bye, Brick by Brick. The 31-year-old music venue, long home to hardcore punk rock and heavy metal shows, is closing its doors. (Union-Tribune)
- KPBS profiled Ramona couple Diane Conklin and Joseph Mitchell, whose non-profit Mussey Grade Road Alliance has led efforts to rein in SDG&E infrastructure in fire-prone backcountry areas, as well as what the couple said are excessive rate increases.
The Morning Report was written by Jim HInch and Will Huntsberry. It was edited by Will Huntsberry.