San Diego City Council District 2 candidate Nicole Crosby has made no secret of her opposition to Flock police surveillance cameras.
During public appearance after public appearance, she’s denounced the Flock surveillance system and called for its dismantling.
Try telling that to supporters of Crosby’s campaign rival Richard Bailey, who are sending mailers to voters branding Crosby as the race’s pro-Flock candidate.
“Nicole Crosby: San Diego’s Flock Camera candidate,” one flyer says next to a grainy photo of Crosby paired with an image of a Flock camera peering at the viewer.
Huh?
The ad seems to base its claim on the fact that Crosby, a prosecutor in the city attorney’s office, has been endorsed by the union representing San Diego police officers, who use Flock cameras in their day-to-day police work.
Crosby called the mailers “AI slop.”
“The funny and the disappointing part is… the lies that are absolutely unsubstantiated are being disseminated throughout our community,” she said. “I have been open about my disapproval of Flock cameras.”
Steven Richter, the Point Loma attorney who supports Bailey and paid for the mailers, did not respond to a request for comment. But his wife, Carol Richter, did respond to critics on the NextDoor app.
“Nothing was said about Nicole except that her supporters are in favor of the cameras,” Richter wrote. “She and her campaign are surrounded by camera enthusiasts. No deceit there.”
Bailey has expressed reservations about Flock on the campaign trail and now says the use of Flock cameras is unsustainable.
Stabbing Prompts Reconsideration of Chula Vista’s Tenant Protections
Four years ago, Chula Vista became the first city in the county to enact a tenant protection ordinance. It offers stricter protections for tenants than those afforded by state law.
Now, following a stabbing incident at an apartment complex on the city’s east side, city leaders are asking whether they might have gone too far.
On Tuesday, the City Council voted unanimously to explore modifying the city’s ordinance to make it easier for landlords to evict problem tenants — especially tenants engaged in criminal activity.
The move follows an Oct. 14 beating and stabbing at the Casa Lago apartment complex in Eastlake that resulted in six arrests and sent one victim to the hospital.
Residents of the complex said a group of tenants moved in months ago and immediately started hosting loud parties, brandishing weapons and engaging in other illicit activities.
“We are terrified,” one resident told councilmembers.
City Councilmember Michael Inzunza said Chula Vista should retain its protections for lawful renters. But when tenants engage in criminal activity, he said, “I want… to give law enforcement bigger teeth to expedite evictions.”
San Diego Mourns Dolores Huerta
San Diego lawmakers and other leaders on Thursday paid tribute to iconic labor leader and civil rights activist Dolores Huerta, who died Wednesday at age 96.
Just last year, Huerta was in San Diego to deliver a lecture at the University of San Diego’s Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice.
Video of the lecture shows her as clear-eyed as ever as she discusses American politics and even chides Latinos for their own racism.
“We are one human race,” she told the audience of students and faculty. Then she instructed everyone to take the hand of the person next to them, look them in the eye and, remembering where the human species first evolved, say, “Hello, African relative.”
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria ordered flags at City Hall flown at half-staff and called Huerta “a fearless champion for farmworkers and one of the most consequential civil rights leaders of our time.”
State Sen. Steve Padilla said he had known Huerta personally “for many years and admired her inner strength as a woman and an inspiring leader.”
Huerta co-founded the United Farm Workers union with fellow labor leader Cesar Chavez. Earlier this year, Huerta revealed that Chavez had raped her and that she and fellow female activists in the farmworker movement were subjected to sexism and sexual violence.
Huerta “showed tremendous courage when she chose to speak her own truth,” Padilla said. “Many of us in public service, and many of the people we serve, stand on the ground she cleared.”
In Other News
- County supervisors voted Tuesday to spend $20 million on a safety net bridge program to provide short-term health services to people who lose Medi-Cal insurance under new work requirements backed by the Trump administration. (Union-Tribune)
- Supervisors also voted to advance a $2.5 million project to address a toxic sewage hot spot in the Tijuana River. (Union-Tribune)
- The San Diego County Registrar of Voters forcefully rejected a U.S. Justice Department demand to delay counting ballots from 1,709 San Diego voters until their citizenship can be verified. In a letter to the DOJ, the county said it is “legally prohibited” from sequestering the votes and threatened the DOJ with a lawsuit of its own if federal officials seek to interfere with voting in San Diego. (inewsource)
- The San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation released what it called a “road map” to ensuring that San Diego’s defense industry is able to take advantage of the Pentagon’s recently renewed interest in pursuing cutting-edge military technology. (KPBS)
The Morning Report was written by Jim Hinch and Lisa Halverstadt. It was edited by Will Huntsberry.