Proposals for San Diego’s Port have played a central role in this year’s mayoral campaign. Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher is the latest to release his plan for the Port.
Fletcher says he is opposed to any effort to use Port land for other projects, like a Chargers Stadium. Instead, he said he wants to expand the Port.
Fletcher is calling for increasing the region’s exports by $5 billion by 2020. The goal is similar to one President Barack Obama announced in 2010 that calls for doubling U.S. exports by the end of 2014. Fletcher said San Diego’s Port needs to play a large role in the local effort.
“95 percent of the world’s customers live outside of America. So I want San Diego’s businesses to be exporting their goods to those 95 percent,” he said. “But that requires a real commitment to the Port and to partnering with them to help them grow.”
Fletcher is also calling for an increased Navy and Marine Corps presence in the bay, which he says will benefit the Port. The Pentagon has already announced plans to shift more resources to the West Coast. But Fletcher says that doesn’t guarantee San Diego will benefit.
“A lot of the military will tell you that in D.C. there’s an approach, they always say 'ABC,' 'Anywhere But California,' because a lot of things are made difficult for them,” he said. “And what I want to send is a powerful signal to the Navy and the Marine Corps that San Diego is where they want to be.”
Fletcher's campaign released an endorsement of his plan from Rear Admiral Len Hering, the former "Navy Mayor" of San Diego.
Fletcher’s mayoral competitors, City Councilman Carl DeMaio, District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis and Congressman Bob Filner have their own views on the Port.
