Assemblyman Todd Gloria, D-San Diego, announced his 2020 candidacy Wednesday for San Diego mayor.
The second candidate to enter the fledgling race, Gloria is a former city councilman and served as council president in 2013 and 2014. During that time, he briefly served as interim mayor between former Mayor Bob Filner's August 2013 resignation and the March 2014 swearing-in of Mayor Kevin Faulconer.
In his time as interim mayor, Gloria oversaw the drafting of the city's Climate Action Plan. He also helped to author the city's Minimum Wage and Earned Sick Leave ordinance while on the council.
Should he win, Gloria would become the first person of color and the first member of the LGBTQ community to be elected to the office of mayor in San Diego's history.
"It's clear that San Diego needs strong, experienced, and progressive leadership in the mayor's office — leadership that has the courage to take our city beyond business as usual and solve the long-standing problems that have faced our city. That's why I'm running for mayor," Gloria said. "San Diego may be America's Finest City, but we should strive to be more than just fine. We should dare to be great."
Since leaving the council due to term limits in 2016, Gloria has represented the 78th Assembly District, which includes most of San Diego proper and coastal communities like Imperial Beach and Del Mar. He is currently the Assembly's majority whip.
Rumors have swirled for months that Gloria, a Democrat, would run for the technically nonpartisan mayorship of the state's second-largest city at a time when San Diego is moving further to the left.
City Councilwoman Barbara Bry, also a Democrat, announced her 2020 mayoral bid Jan. 2.
"It's time San Diego became a city of opportunity that invests in every neighborhood so that every person and family who calls San Diego home can see a future here for them, their children, and their grandchildren," Gloria said.
