San Diego’s elected officials got mostly passing marks on the region’s second annual environmental report card for 2022.
A’s and B’s dominated the report card with just one failing grade, former San Diego City Councilmember Chris Cate.
The review was put together by three local environmental groups: League of Conservation Voters, Climate Defenders Action Fund and Hammond Climate Solutions.
The groups measured how lawmakers at the San Diego Board of Supervisors and the San Diego City Council voted on key environmental issues.
The county board was evaluated on nine votes ranging from action on the budget and stormwater to fossil fuels and sustainability.
Supervisors Jim Desmond and Joel Anderson got B’s. Nora Vargas and Terra Lawson-Remer got A’s.
“We must strive to keep sustainability at the forefront of all that we do in San Diego County,” Lawson-Remer said. “This means that we must continue fighting for these priorities, even, and especially in the face of opposition from entrenched special interests.”
Six San Diego City Council members got A grades for votes linked to the city’s climate action plan, fiscal priorities and a plastic waste reduction ordinance. The evaluators also looked at a measure involving the San Diego River, transportation, and fossil fuels.
Council President Sean Elo-Rivera, President Pro Tem Monica Montgomery Steppe, Stephen Whitburn, Raul Campillo, Joe La Cava, and Jennifer Campbell all got top marks. Campbell had a C last year.
Marni Wilpert earned a C this year and former city council member Chris Cate got an F for the second straight report card.
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria does not vote but he was evaluated on 15 key environmental issues.
That included the city’s organic waste diversion plan, cross-border sewage, the city’s climate action plan and regional transportation, among other things.
Gloria got a C in the current report card, just like he did last year. That means he did well on some issues, according to the evaluators, and not so well on others.
“The mayor made some progress on climate action in 2022 however there were some key areas that we felt like delayed implementation of our climate action plan and didn’t get us close to meeting our climate action goals,” said Tara Hammond, co-founder of Hammond Climate Solutions.
The mayor’s office pushed back.
“I think it’s safe to say we disagree with the result because he’s been the leading climate champion in the region in terms of actual policy,” said Randy Wilde, a senior policy advisor to Gloria. “Their methodology is very unclear and probably underestimates the Mayor’s involvement in bringing items forward for votes as well as signing them into law.”
While the report card’s overall grades are good, it does not mean the region is on track to slow climate change.
“We are not there yet,” said Cecilia Aguillon, a representative of the Climate Defenders Action Fund. “Actually, we are falling behind. And we need to step it up if we want to make meaningful contributions to ending climate change.”
The report card authors hope the information helps voters flex their environmental muscles at the polls. They say information and transparency are important as the region fights for its climate future.
