What does the mayor do?
The mayor is by far the most powerful position in San Diego city government. They act as the city's CEO, overseeing nearly all city departments and operations and holding the power to hire and fire top city officials. They also propose the city's annual budget.
Most local lawmaking originates from the mayor's office. The City Council can also pass laws, but because almost all city staffers work under the mayor, the council requires more coordination, effort and resources to pass laws independent of the mayor's office. The mayor can veto laws passed by the council, and the council needs six out of nine votes to override a veto.
The mayor also typically represents the city in regional government bodies, such as the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), which plans and builds major transportation infrastructure like freeways and public transit. Votes at the SANDAG board of directors are also "weighted" based on a city's population, giving the San Diego mayor more power than any other elected official to set policy at SANDAG.
How much does the mayor get paid?
The office of San Diego mayor has an annual salary of $238,479. A ballot measure approved by voters in 2018 ties the mayor's salary to the salary of California Superior Court judges.
What issues is the mayor facing?
Homelessness
San Diego's homelessness crisis reflects failures at multiple levels of government — local, state and national. But the city government is closest to the problem, so the mayor often takes most of the blame for when things get worse.
Homelessness policy questions that the mayor has to tackle include: Where should the city place new homeless shelters? How should shelters be operated and funded? What role should police officers play in managing the homelessness crisis? And what should the city do to make housing more affordable, especially for low-income earners?
Homelessness has been a top issue for Mayor Todd Gloria. He has opened new sanctioned campsites in far-flung corners of Balboa Park, he's pursuing a new safe parking lot just west of San Diego International Airport and he's pushing for the creation of a new 1,000-bed homeless shelter in a vacant warehouse between the airport and the Interstate 5 freeway. The lease of the warehouse and spending plan for converting it into a shelter have not yet won City Council approval.
Larry Turner argues the city is spending more on homelessness under Gloria while the crisis has only gotten worse. On his website, Turner says he would issue monthly reports on shelter bed availability and progress on affordable housing development. His other policy proposals aren't all that different from Gloria's: build more affordable housing and homeless shelters. He does not propose any shelter locations on his website, and says he "will always listen to — and consult with — community residents and business owners before finalizing locations for any shelter and resource centers."
Housing
For decades, San Diego did not build enough housing to keep up with population and job growth. The housing that did get built was mostly detached homes in brand-new neighborhoods, in both the city and the suburbs. The resulting sprawl has left San Diegans with congested freeways and high transportation costs, while the housing shortage has pushed up prices for everyone — especially low- and middle-income households.
Mayor Gloria — and his predecessor, Kevin Faulconer — both sought to address the housing shortage by updating zoning laws to allow for more apartment and condo buildings in neighborhoods served by public transit. This summer Gloria won City Council approval for new zoning plans in Hillcrest and University City, clearing the way for tens of thousands of new homes along high-frequency bus and rail lines. Gloria has also ordered city staffers to speed up the permitting process for affordable and mixed-income housing.
Home construction has ticked up and rents have declined, but nowhere near enough to declare the housing affordability crisis over.
Turner's website says Gloria's moves to loosen development restrictions have "degraded the quality of neighborhoods" and sidelined the volunteer planning groups that advise the city on development issues. Turner says he would "insist upon community input for planned development projects" while also creating "more streamlined permitting processes that include AI technology and potentially outsourcing the permitting process to ensure quicker response times."
City budgets
Whoever wins the mayor's race this year could have some very important decisions to make on the city's budget. The most recent five-year financial forecast predicts the next four years will see annual deficits of between $227 million and $258 million through mid-2029. That means in order to produce a balanced budget, as required by law, the city would have to either cut services, deplete its reserves, raise new revenues or a combination of all of the above.
But the mayor will face a wildly different financial future if a majority of city voters approve of Measure E, which would raise the city's sales tax by 1%. The measure would add an estimated $360 million to $400 million to the city's general fund in its first year, potentially turning the city's deficit into a surplus. If Measure E passes, the mayor will get to decide how to spend all that new money.
Measure E has been championed by Gloria, who says it's necessary to maintain and expand the city services and infrastructure that residents expect, like road repair, police and fire protection, libraries and parks.
Larry Turner opposes the sales tax measure and argues the city must further cut back on waste and fraud before raising taxes. In an interview with the Voice of San Diego podcast, Turner suggested the city seek to reduce the retirement benefits of city employees, including police officers, to rightsize its budget. Past attempts by conservative mayors and city councilmembers to reduce retirement benefits for city workers have been thrown out in court for violating state labor laws.
Staff recruitment and retention
One of the biggest challenges the city government faces is an inability to recruit and retain the most qualified staff. The city runs on the labor of more than 12,000 employees — everything from engineers and police officers to garbage truck drivers and attorneys. Compensation for these public-sector jobs isn't always competitive with the private sector, which can contribute to high turnover and vacancy rates among city workers.
As of April 30, 2024, the city had 1,493 vacant full-time equivalent positions — down from 1,954 vacancies a year prior. A 2023 audit of the city's hiring process found the city is slower to fill positions than the average local government, and that the city's Personnel Department has hiring policies that are overly complex and cumbersome. Top city officials agreed with the audit's findings and pledged to implement its recommendations.
Gloria points to rising rates of job satisfaction among city employees as evidence that he is succeeding in efforts to make city government a more attractive place to work. In his State of the City address in January, he said he swiftly restored pensions for city workers as ordered by the courts, expanded parental leave benefits and launched a pilot program to offer city employees subsidized child care.
Turner says there's low morale and a high vacancy rate in the San Diego Police Department, where he works. He blames those problems on Gloria's policies — in particular, the mayor's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for city workers. That mandate has since been rescinded.
Turner's website says he will "set a positive culture of respect that encourages officer retention, hire more 911 call takers and dispatchers, and remove the city ordinances that inhibit our law enforcement from being able to urgently respond to your calls."
Who are the candidates?
Todd Gloria
- Incumbent
- Democrat
- San Diego City Council 2008-2016, California Assembly 2016-2020
Closer look
Todd Gloria has been a mainstay of San Diego politics since his election to the City Council in 2008. He hasn't lost an election since, and based on the March 5 primary results, he's heavily favored to win a second four-year term as mayor. Historically, San Diego voters tend to keep their incumbents in office.
Gloria won 49.99% of the vote in the primary — roughly 27 percentage points ahead of second-placed Larry Turner, but just 18 votes shy of an outright majority. Still, it's more of a symbolic miss. The city charter requires a runoff between the top two primary finishers no matter what.
Read more about Gloria's policy positions.
Key endorsements
- San Diego County Democratic Party
- San Diego & Imperial Counties Labor Council
- San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce
Larry Turner
- Community relations officer, San Diego Police Department
- No Party Preference
- Marine Corps veteran
Closer look
Larry Turner served 23 years in the Marine Corps before retiring as a lieutenant colonel. For the past eight years, Turner has worked in the San Diego Police Department. He's currently the community relations officer for San Diego Police Department's Central Division, which covers downtown and Balboa Park.
Turner says his direct experience with humanitarian relief efforts in the Marine Corps, and his front-row seat to San Diego's homelessness crisis, make him uniquely qualified to be mayor.
Turner won 23.07% of the vote in the March primary and is outmatched in terms of campaign funds, endorsements and institutional support. But he hopes his grassroots campaign can capitalize on frustrations with the city's poor track record on real estate deals and its slow progress on solving homelessness.
Read more about Turner's policy positions.
Key endorsements
- Turner's website does not list endorsements
Watch the KPBS San Diego Mayoral Debate
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