Criminal Justice Reform Advocates Give Both Mayoral Candidates Mixed Reviews

Speaker 1: 00:00 A lot has changed since the March primary when housing and homelessness were their top issues shaping the San Diego mayor's race. Those are still of course, major challenges. The next mayor will have to face, but now issues of racial justice and police brutality have moved to the forefront. The current mayor and city council are moving forward with ideas to change policies on policing, but those changes will have to be implemented by the next administration. So where do the candidates, Democrats, Barbara Bray and Todd Gloria stand on criminal justice reform. Andrew Keats joins me. He is assistant editor and senior investigative reporter for voice of San Diego. And Andrew, welcome to the program to be here up until now. Criminal justice has not been one of the main issues raised by Gloria or Bree in debates and candidate forums. Do either of them have much experience leading on this issue? Speaker 2: 00:56 I would say that neither of them in their existing political career to date this have seen this as their defining issue. Todd, Gloria, certainly both on the council and in the assembly has been primarily seen as somebody focused on housing and homelessness and Barbara breeze. And she's been on the council has mostly geared her, her efforts around community issues like Airbnb and, uh, scooters and the regulations around those. And then, you know, her mayoral campaign had really been framed around, uh, her career as a business woman and her ability to, to invigorate the San Diego economy. So, no, I would say that neither of them would be at the, the front of the list of people in town. Who've been leading on criminal justice reform up until now, Speaker 1: 01:39 But now that criminal justice is front and center in the mayor's race. How are Brie and Gloria talking about it? Speaker 2: 01:46 Yeah, I think, you know, they're both, they're both signaling the areas in which they agree with protesters, the areas in which they think there's room for reform. And in a lot of ways, they're, they're quite similar. I think they have both said for instance, that they do not support the so-called defund movement, um, or even a primary focus on spending less money on SDPD. Now they would soften that a little bit and say that we need to take another look at, uh, policing. And maybe reinvision what we ask SDPD to do. Maybe there's been some mission creep, and I think it's, it's possible that as you addressed those issues that may lead to a reduction in budget, but they both have opposed to the idea as reducing SDPD budget as a goal in and of itself. Speaker 1: 02:32 Now candidate Barbara Bree is making an issue of the fact that she says that she supported, uh, assembly woman, Shirley Weber's police use of force bill before Todd Gloria did. And there's back and forth on that. W tell us about that. What is that controversy about? Speaker 2: 02:48 Yeah, so this is a use of force bill that was approved last year by the legislature signed by, uh, by the governor that changed when officers were allowed to use lethal force from when it was deemed reasonable to now, when it is deemed necessary. This is a substantial reform that is sort of regarded as the most progressive lethal use of force of law in the country now, uh, and assembly woman, Shirley Weber was, was roundly credited for having gotten that previously unimaginable reform through, um, Barbara Bree. Uh, Anne said when that happened, that she supported that measure before Todd Gloria, which was in some ways based on a technicality, the city council took a nonbinding vote on to support that measure a couple of weeks before the assembly voted on it for the first time. So her first opportunity to vote for it was before Todd Gloria's first opportunity to vote for it. Speaker 2: 03:51 They both voted for it at that first opportunity. Uh, but she really zeroed in on the fact that there was a change to the legislation between when she voted on it and when he did. Uh, and that was a change that, that led the police union at the state level to go from opposing the measure to being neutral on it. And that change was seen as critical to getting the measure passed. Um, now I reached out to assembly woman Webber as this back and forth was going on and asked her if she could help settle it for me, it wasn't the case that Todd Gloria only supported it after the police union union signed off as Councilwoman Bree had alleged. Um, so, but she basically shot down, I would say the, the entire dispute and said that it was just wrong. Speaker 1: 04:40 Now this week, this is San Diego city council decided to take another step forward with a proposed November ballot measure to create an independent police commission to investigate officer misconduct, where do Brie and Gloria stand on the creation of this independent commission? Speaker 2: 04:56 Yeah. So as we sit here today, both say that they support it, that they are glad it's going on the ballot and that, uh, that they will faithfully implemented as the next mayor, which now on this matter, it's sort of in some ways, the reverse of assembly woman, Shirley Weber's bill, the proponents of the measure, San Diego for justice, um, have attempted to get a measure like this through the city council on two previous occasions, once in 2016, once in 2018, they say, uh, that in 2018, when they brought it forward, they knew Barbara Bree was with them. From the very beginning, she has been a strong advocate. Uh, they counted her as one of their best advocates in city hall, and they juxtapose that against their experience in 2016 when they brought it the measure forward, uh, and Todd Gloria, instead of bringing the measure forward, brought forward a much, much scaled down version of it that instead simply changed the name of the commission and gave the city council a slight bit of, of, of increased power there. Speaker 2: 05:55 Uh, and they, they, they consider their first betrayal in trying to get this measure through city hall. Now I asked Todd Gloria about this and he said, look, you, you, with this type of work, you get what you can get when you can get it. And then you move on and you try to get, you try to make it stronger. And he says, that's what he did. Uh, Barbara Bree meanwhile says that she has recognized this as a necessary reform from the moment it was first brought to her. And that's why she supports it. So strong. Speaker 1: 06:22 Meanwhile, the police union endorsed Todd Gloria for mayor. Could that be a liability for him now? Speaker 2: 06:29 Yeah, I think this is a good indication of just how much things have changed in the last month. Um, for instance, last week, the San Diego County democratic party said that they are going to discourage their endorsed candidates from seeking police union endorsements going forward. Uh, they're going to encourage people. Who've already received the police unions endorsement to not promote it essentially, and that they would, uh, encourage people to take any donations they've received from union officials and give them to, uh, nonprofit groups that are doing racial justice work. So, you know, last year when Todd Gloria won the democratic party's endorsement, he also, you know, without hesitation, I presume sought the police unions endorsement suddenly that is now fraught. And Barbara Bree has said, look, this is a, obviously a conflict of interest. You don't have to look far here in San Diego. The police union has been an, uh, uh, a bulwark against criminal justice reform efforts. And around the country, they've been a bulwark against criminal justice reform efforts. Um, and so where, whereas Todd, Gloria says that his relationship with the union will actually be beneficial. And, um, just because he, he, uh, knows them and has a relationship with them does not mean he will listen to them all the time. Uh, and that he's done it in the past and I'll do it again. But yeah, I think the politics of that endorsement, um, are quite a bit different than they were when he received it. Speaker 1: 07:56 I've been speaking with Andrew Keith's assistant editor and senior investigative reporter for voice of San Diego and Andrew. Thank you. Thank you.