S1: It's time for Midday Edition on KPBS. On today's show , we'll explain the local measures on your ballot from the North County to the South Bay. I'm Jade Heinemann with conversations that keep you informed , inspired , and make you think. The debate over how tax dollars are spent.
S2: How do you deploy the city's very limited resources in order to have the biggest impact.
S1: Then the most important issues facing voters in the North county ? And hear about the candidates for Chula Vista City Council. That's ahead on Midday Edition. Today , we're walking you through some of the biggest local races and measures you might want to follow along with the KPBS Voter Hub at PBS.org. There , you'll even find an interactive virtual ballot guide. Joining me now is Andrew Bowen , KPBS Metro reporter. Hi , Andrew.
S2: Hey , Jade. Glad to be here.
S1: Always glad to have you on. Um , so let's start with the city of San Diego , the most powerful position in San Diego city government. The mayor is up for grabs. We have incumbent Todd Gloria facing Larry Turner.
S2: He served on the San Diego City Council from 2008 to 2016. That included a brief stint as interim mayor when the previous mayor that he was serving under as a city council member resigned. He was then elected to the state Assembly and served there for four years , and since 2020 , he's been the mayor of San Diego. As far as what he's like as a politician , he's really always branded himself as a progressive. And I think in some areas that's a fair assessment. So he's definitely made the city more friendly to labor unions , for example. He's also pushing a sales tax increase to give the city more resources to fund infrastructure and services. And I know I'll have more time to chat on that later. But in other areas , I would say Gloria has been pretty moderate to conservative. He is not a big criminal justice reformer , for example , and he supports proposition 36 , which is also on the ballot in November. That would increase criminal penalties for retail theft. He has been endorsed by the police union and has really used this kind of law and order rhetoric when talking about public safety and even issues like homelessness. Um , Turner , on the other hand , is a marine veteran. He's a police officer currently. So technically he works under Todd Gloria and it is his first run for office. He's an independent , but I would definitely place him to the right of Todd Gloria in several ways. And one of those would be his opposition to the sales tax increase. So San Diego has a very long legacy of anti-tax conservatism that I think he's trying to tap into. I think he's generally skeptical or more skeptical of the idea that government has a greater role to play in solving people's problems. He's talked about the city's pension debt , for example , and the need to rightsize the city's budget not by raising taxes , but by cutting spending on things like infrastructure and services. And then on the issue of housing. Turner , I would say , is also more conservative in the classical sense of preserving the status quo , not increasing the density of residential neighborhoods. And he also talks about taking San Diego back to a time when things are better. So it's sort of almost a nostalgic tone that his campaign has taken.
S1: Well , what are some of the biggest issues the mayor is facing this election cycle.
S2: Well , housing and homelessness really consistently rank among the top concerns of voters in San Diego. And Gloria's approach has been , at least on homelessness to ban encampments in the public right of way. He is trying to add more safe parking options for people who live in cars. He's also expanded the sanctioned campgrounds that allow people to sleep in tents. And , you know , the goal is to get those tents off the sidewalks. He has not managed to create a big expansion of brick and mortar homeless shelters. Uh , and he argues that , you know , that's in the works. He's he's trying to get it done. He just needs another four years. Um , Larry Turner has criticized just about everything that Todd Gloria has done on homelessness. Um , really the biggest policy question that I think voters should understand that the mayor has a role to play in is , where do you place new homeless shelters ? And that's a tricky question that , uh , Larry Turner hasn't really given a whole lot of clear answers on. Another question is , how do you deploy the city's very limited resources in order to have the biggest impact ? And then , you know , shifting to housing , the broader issue of housing affordability , you know , that is really the issue that dominates city politics writ large and , and policy making. It's where a lot of the efforts of , uh , the mayor and city council are going. And there's , you know , for the last couple administrations at the city , been an effort to boost the housing supply , get the private market to build more housing , and and hope that that relieves the scarcity of housing and also lowers costs. And at our mayoral debate that KPBS hosted earlier this month , Gloria said that he is getting that done.
S3: Historically , our city has permanent roughly 5000 new homes per year. Last year we hit nearly 10,000 new homes. It's a good increase , but we have to do more in order to make sure that working in middle class people can afford to live in San Diego.
S2: And go straight to Larry Turner's reply to that point. Here's what he said.
S4: We have a glut of housing. Every place you go to in the city , if you drive around , you'll see is leasing. There's spaces there. It's the problem is it's not affordable. So to just continue to build more in the hopes that it's just going to lower the prices. That's not happening here in San Diego.
S2: And I would note that this opinion that Larry Turner has , that San Diego has plenty of housing just is not shared by the experts. Um , there is , you know , housing on the market. It's not to say that nowhere is renting , but the relationship between the demand for housing , the scarcity of housing , and the fact that it's so expensive here is is very well supported by the evidence. And there actually has been some data to suggest that , that the city's vacancy rate has increased slightly as it's been building more housing , and that has put downward pressure on housing costs.
S1:
S2: You know , local races like this tend to not attract like the kinds of dollars that you would see in a congressional race , for example. But there was one recent poll from the Union Tribune and ten news that found Gloria was a few points ahead of Turner in the minds of voters. And about a third , not quite a third of voters were still undecided. I think that reflects the fact that a lot of people just aren't super plugged in to local politics , and they were probably waiting until the last minute to make up their minds. Gloria did come first in the primary. He has a big lead in terms of endorsements , in terms of fundraising , in terms of independent spending on his behalf. And of course , he has the massive advantage of incumbency. So , you know , I would say it's his race to lose.
S1: All right. Well , let's move on to San Diego city Attorney. They are the city's chief legal counsel. They can use the power of legal advice to steer lawmaking , but they don't technically pass laws. We have Heather Ferber running against Brian Moonshine.
S2: He has been a mainstay of San Diego politics for almost a quarter century now. He served on the San Diego City Council from 2000 to 2008. In 2012 , he was elected to the state Assembly , and he has served there ever since. Noteworthy of Maine Shine is that he used to be a Republican. He switched his party affiliation to Democrat in 2019 after a very , very close re-election battle. He says that his switch was simply due to the fact that Trump had taken the Republican Party too far to the right , and at the same time , in his years of public service , he had gotten more liberal as far as his qualifications or his pitch to voters. He says he has lots of experience in law making , and all of his years in the city council and state legislature , he says he's got friendly relationships with elected officials. And , you know , that's a good reason to vote for him. Heather Herbert already works in the city attorney's office as a chief deputy city attorney , so she is running to replace her boss , current city attorney Mara Elliott. Her pitch is that she says she's more experienced in the actual work that the city attorney's office does , and that is essentially translating the policy ideas of the mayor and the city council into legal language. That is clear that that will not be misconstrued , that will accomplish the intent and that can withstand lawsuits. And she also says that she'll be more independent than her opponent. She argues that all of these friendly relationships that Maine , China has built over the years are actually more of a liability to him , and that she won't be tied down by by those relationships that he's built over over his decades in politics , and she's just better positioned to give city officials really solid , objective legal advice.
S1:
S2: So he has been endorsed by the San Diego County Democratic Party , the regional chamber of Commerce , the county's biggest labor unions , Mayor Todd Gloria , and a host of other Democratic elected officials. Ferber has been endorsed by her boss , current city attorney Mara Elliott. She was endorsed by the Union Tribune's editorial board and several unions that represent city employees , including deputy city attorneys. So the folks that , you know , work under her and other white collar workers at the city of San Diego.
S1: Well , and Ferber previously challenged Manchin's eligibility to run for city attorney. What came of.
S5:
S2: It has to do with the language in the city charter that says a candidate for city attorney , must have held a license to practice law in California for at least ten years. You know , it was an effort to set some professional standards for the office. And the challenge that Ferber made had to do with the time that Brian Mansion has been a licensed attorney. So he got his law license in 1994. But most of the 30 years since then , he has not been practicing law and his law license was inactive. So , you know , in light of this challenge , the city ultimately commissioned an independent legal analysis , and they determined that Brian Manchin's time with an inactive law license does count towards that ten year minimum. So the challenge was essentially dismissed. But I think for Ebert's point , was really to get some attention to this matter and to make the argument that she has spent more time than Manchin as a practicing lawyer. Interesting.
S1: Interesting. It'll be interesting to see how that race turns out. Moving along to some measures on your ballot , there are a lot of sales tax measures on the ballot for many San Diego cities , and that includes the city of San Diego itself.
S2: So if you were to eat out at a restaurant and the bill is $100 , measure E would add an extra $1 to that bill at the restaurant. The current sales tax rate in the city of San Diego is 7.75% , and it is tied for the lowest in San Diego County. The suburbs generally have higher sales tax rates. It is also among all of the cities in California. San Diego is in the bottom third , so the bottom third of cities in an with the lowest sales tax rate , you know , San Diego finds itself among them. And as far as how much revenue this would raise , its the estimate is about 360 million to $400 million in the first year.
S1:
S2: That includes , you know , adequate levels of police and firefighters , uh , library staffing , you know , having libraries that are open seven days a week , having parks that are in good condition , having lifeguards on duty at our beaches , all of those services , as well as the infrastructure that the city builds. All of those things are supported by the general fund. So , you know , the argument is we need to give our city more resources and our elected officials can make the decisions about how to spend those dollars. The arguments against I mean , there's always an argument that against sales tax measures in that they say it's inequitable , that the burden falls disproportionately Fortunately on low income people relative to higher income people , it is noteworthy that food and other essential items like prescription drugs are exempt from sales tax. Um , other arguments against measure E are , I think , simply that , you know , the city has enough resources that we just don't need to be paying more tax dollars. And if the city would only trim the fat and , you know , make the tough decisions that that we expect of our , uh , leaders , then , you know , they could get a budget that is that is in good health. Um , but there is , you know , several hundred million dollars that the city pretty much every year has to close in in terms of a budget deficit. And there are lots of one time tricks that that the city has tried employing. But there will come a day when those one time tricks run out , and the city just has to make some really tough decisions about what it can afford. Wow.
S1: Wow. Well , zooming out to San Diego County , measure G would raise the sales tax across the county by half a percentage point. This one would specifically raise funds for transportation infrastructure. Where would those funds go to exactly ? Yeah.
S5:
S2: So whereas a city government is responsible for the surface streets of a city , uh , the uh , Regional Transportation Agency and the state transportation agency , Caltrans are responsible for things like highways or rail lines that cross city lines. So for those regional projects that where it's more than just one city , that's kind of at stake. Um , those are things that are funded by , uh , mostly built and planned by the San Diego Association of Governments or Sandag. Not all of the money that would be raised by measure G would go to Sandag. Uh , some of it would actually go straight to cities , um , so that they could , you know , fund road repair and filling potholes and everything. But the majority of the revenue raised by measure G would go towards public transit. Um , these would be capital projects. So a new trolley or high speed rail lines , a rail connection to the airport , a moving the train tracks up to Los Angeles off of the Delmar Bluffs to sort of stabilize that , that piece of infrastructure. So there aren't so many closures of the rail line. And then a smaller portion would go to highways. So , uh , HOV lanes , um , they , they could theoretically be just highway widening , although politically those are more difficult to get through nowadays. But that's generally where it would go is these regional transportation projects. And most of the money would go towards public transit.
S1:
S2: There aren't many things that that we can build on our own without the support or some help from the state and federal governments. But the idea , one of the arguments in favor of measure G is that San Diego will be in a better position to compete with all of the cities and all the other regions of the country. For all this money that's coming through from the federal government , from the bipartisan infrastructure law. Um , you know , if San Diego was willing to put up more of its own resources , its own local tax dollars , that it will be in a better position to compete for those federal and state dollars that that are often competitive in nature. And our , you know , and those higher levels of government expect a city to chip in some money themselves.
S1: Well , this measure is a citizen's initiative.
S2: It was not proposed by a government agency. And essentially what that means is that it only needs a simple majority to pass. If it had been proposed by a government , then it would need a two thirds majority. But because it's a citizens initiative , it only needs a simple majority. That's 50% of the votes plus one more.
S1: All right. And finally , you already know what I'm going to ask Andrew. And we touched on it. But what are the supporters and opponents saying about measure G.
S2: I think the supporters are really pitching it as you know , just we need more funding for transportation infrastructure. We need to fix the roads. We need to build more public transit to , you know , keep up with our growth in the city and , uh , you know , have that growth managed in a more sustainable and efficient way. Opponents of measure G , you know , again , there's that argument about sales tax measures being inequitable. Um , some opponents of measure G have supported sales tax measures in the past , but they really just think that measure G , uh , it doesn't spend enough money on highways. Um , the there's this perception among , uh , mostly North County conservatives. I would say that , uh , public transit projects Primarily benefit folks in urban areas , and that they don't really do anything for folks in the suburbs and that , you know , really , because most people drive , most voters should expect that most of our tax dollars should go towards car infrastructure. So that's , I think , a fair summary of the opponents of measure G.
S1: All right. Well , we look forward to following your reporting on all of this. I've been speaking with Andrew Bowen , KPBS Metro reporter. Andrew , as always , thank you for joining us.
S2: My pleasure. Jade.
S1: You can find more information on each candidate and measure we discussed and much more at our voter Hub , which you can find at pbs.org. Coming up , your vote has a voice when it comes to the biggest issues in North County.
S6: I think some of the top three issues are homelessness , preserving our coastlines and infrastructure , which includes roads and housing right here.
S1: More when KPBS Midday Edition returns. Welcome back to KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Jade Hindman. Today we're taking you through your ballot with a focus on local races and measures. We just heard about the San Diego City mayoral race and the city attorney race. Now , let's head up to North County. Joining me for the breakdown is KPBS North County reporter Tanya Thorn. Hey , Tanya.
S6: Hey , Jade. Thanks for having me. Glad to have you here.
S1: So let's start with the city of Oceanside. Two candidates are vying for the mayoral seat this election cycle. First up , Esther Sanchez. What's her background ? Yeah.
S6: Jade , you know , this is a very interesting race because we have the current mayor , Esther Sanchez , going up against the deputy mayor , Ryan Kim. And so if Kim loses , he doesn't just lose the mayoral race. He loses his council seat , too. So this will be a good one to look into. But let's talk about Esther Sanchez first. She grew up in Oceanside and has a law background and urban planning. And you know , she's a big deal because she is the first Latina and woman to hold the Oceanside mayor seat. She has deemed herself the people's mayor and is a strong advocate for affordable housing , rent control , preventing sprawl development , and preserving and promoting oceanside's diverse culture. Hmm.
S1: Hmm. Well , as you mentioned , Ryan Kim is running against her.
S6: He was a former police officer and was part of the gang suppression unit and neighborhood policing team , but he got her and retired medically as a sworn officer. So he has firsthand hand experience of battling crime in the city he represents and aspires to be mayor of if elected , and plans to work on battling homelessness in the city , preserving the receding coastline and addressing crime in the city.
S1:
S6: I hear about them from my neighbors. And , you know , I see the concerns. And I think some of the top three issues are homelessness , preserving our coastlines and infrastructure , which includes roads and housing. Right ? I mean , infrastructure can be narrowed down to so many different things. But Oceanside has grown , it's exploded , and it just feels like the infrastructure hasn't kept up with that growth. And that growth is in homelessness number. So not enough affordable housing really for families looking for affordable housing and homeless people that are looking for housing as well , and as well as growth in businesses which , you know , bring in more cars , more traffic , more tourists , and therefore , you know , bring some unsafe roads. So a lot of attention needs to be put into infrastructure.
S1: Well , how do the two mayoral candidates differ in their approach to the issues you just mentioned ? Yeah.
S6: So Carmen Sanchez see things differently. Sanchez is a big advocate for more affordable housing. She supports more development if it has larger affordable housing units but also pushes against sprawl. So I think she keeps in mind the history and cultural background of the neighborhoods where developments are proposed , while also keeping in mind the amount of affordable housing needed to support families and people facing homelessness. Kim , on the other hand , you know , with a background in law enforcement , he sees homelessness as a two pronged approach addressing the crime and quality of life issues connected to the homelessness while also providing services. And that's , of course , to the ones willing to take them. Right. So when it comes to housing , there is some controversy over his past votes in support of large developments , and some of his largest campaign contributions have been made from out of town organizations that some think are developers , leading people to believe he will continue to support larger developments , and maybe not in the best interest of those needing affordable housing.
S1: We also have a number of U.S. House seats up for grabs across the county. District 49 , for example. Uh , that includes Oceanside , Vista , Carlsbad , Encinitas and Del Mar in some parts of Orange County. A Republican , Matt Gunderson and Democrat Mike Levin are facing off in that race.
S6: He's a Democrat , and I think at this point we're all pretty familiar with him , right ? He's held this seat for three terms and this could be his fourth one if he wins this next election. He's being challenged by Republican business owner Matt Gunderson. Uh , Gunderson's a pretty new face. You know , last election it was a different opponent. But Gunderson is from Orange County , and that's very important because that's where the sway in this district has projected to come from. Redistricting a few years ago brought in more Orange County cities , which in the past have largely voted Republicans. So there's been this tight influence that could flip this district from Democrat to Republican. Well , we talked.
S1: About some of the major issues facing Oceanside. And , um , I imagine other cities in this area are dealing with some of the same issues. But I know infrastructure is a big point of debate up in North County , too. And you kind of talked about that. What's the conversation around that issue right now ? Yeah.
S6: When it comes to this district , I think there is a huge and looming issue. The winner of the 49th will need to take on. And that's the low sand rail corridor , right. As we know the train , if you've ever taken it , offers a beautiful coastal ride. But the bluffs the rail railing sits on our crumbling. And we've seen a couple of those incidents , you know , throughout the years we've seen closures of our trains. And I mean , if you write it , you can just see how narrow some of these portions are. Specifically San Clemente and Del Mar. And so both of these portions will need to be relocated. And there has been growing controversy over whether that's really the big question. I think another big and looming problem or , you know , an issue that needs to be addressed by the 49th district representative is the San Onofre nuclear station. You know , it's it's retired now. It's not an operation , but it still holds nuclear waste that needs to be safely removed , transported and stored somewhere. And those are the questions.
S1: Well , let's talk about the state assembly race for district 77. That includes residents from Carlsbad to Coronado. That's incumbent Tasha Borner running against James Brown.
S6: And you know , we worked with her in the past. We've interviewed her and so we've seen the work she's done. She's worked on climate change initiatives , building more affordable housing and addressing the rising cost of living. I know she's worked. Some examples are working with researchers to study the coastal bluffs that I just mentioned that are crumbling , uh , e-bike safety within our youth. Right ? We've seen so many incidents happening with our youth and those wonderful e-bikes that they love to ride and , you know , holding utility companies accountable for those high bills we all experience. Right. So and so auditing to see what is going on. Um , and her opponent James Brown is very new. He's a newcomer. He's breaking through into this political scene. He didn't get back to us for interviews. So all the information I got on him came from his website or social medias. He wrote about improving our education system , public safety , economic growth and protecting our environment. I haven't seen him too active leading up to election , so I think this race is projected to stay in the hands of Tasha.
S1: Yeah , well , it's unfortunate James Brown didn't make himself available , but Tasha Borner did , and I'm curious to hear what she's got as solutions for the top issues in the area , which are homelessness and climate change.
S6: You know. Yeah , I mean , she's been very vocal in these issues throughout her time in the seat. And so when it comes to homelessness , of course it's addressing the housing crisis. Right. So building more affordable housing and bringing some policies into action to give them more services , more resources. And so it's really , you know , addressing that regionally throughout this district when it comes to climate change. You know , I think with the loss in rail corridor , she's been very vocal about it , trying to figure out how to keep sand on our beaches. Right , making studies and working with great resources. You know , we have here there are research institutions that are on the coast. I know one initiative she was working on was coming up with some sort of alarm system when the bluffs are to collapse , right ? Because this could prevent deaths. It could prevent our rail line from being interrupted. So she's done a lot of initiatives when it comes to these two topics.
S1: Well , and there are several tax measures spread across North County cities this year. They would each raise the sales tax in their respective cities. The money would go to , at least in part , towards infrastructure.
S6: They are in Oceanside , Encinitas , San Marcos and Escondido. And of course , you know , each are unique to the city's needs. You know what what the city needs money for. But they cover things like road repair , public safety , modernized equipment for police and firefighters , and sometimes education money that is being locally generated to stay locally that the city otherwise wouldn't get from the state or federal government. I think one that I'm keeping my eye on is Escondido , because they've been facing major budget deficits that , you know , have the potential to cut into arts , culture and parks. You know , the first things to go always when money is being cut. But , you know , one thing about these sales tax measures is that they're temporary , right. So they do have a sunset clause. So while it could help Escondido or any of the other cities budgets , restructuring changes needs to happen. So reliance doesn't fall on these sales tax measures and the sales tax payers.
S1: I've been speaking with Tanya Thorn , North County reporter for KPBS. Tanya , thanks.
S6: Thank you.
S1: Still ahead , we'll talk about the candidates running for Chula Vista City Council.
S7: Many of the candidates running currently in this election feel that they are going to need to be able to earn some of that trust back from the public.
S1: Midday edition is back after the break. Welcome back to KPBS Midday Edition. I'm your host , Jade Hindman. We're continuing our discussion about key races and measures on your San Diego ballot. A reminder that you can follow along with our KPBS Voter Hub on PBS.org. Now , let's hear what's in store for voters in South County. Joining me is Cory Suzuki. He's our South County and Imperial Valley reporter here at KPBS. Corey. Welcome back.
S7: Hey , Jay. Thanks for having me.
S1: Yeah , always great to have you on. So the Chula Vista City Council has district three and district four seats on the ballot.
S7: I mean , every city functions a little bit differently in Chula Vista. The city council makes local ordinances , can introduce laws , create policies and push for the people who live in their district. The city council is broken into four different positions plus the mayor. So five people total on the council who and those four council members represent four corners of the city. So they each each council member represents the people who live in that area. And they can also represent the city on regional boards and agencies like the port or Sandag. And then overall , they oversee the city's budget. So they decide how the taxes that residents pay to the city are spent , which city services and programs are funded and which are cut. And this year , two in Chula Vista are up for election districts three and four. Wow.
S1: Wow. So they they actually make a lot of decisions that affect everyday life for people in Chula Vista. So let's get into the districts. District three includes son Beau and Otay Ranch. Michael in Zuniga is running against Leticia mangia. What do you need to know about the two candidates there ? Yeah.
S7: That's right. District three , the southeast corner of the city. Um , both candidates running for this district are Democrats. You have , like you said , Michael Vincenza , who's a former high school teacher and district administrator in Zumthor , also served on the Chula Vista Charter Review Commission Board and is a current legislative advocate for the California School Boards Association. So continuing to work in education and in Centro wants to build more homes at both affordable and market rate prices in the city. He supports enforcing the new ban on homeless encampments , so taking a harsher line on homelessness. Um , and also supports the city providing homelessness Business services. One thing that's notable about is that he is also a strong supporter of drones and other surveillance tactics that the Chula Vista Police Department uses , which KPBS has covered extensively in the past and privacy advocates have criticized as really invasive some of these tactics. So that is one thing that that does really stand out about his candidacy. And Ensign's maybe no surprise here , but is endorsed by the Chula Vista Police union and the firefighters union and the regional Democratic Party. And then running against instance , where we have Leticia McGuire , who is on the board of a nonprofit housing advocacy group. She's a longtime community organizer and is currently working in HR , actually at Sweetwater Authority , which is the South Bay Water Company. And Mujica supports a housing first approach to homelessness , which is a different approach from Zuniga that prioritizes getting unhoused people into homes as a first step , and then moving to other things like supportive services and and services to to support people leaving addiction. She also has some other priorities , which include focusing on improving roads and streets to make sure the new bayfront resort is accessible. She wants to look at earthquake preparedness in city facilities and new fire stations. And then in terms of public safety , she wants to establish a review committee for the Chula Vista Police Department that would make sure that residents have some level of oversight of law enforcement in the city. So also a little bit of a difference there , but with with incidents on public safety. And Murguia is endorsed by the county of San Diego's chair , Nora Vargas , former Chula Vista mayor Mary Kassius Solis , and a current Chula Vista Council member , Jose Preciado.
S1: All right , well , let's move along to the district four seat , which represents southwest Chula Vista , extending west of the 805. Cesar Fernandez is facing Rudy Ramirez for the spot on city council. Let's start with Cesar Fernandez. Tell me about him.
S7: Yeah , well , um , this is definitely an interesting race. Uh , Cesar Fernandez is board member , Chula Vista Elementary School district. He is a Democrat. Again , both of the candidates in this race are Democrats as well. And Cesar is a former high school math teacher , and he wants to focus on the city's cost of living. He said that he would prioritize building more affordable housing and would work to get unhoused people into homes , and then would also work on creating housing for all income levels , working towards more walkable communities. And uh , Cesar also , um , is endorsed by the San Diego County Democratic Party. He has the endorsement of the city police union , and he's endorsed by the Regional Labor Council. He has has another goal of , uh , wanting to get local workers jobs on big projects like the ongoing bayfront resort construction.
S1: All right. And what do you know about Rudy Ramirez ? Yeah.
S8: Rudy Ramirez is also.
S7: An interesting candidate. Uh , Ramirez is a former city council member from the early 2000 , actually , who served in Chula Vista. Uh , Ramirez , also a Democrat , is a current business owner in Southwest Chula Vista , which is the area that the district would cover. And Ramirez wants to focus on a couple different things , uh , particularly the lack of infrastructure and maintenance in district four , which is something that is a big concern for a lot of residents. Um , Ramirez wants to take a look at that and how how the city could be doing more to address those needs in district four.
S8: He also has.
S7: His eye on some of the more forward looking projects that are happening in the city , especially the bayfront development. He has some worries that , um , those projects could sort of crowd the city with tourists and erode its local character. And , um , he plans to , to really keep an eye on that. Um , and then in terms of homelessness , this is one thing that sets Ramirez apart from other candidates running in in Chula Vista right now. He supports this controversial proposal called Son Break Ranch , for addressing homelessness , which would involve pushing on house residents out of cities and into a remote camp in East Miramar. So one thing to know about Ramirez as well. And Ramirez has previously told KPBS that he is not seeking out endorsements.
S1: Well , earlier this year , sitting council member Andrea Cardenas resigned and pled guilty to stealing more than $175,000 in state and federal taxes.
S7: That's made it complicated from the beginning. That's the race with Cesar Fernandez and Rudy Ramirez. Um , that race is happening for Andrea Cardenas seat. But until earlier this year , she was she she had held that seat as a city council member. I think that everything that that has unfolded since then , uh , Cardenas is resignation , pleading guilty to these charges , felony charges of grand theft. Um , it's been a really damaging episode in terms of trust in local government , especially the fact that , you know , it was drawn out. There was no it wasn't a situation where Cardenas faced some of these allegations and then immediately stepped down. Cardinals held on to the seat and stayed into the the primary election earlier this year. So it was it was really disruptive to to the local election cycle. And I think both of the or many of the candidates running currently in this election feel that it is something that they are going to need to be able to earn some of that trust back from the public. Right.
S1: Right.
S8:
S7: The candidates have talked about this. And I.
S8: Would say.
S7: When it comes to district four , Ramirez is sort of the the big one who's spoken about this. Ramirez has pledged to hold this , to hold meetings that he calls public office hours every month. He says that's an effort to build trust with voters. And he says that's something that he did when he was in office back in the 2000. So he says that it's it's something that he's hoping to carry forward , to try and be a be a public face and be talking constantly with residents in his district. Um , and for Fernandez.
S8: He is leaning.
S7: On the idea of an audit to identify ways that district four has been disinvested by the city. Um , ways that , uh , district four isn't getting the resources that it needs. And , uh , what he told us is that he is hoping to use that , um , audit as a , as a tool to try and identify problems with the way that the city has worked in district four in the past and hopefully build trust there.
S1: Well , there's also a sales tax measure on the ballot for Chula Vista voters , and that's measure P. It asks whether to continue a half cent sales tax that's already in place. This one has a sunset clause in 2037. What's the debate around that measure ? Yeah.
S8:
S7: Measure P is really interesting because you know this tax , it's something that's been used to repair streets and sidewalks to shore up the city's stormwater system , to make repairs to parks and other aging infrastructure. And those are all projects that the city really needs to continue work on in some ways. So this is something that would be a really significant chunk of the funding for the city to continue to have if voters approve the tax and keep it in place , and if voters decide not to approve measure P , then that would be a , again , a significant chunk of funding that the city would lose out on over the next ten years. Um , and Chula. Vista.
S8: Vista.
S7: Already does have high taxes. That's sort of one of the arguments against this tax. And there have also been arguments from other opponents that measure P , because it's a general tax , there won't necessarily be any major guarantees that the money will be used for the purpose is that have been laid out here for these major infrastructure projects. Um , that said , sort of watchdog organizations that focus on on cities and , and tax policy , uh , have said that Chula Vista has done a good job stewarding the funds that came in through measure P over the previous ten years. And so some of those organizations have argued that , uh , Chula Vista , because of that track record , would make good use of the funds under measure P going forward.
S1: All right , Cory , there's a lot to consider in Chula Vista.
S8:
S7: Would say , Jade , is that , um , there are a lot of issues that are , uh , on the minds of Chula Vista residents right now , I think , and a lot of issues that are on the minds of the candidates running for these offices.
S8: Um , and I think that.
S7: One that does really stand out is kind of just the the focus on cost of living in affordability , the sense that , um , in Chula Vista. Like in a lot of places , many people are really struggling to get by and to figure out what the rest of the year is going to look like.
S8: And I think that's it's.
S7: Interesting because that is sort of happening at the same time as this growing sense that the South Bay is having a real moment right now. Um , but also , I think there are a lot of people who are worried at the same time that there's just this feeling that , um , people who grew up in Chula Vista and who , um , who call it home and are proud to be proud to be from that city , uh , are also worried about being able to , to stay there in the future. So I think that's something that's on a lot of people's minds and is going to be playing a big role in this election , too.
S1: And before I let you go , I want to talk about national city residents there will see measure R on their ballot. It would establish a parcel tax on some property owners. So how would that work ? Yeah.
S8: Measure R would be used.
S7: For repairing streets and alleys and improving aging parks , sort of some similar places to to measure P in Chula Vista. And in this case , the rate of the tax would be based on the kind of property. Um , so , for example , people who are own owners of mobile homes would be paying , um , $52 , but that would be really different from , um , people who are paying for single family homes. And then for um , commercial and industrial space. And there are some properties that would be exempt from the tax , which include religious institutions and nonprofit organizations and also affordable housing projects. And then there would be an advisory committee that would be established to make sure that the funds are being spent properly.
S1:
S8:
S7: The argument in support is that some of these needs are similarly really , really big in National City that , um , there are repairs that need to be made to city streets. Um , there are repairs that need to be made to parks. And this is all money that would go to those improvements that all residents of National City , anyone passing through National City would be able to benefit from.
S1:
S8:
S7: Group opposing this tax is the San Diego County Taxpayers Association , who says that the measure sort of has some open questions that haven't been quite answered enough to their satisfaction. They're worried that the the structure of the tax hasn't been analyzed enough to to get a sense of what it's going to do to the economy and what it's going to do to property owners. Their concern is , is that there hasn't been enough research into what this is going to mean for , for residents going forward , and what the impact is going to have in this , um , on , on national city long term.
S1: All right. There's a lot to follow in the South Bay. I've been speaking with Cory Suzuki. He's our South County and Imperial Valley reporter here at KPBS. Corey , thanks as always.
S7: Thanks so much , Jane.
S1: For more information , check out our Voter Hub at PBS.org. That's our show for today. I'm your host , Jade Hindman. Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.
