Kevin Faulconer
Mayoral candidate Kevin Faulconer and his wife, Katherine, arrive to a cheering crowd at their election night party in the U.S. Grant Hotel downtown. | Photo © Howard Lipin, Zuma Press
Our recent mayoral elections have had huge consequences for San Diego. In 2005 we elected Jerry Sanders at a time when San Diego was labeled “Enron by the Sea” in the wake of the financial crisis caused by the public service employees pension scandal. Many were calling for the city to declare bankruptcy. Sanders navigated us out of that crisis over the next seven years and had us on the right track to fiscal sanity. In 2012, San Diegans elected Bob Filner, who promptly began the process to undo all that Jerry Sanders had accomplished. It was only his outrageous personal behavior that removed him from office before he could put us right back where we were before Sanders’ election.
Now, with Filner out, we will determine the fate of San Diego once again. Will we continue down the Filner path, or reignite the Sanders initiatives? Our candidates, David Alvarez and Kevin Faulconer, offer a clear choice.
During his City Council term, Alvarez supported Filner on every issue. Filner withheld funds from the San Diego Tourism District that were to be used for marketing San Diego as a tourist destination. A plan to promote San Diego as a tourist destination, create new jobs, and strengthen our economy was recently voted on by the City Council. It passed 8–1. City Council president Todd Gloria, a Democrat, said supporting the plan was a “no-brainer.” Alvarez’ was the lone dissenting vote.
Jim Fitzpatrick, CEO & Publisher of San Diego Magazine
Jim Fitzpatrick, CEO & Publisher
As a member of the City Council, Alvarez has opposed and fought against every single financial reform passed by voters in recent years, including pension reform and competitive bidding for city services. He frequently casts the only vote against important city projects. His was the lone dissenting vote against the emergency shelter for the homeless.
Kevin Faulconer has been on the City Council for seven years, Alvarez for three. Faulconer has supported pension reform, opposed a sales tax increase, and supported competitive bidding for city services and all of the Sanders reforms. Having run businesses in San Diego, Faulconer and his wife know the challenges. Alvarez has no business experience, and with only three years on the City Council, he is not prepared to be our city’s CEO. We have a clear choice on February 11: continue and grow the Sanders initiatives, or Filner 2.0. I urge you to vote for Kevin Faulconer to continue San Diego’s reformation.
From the Publisher
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