Hi there,
Welcome to a special edition of the Weekender. Election Day is around the corner and my fellow reporters and I have been have been busy breaking down some of the most important races and ballot measures in San Diego County.
Save this email if you’re still doing your research. And pass along to friends and family who may find this useful, too.
🖊️ Need help on how and where to vote? Check this out.
📈 Want to follow results next week and our latest coverage? We’ve got you covered with our Election Source.
First up, our newest story
💵 A political action committee is set to spend more than $800,000 to help get Kevin Faulconer elected as county supervisor. Among the top donors: Developers who must secure yes votes from the county to move their projects forward.
Still filling out your ballot?
Here’s what else our reporters have dug into.
🏛️ San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria is seeking a second term as chief executive of California’s second largest city. His challenger, local police officer Larry Turner, says Gloria is out of touch and hasn’t done enough to reduce the number of people living on San Diego streets.
What’s at stake: The city’s homelessness crisis is a top issue on the minds of voters heading into the November election. Providing shelter and deciding how best to handle unhoused San Diegans are key areas of concern.
🏠 One of the most hotly contested initiatives on the November ballot, Proposition 33 would repeal a state law and give local governments more power to regulate local rents.
What’s at stake: If it passes, Prop 33 would allow local governments to pass rent control for any kind of housing and set limits on how much landlords can increase the rent for new tenants. It also prevents the state from limiting local rent control in the future.
— Cody Dulaney
🗳️ Republicans Carl DeMaio and Andrew Hayes are competing for the seat in California’s 75th Assembly District, which spans most of rural East County, stretching from the U.S.-Mexico border to Riverside County.
What’s at stake: Unproven claims of widespread election fraud are central platform points for Republican candidates across the country. In this border district, claims that tie voter fraud to border security are being used to energize voters skeptical of immigration.
— Sofía Mejías-Pascoe
⚖️ If Assemblymember Brian Maienschein is successful in his bid to become San Diego city attorney, he would pull down his annual pension allotment from his time as a councilman, plus the almost $240,000 annual salary as the city’s top lawyer — a practice known as “double dipping.”
What’s at stake: The city attorney is the legal adviser for the county’s largest government, and represents the city in civil lawsuits. The office prosecutes all misdemeanor crimes in the city. Maienschein or his opponent, Deputy City Attorney Heather Ferbert, will replace termed-out incumbent Mara Elliott.
🚏 Measure G would increase the sales tax by a half cent countywide to help pay for transit projects. The money, an estimated $350 million annually, would fund a long list of transit projects including carpool lanes, road repairs, new bus and rail lines.
What’s at stake: The San Diego Association of Governments, which has a terrible track record of stewardship of taxpayer dollars, would receive most of that funding. Some of the measure’s top financial supporters are companies that have received massive contract increases from SANDAG in recent years.
— Greg Moran
🏫 A contentious board race in the Chula Vista Elementary School District has been fueled by national issues — and one incumbent is running against another. The district is the county’s fourth-largest.
What’s at stake: Trustee Francisco Tamayo’s decision to run against fellow board member Kate Bishop could result in a special election with taxpayers footing the bill or a board appointment. And this year could bring multiple vacancies as Vice President Cesar Fernandez seeks a seat on the Chula Vista City Council.
👪 School board candidates across the county are running on parental rights — a loose term that encompasses broad ideological issues of concerns for some parents, including teachings on race, student privacy policies and more.
What’s at stake: Tension on these issues has led to curriculum changes, lawsuits and board policies that conflict with state law. While parental rights issues can be polarizing, candidates on both sides say they hope to unite their district.
— Andrea Figueroa Briseño
In other news…
Sometimes the impact of inewsource reporting can be felt years later.
County supervisors this week ordered an audit of Equus Workforce Solutions, the company that has managed an emergency temporary lodging program for San Diegans displaced by the January floods.
It’s not the first audit. The first one came after a 2021 inewsource investigation that revealed Equus’ mismanagement of COVID-19 isolation hotels, exposing severe gaps in services and a suicide in a hotel room that wasn’t discovered for five days.
Our reporting resurfaced during public comment Tuesday. Resident Katheryn Rhodes brought a laptop to the podium to read aloud our 2021 story and said: “I don’t know why you gave (another contract to) somebody that did such bad work.”
From the Documenters…
Dozens of affordable housing units may soon be available in Barrio Logan under a new proposed project on National Avenue.
That’s all for now. Enjoy your weekend. ~ Andrea
Support local investigative journalism
Stand for truth with inewsource, San Diego’s investigative newsroom. Your donation will make a difference for thriving communities and our democracy.
Type of Content
Blog: Updates from the newsroom on philanthropy, awards, staff and more.
