Big money drops again into San Diego District 8 race

One of the largest donors in the primary for the District 8 seat on the San Diego City Council has made a big imprint on the runoff for the seat by dropping $200,000 to a political action committee supporting Gerardo Ramirez.

National Enterprises Inc., owned by South Bay businessman David Wick, made the Aug. 27 contribution to the Latino Caucus of California Counties PAC, which describes itself as a bipartisan group supporting Latino candidates statewide. 

It is the same organization that Wick’s company contributed $75,000 to in the spring in support of Ramirez. That money eventually ended up in an independent committee the LCCC PAC formed in San Diego, which then spent in support of Ramirez.

As of Wednesday, the PAC has expended $637,000 in the District 8 race so far, according to Follow the Money San Diego, a nonpartisan group that tracks local campaign spending.

The organization has spent $358,000 through two separate committees it sponsors in support of Ramirez. It has spent another $278,000 in ads, mailers and more in opposition to Ramirez’s opponent, Antonio Martinez. 

Ramirez, the chief of staff to termed-out Councilmember Vivian Moreno, came in second in the June primary to Martinez. He edged out the third place finisher by a few hundred votes.

Wick is a prominent donor in state and local politics and his company is the largest individual landowner in South County. Last spring, he told inewsource he donated to the LCCC PAC with the explicit intention that the money go to support Ramirez.

Wick did not respond to a request for a comment. 

In addition to its landholdings National Enterprises has also been trying for years to get permits to construct a new landfill on a 450-acre plot east of the Siempre Viva Road exit off state Route 905 and a quarter mile north of the international border. The project has been controversial in South County. 

Martinez sharply criticized Ramirez as a “sellout,” saying he has not forcefully come out against the landfill because of the money National Enterprises has put into the race in support. 

“He has never renounced that landfill, never said I don’t want that landfill,” Martinez said. “And he can’t. That’s what I mean by a sellout. No one would spend 200,000-some dollars on someone who would oppose your project.”

But in an interview, Ramirez told inewsource he does indeed oppose the proposed landfill. “I don’t support that landfill, or any other project that is toxic to our communities for that matter,” he said.

The landfill location falls outside the city limits, and the council will have no say in its approval. Nonetheless it has become an issue in the district.

In April 2025 Moreno wrote a letter opposing a bill that would have banned the Regional Water Quality Control Board from issuing a permit for a landfill in the Tijuana River Watershed, effectively killing the project. Later when the bill was amended, she withdrew her opposition. 

The bill was sponsored by state Sen. Steve Padilla, who represents the area. It was strongly opposed and largely killed by Assemblymember David Alvarez, who endorsed Ramirez in the race.

Overall the District 8 race has seen spending by outside PACs and independent committees outpace direct contributions to candidates by a 4-1 margin. 

About $1.9 million of the $2.3 million spent has come from outside committees and PACS, according to the Follow the Money accounting. Only the District 4 race between Nicole Crosby and Richard Bailey has accounted for more.

State records show the main LCCC PAC has dropped more than $1 million this election cycle into the Working Families sponsored PAC. That money has gone to candidates for state Senate and Assembly primarily in the Central Valley and Los Angeles areas. 

The Ramirez-Martinez race appears to be the only one the PAC is showering money on in San Diego County. 

Independent committees and PACs are not allowed to coordinate with campaigns. Ramirez said because of that restriction he did not know about the PAC or why it was supporting him.

Meanwhile Martinez, a member of the San Ysidro school board who finished first in the June primary, has been supported by a committee of hospitality workers and firefighters to about $270,000 according to Follow the Money. The county Democratic party also chose to endorse Martinez in what is a Democrat-on-Democrat showdown.