Residents of San Diego, including City College students, will be voting for the mayor in a special election on Nov. 19, after Bob Filner vacated the office in August because of allegations of sexual misconduct.
The successor will serve the remainder of Filner’s four-year term. If none of the 11 candidates wins a majority vote, a runoff election between the top two candidates will take place in February.
According to a recent KPBS public poll, three candidates have emerged as frontrunners: Nathan Fletcher, David Alvarez and Kevin Faulconer.
Here is the City Times breakdown of those contenders:
Nathan Fletcher: Fletcher, 35, was born in Carson City, Nevada, and is a decorated retired Marine. He made headlines in 2012 when he changed his party affiliation from Republican to Independent, ultimately aligning himself with the Democratic Party in 2013. He said his political views evolved over time and his values were more closely aligned with those of the Democratic Party.
He is the Senior Director of Corporate Development for the San Diego-based cellular giant, Qualcomm, and teaches political science at the University of California San Diego, roles he’s reduced to focus on his campaign. While serving as a state assemblyman, Fletcher sponsored Chelsea’s Law, which established harsher punishments for sexual predators that target minors.
Fletcher is campaigning for more police patrols to decrease crime response times, and believes that a safer city environment will aid in creating new jobs. His campaign is pushing for investing in manufacturing jobs that come with health care benefits and a good living wage. More information is found in nathanfletcher.com.
David Alvarez: Alvarez, 33, has served as a San Diego City Councilmember since 2010. He grew up in Barrio Logan, where his family struggled through financial woes. Alvarez was his family’s first high school graduate, attending San Diego High and went on to graduate San Diego State University with honors. He is running as a Democrat.
A social worker and an after-school teacher, Alvarez was selected for a fellowship in 2003 for the reputable Capital Fellows Program, a University of California internship program that allows members to engage in public service and help shape political policy.
As a city councilman, Alvarez is heavily involved in environmentally centered action, including serving as chairman of the Natural Resources and Culture Committee and is vice chair of the Land Use and Housing Committee. He also takes part in several other city and county committees.
During this campaign, he coined the term “grassroots economics,” which implies that when people focus on cleaning up and repairing a neighborhood, good jobs can be introduced into that neighborhood. Alvarez hopes to improve the care of our national landmarks and find a more efficient way to purify San Diego’s drinking water. More details can be found in alvarezformayor.com.
Kevin Faulconer: Faulconer, 46, who was born in Oxnard, is also an SDSU graduate. He has served as a San Diego City Councilmember since 2006, and is running as a Republican. Faulconer has a background in finance and is the chair of the council Audit Committee, vice chair of the Rules and Economic Development Committee and is a member of the Budget and Finance Committee.
Faulconer was also responsible for advocating and successfully passing Proposition C, a law that kept Mission Bay Park funded by its own generated revenue and has helped to fund other city parks. In 2010, he was among those who rejected Proposition D, which would have increased sales taxes in San Diego.
Faulconer believes one of the biggest issues facing San Diego is the lack of focus on the communities. He wishes to focus on street repairs and fixing roads in all neighborhoods, and similar to Fletcher, he wants to see more police officers patrolling the streets of San Diego. More information can be found in kevinfaulconer.com.
Honorable mention: Michael Aguirre, 64, served as City Attorney from 2004 to 2008 and has an extensive background in fighting high-profile fraud cases. The main focus of his campaign is ensuring pensions and unemployment bonds to workers, as well as repairing roads, recreation centers and several other public services.
Visit the link below for polling place information on campus: www.sdcity.edu/StudentAnnouncements/EntryId/563/city-of-san-diego-polling-place
