Incumbent Democrat facing 3 strong challengers in high-profile San Diego council race

One of the highest profile local races in the June 7 primary features three Democrats with very different kinds of broad support challenging Dr. Jennifer Campbell — the incumbent Democratic council member in San Diego’s District 2.

The race is viewed by some as a referendum on the city’s increasingly pro-growth policies, which are unpopular in many of the communities that make up District 2 — Clairemont, Point Loma, Mission Beach and Old Town.

Others view it as a referendum on Campbell , who faced an unsuccessful recall campaign last year after being criticized by many neighborhood leaders as unresponsive to their concerns and requests for information.

Only two incumbents have lost San Diego City Council races since 1992, but both instances were just four years ago in 2018. And Campbell is the first city Democratic incumbent not to be endorsed by the county party in two decades.

The challengers — former Assemblymember Lori Saldana, former city administrator Joel Day and Point Loma neighborhood leader Mandy Havlik — still probably face an uphill battle.

Campbell has been endorsed by Mayor Todd Gloria and organized labor, she has a large lead in fundraising and she has better name recognition than her opponents — except possibly Saldana.
The candidates who finish first and second in the primary will advance to a November runoff — even if the first-place finisher in the primary receives more than 50 percent of the vote.

Campbell, 76, is running on what she calls a long list of impressive accomplishments. She brought San Diego its first comprehensive vacation rental legislation and created a recent compromise on where street vendors can operate.

“I’ve gotten a lot accomplished in my 3 1/2 years,” she said by phone. “I’ve solved a lot of problems.”

In her second term, she says her priorities will be paving the way for dense housing near the sports arena and solving the city’s worsening problem with homelessness.

“We’ve got to get these people off the street and into treatment,” she said.

On complaints about unresponsiveness, Campbell said part of the problem was her staffers working remotely during the pandemic.

“I’m sorry some feel that way,” she said. “We tried to do the best we could.”

Each of Campbell’s opponents has strong support from different constituencies. Havlik has significant support from neighborhood groups, Saldana has support from many nonprofits and Day has support from several Democratic clubs.
Saldana and Day have criticized Havlik’s lack of experience. They have also criticized each other, with both contending the experience they would bring to City Hall would be a better fit.

Havlik, a member of the Peninsula Community Planning Board, said this week that Campbell should be ousted because of her staff’s unresponsiveness and what Havlik calls a lack of transparency.

“A lot of the community doesn’t feel heard and they feel they’ve been lied to,” said Havlik, criticizing Campbell’s vacation rental legislation as too influenced by the industry.

Havlik, 40, is the only one of the four leading candidates who lives on the coast, and she says that should be an issue in the race. Campbell, Saldana and Day all live in Clairemont, which was united in District 2 during the latest round of redistricting.
The city’s redistricting committee dramatically re-shaped District 2 this winter, eliminating Pacific Beach and pulling in eastern Clairemont, which had been part of inland District 6.

“I feel a coastal candidate would be the most viable candidate,” Havlik said. “The coast needs to have a voice.”

Havlik said a coastal resident would focus on maintaining the city’s 30-foot coastal height limit for development, while also fighting proposals for dense housing that would damage the character of beach communities.

Saldana, who served in the state Assembly from 2004 to 2010, has some similar views to Havlik on city housing policies. While she doesn’t formally oppose lifting the 30-foot height limit, she wants the city to ensure infrastructure is in place to support new development.

“This rapid push by developers will just leave us with long-term problems when our infrastructure fails,” she said.

Saldana, 63, said her statehouse experience and long career as a college educator would make her an ideal council member.

“I have a combination of theory, research and hands-on experience that no one else has,” she said. “It’s much broader and deeper.”

She co-authored the state’s Marriage Equality Act and helped guide California through the worst recession since the Great Depression.

Day has criticized her for failing to get much significant legislation passed while in Sacramento. Saldana stresses that she was a Democrat working against a Republican governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Saldana says she would prioritize being transparent and responsive to the community if she is elected. She said the recall against Campbell speaks loudly about how residents view the incumbent.
Day agrees with Saldana that Campbell needs to go, but he says his experience as a former high-level administrator at City Hall makes him the best candidate.

“I know the levers to pull at City Hall to achieve important goals and solve big problems,” said Day, listing vacation rentals and a lack of affordable housing as primary concerns. “No one else in the race has that kind of experience.”

Day, 36, oversaw the city’s volunteer boards and commissions under Mayor Kevin Faulconer, who also tapped Day to help lead the city’s initial response to the pandemic in spring 2020.

He acknowledged that growth concerns raised by Havlik resonate in many District 2 neighborhoods, but he criticized her lack of experience.

“You don’t turn to people who aren’t tested, especially after the community has had such a bad experience with Campbell,” he said.

Day stressed that he would become the only member of the City Council with young children if elected, calling that an important perspective that’s been missing.

A fifth candidate, Republican Linda Lukacs, didn’t respond to interview requests. Lukacs, a dentist and educator, said she will restore confidence and pride in District 2 if elected.

A sixth candidate, landlord Dan Smiechowski, has not participated in election forums and hasn’t raised any money.