San Diego City Council candidates Richard Bailey and Nicole Crosby clashed this week over whether the city should control electric power, whether the mayor has too much power and the future of the Ocean Beach Pier.
Read more Hawks? Hawkeyes? Schmitt in probing Smith mistakes basketball mascots
Crosby and Bailey also sparred over federal immigration enforcement, Bailey’s proposal to slash city staffing and the future of the Liberty Station mixed-use development.
Crosby, a Democrat, and Bailey, a longtime Republican turned independent, are battling to replace termed-out Councilmember Jennifer Campbell in District 2, which includes Point Loma, Ocean Beach, Mission Beach, Clairemont and nearby areas.
Bailey said the OB Pier will not get rebuilt without some sort of public-private partnership, suggesting that the $200 million price tag is out of reach for the cash-strapped city.
He said the city could sell revenue bonds from the public-private venture or devote all city tax revenue from short-term vacation rentals to a new pier.
Crosby said she believes the city can secure adequate grants and matching funds to rebuild the pier, vowing to make chasing grants a higher priority at City Hall if she’s elected.
“If we really think about $200 million, it’s not actually that much,” she said. “This money exists; the city just doesn’t go after it.”
Crosby said she supports the city’s plan to take over supplying power to city residents, contending San Diego Gas & Electric and its shareholders should not control something needed for homes to be habitable.
“I absolutely do believe public power should be a very serious concept we are considering,” said Crosby, suggesting customer bills would go down.
Bailey dismissed the idea.
“No one should defend SDG&E and I certainly won’t, but there is only one agency I would trust less to run a utility company — the city of San Diego,” he said. “When you can’t even bill correctly for trash collection, why should voters trust you to run a utility?”
Bailey was referring to a recent scandal in which tens of thousands of city trash customers were over-billed due to a technical glitch.
The candidates also sparred over the strong mayor form of government San Diego has used for the last two decades.
Bailey said the city should revert to having a city manager, contending recent mistakes at City Hall can be blamed in part on the city’s mayor and nine council members having no leadership or management experience before taking office.
“How can they oversee a $2.2 billion organization?” Bailey asked. “We need to bring back professional, competent, accountable leadership.”
Crosby said voters approved the switch to strong mayor and that it’s their decision, but she defended the current system.
“If we look back, there was poor city management (before), too,” she said, referring to the era before the switch to strong mayor.
She also questioned how a city manager could be removed if San Diego switched back.
Read more Military academies won’t give tenure to civilian faculty, Hegseth says
“What are the rules going to be — five City Council members can fire you?” she asked. “Six City Council members can fire you?”
Another hot topic was Bailey’s proposal to shrink city staffing levels to what they were in 2015, a move he says would transform the city’s $100 million structural deficit into an annual $300 million surplus.
Crosby said city expenses were artificially low in 2015 because of the now-invalidated 2012 ballot measure known as Proposition B, which instituted a citywide pay freeze and eliminated pensions for most new hires.
The measure was later overturned by the courts. Unwinding it has cost the city tens of millions of dollars.
“Looking at 2015 in a vacuum is absurd,” said Crosby, contending Bailey’s plan would require reckless cost-cutting and privatization of many city services. “It’s 2026, and things have changed.”
On federal immigration enforcement, Crosby said the city must resist efforts by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement — especially raids and searches without warrants.
“Our police are not here to do the bidding of the federal government,” she said. “If it was that important, they’d provide a warrant, not raid — Gestapo-style — community events. This is bonkers.”
Bailey said he supports federal agents having the power to enforce federal immigration law even in cities, counties and states that refuse to cooperate with them. But he did criticize the Trump administration for being too “heavy-handed” with enforcement.
On Liberty Station and the ongoing legal dispute over its long-term ownership, Crosby said the city should never voluntarily give up control of the area.
Bailey disagreed, suggesting that portions of the development run by the private sector are in better shape than those controlled by the city.
He suggested the city consider giving the current leaseholder an extension long enough for it to fund an aquatics center that nearby residents have sought for years.
“There is a potential win/win here,” Bailey said. “The city of San Diego has an abysmal track record when it comes to managing any properties whatsoever.”
Crosby also proposed during the forum that the city consider turning Montgomery-Gibbs Airport in Kearny Mesa into a large housing development.
“It is almost 500 acres of open space that is right now causing noise pollution and air pollution,” she said.
The forum, held Monday night at the Liberty Station conference center, was sponsored by the Point Loma Association and coordinated by the local chapter of the League of Women Voters.
Read more Head Start preschools serve parents, too. Under Trump, advocates fear that will change
