Scott Peters and Lori Saldaña want to represent their constituents in the U.S. House of Representatives, and they’re ramping up campaigns to win the hearts and minds of Peninsula residents by starting with Ocean Beach voters. Earlier this month, it was Democrat and La Jolla resident Peters who made his election pitch to the Ocean Beach Planning Board (OBPB). Peters is a former two-term San Diego City Councilman and currently serves as a member of the San Diego Unified Port District Commission. He was allotted 30 minutes at the April 4 monthly meeting of the OBPB. For those who missed that pitch, Peters will appear again tonight, April 19, at the Point Loma/Hervey Branch Library, 3701 Voltaire St., to address the Peninsula Community Planning Board. That meeting gets under way at 6:30 p.m. Next month, it will be Saldaña’s turn to meet with Ocean Beach residents up close and personal as the other prominent Democrat in the race. The former California state assemblywoman will address the OBPB during that board’s next monthly meeting May 2 at 6 p.m. at the Ocean Beach Recreation Center, 4726 Santa Monica Ave. The two hopefuls are among the 10 candidates set to appear on the June 5 primary ballot for the right to advance to the general election in November. If any of the other eight ask for equal time to speak before the PBPB, they will likely be accommodated, said Jane Gawronski, newly installed chairwoman of the OBPB. Because of redistricting, Peninsula citizens no longer live in California’s 53rd Congressional District, where they were represented previously by Democrat Susan Davis. Since redistricting, the Peninsula west of Pacific Highway — except for a tiny square north of Sports Arena Boulevard — now is in District 52. Republican Brian Bilbray is regarded as the incumbent in the 52rd District race, though he represented the 50th District before the maps were redrawn. Peters said he would make infrastructure, education and scientific research three of his top priorities. He said neglecting those investments has placed the middle class at risk. He described himself as a kid from the suburbs of Detroit where his father — a minister — befriended Martin Luther King, Sr. in the late 1960s after the Detroit riots. His parents paid for part of Scott’s college education by borrowing against their home and Peters received funds from financial aid, student loans and a work-study job cleaning pigeon cages, he said. “America gave a middle-class kid like me a chance to get an education and go out and make my career,” said Peters. “That opportunity is being lost. We’re not making those investments we need to make in this country,” he said. “We’re not talking about things like transportation, taking the port and connecting it to the national system of rail, improving bridges and road, rebuilding our power grid or broad band – all the things we invested in the 1950s that made the country competitive,” he said. Peters said investment in scientific research is falling behind countries like China, India and Russia. “(Qualcomm founder) Irwin Jacobs was doing basic science research as a professor at UCSD when he developed the guts of the CDMA cell phone. The next Qualcomm or Google might be developed by a UCSD-educated kid that goes (abroad),” Peters said. He cited sewer improvements, cleaner beaches, finishing Highway 56 and the creation of the Ethics Commission as his top accomplishments during the eight years he served on the City Council. “We did all that by working together, and that’s not happening in Washington,” Peters said. Members of the OBPB had their own opportunities to question Peters during the election pitch. “How are you going to make things happen?” asked OBPB board member Ronson Shamoun. “Partisan politics are as acute as they’ve ever been.” Peters replied, “There’s a mood in this country for people who want to get things done. I would try to be as bipartisan as I could and establish relationships across the aisle. I think I bring a skill set, an orientation and a record.” He said his endorsement over Bilbray by Republican and Point Loma developer Malin Burnham was evidence of his ability to get things done and reach out to other parties and independents. Peters also criticized Bilbray for his unwillingness to support tax increases on the wealthy and “harsh, impractical stands” on immigration. In other OBPB news • In addition to campaigning for Congress, Peters said he also came to warn against a plan favored by the ownership of the Union-Tribune newspaper to build a new stadium for the Chargers on the Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal, which are lands south of the San Diego Convention Center controlled by the Port of San Diego. “I would appreciate it if you would learn more about it … and help us fend that off,” Peters said, even though the Port Commission has rejected the idea and Peters offered no reason why the plan may be gaining traction. After the meeting, outgoing OBPB Chairman Giovanni Ingolia said the board traditionally does not take positions on projects outside its jurisdiction. • As is the case every April following the March elections, board members elected a new slate of officers for one-year terms. They elected Gawronski over Landry Watson by a vote of 6-4 for chair, then selected Watson as vice chair. Other officers are Kelly Taing, secretary; and Barbara Schmidtknecht, treasurer. • Board members also received the following liaison assignments: Tom Gawronski, Ocean Beach Historical Society; Ingolia, Ocean Beach Town Council and Ocean Beach Community Development Corp.; Kelly Taing, Ocean Beach MainStreet Association (OBMA) and OBMA Crime Prevention Committee; Nancy Taylor, Precise Plan Update Subcommittee and Ocean Beach Recreation Council; Scott Therkalsen, Airport Noise Advisory Board; Jane Gawronski, Appeals Subcommittee; Watson, San Diego River Coalition; Shamoun, Media Contact; and Bill Bushe, Mission Bay Park Committee. For more information on local planning groups, visit www.oceanbeachpb.com or www.pcpb.net.