There are five challengers – Daniel Smiechowski, Lori Saldaña, Mandy Havlik, Dr. Joel Day, and Dr. Linda Lukacs – seeking to unseat incumbent Dr. Jennifer Campbell in this year’s District 2 City Council race.
All six candidates filed nomination papers by the March 10 deadline. The City Clerk’s office must now verify, by April 10, that all of the candidates have gathered at least 120 signatures of people who are qualified to vote in District 2. The primary election is Tuesday, June 7. The general election is Tuesday, Nov. 8.
The Peninsula Beacon asked each candidate to submit bios as well as answer these three questions: Why are you running? What are the major issues? Why are you the best candidate?
DANIEL SMIECHOWSKI
Smiechowski was born on Christmas Eve 1953 to an Italian mother born in France and a Polish father. His mother lived on the shores of Normandy during D-Day 1944 where she met his father, a WWII veteran. Smiechowski has been both a private- and public-school teacher, a real estate salesperson, landlord, movie extra, model, lifeguard, and caregiver. He became an Ironman triathlete in 1983. Smiechowski graduated from SDSU with a degree in French and linguistics and also holds degrees in real estate and sociology. He has served as Clairemont Town Council’s public safety chairperson. He has spent many years on the Clairemont Community Planning Group.
WHY I AM RUNNING
Four years ago I ran for this same seat and warned you of the consequences of electing disingenuous, untruthful candidates. This in part is why I am running again, in order to instill independent and honest governance. The Ash Street fiasco, the vendor ordinance, so-called granny flats, scooters, and short-term vacation rentals must be addressed in truth by conscientious honesty. I will not tell you what you want to hear. I will tell you what you ought to hear. There is no question that I am the most diverse candidate to ever run for San Diego City Council.
MAJOR ELECTION ISSUES
There exist a host of major issues in this election including private property rights, so-called granny flats, out-of-control rogue scooters, public safety, regulating vendors, a new Ocean Beach Pier, undue taxation, fixing Third World streets and infrastructure, a bleeding liability fund, childcare, senior centers plus my unique proposal for a children’s advisory group to the City Council. Measure E, which will ultimately come to fruition, has my strongest support. Let’s redevelop the Midway area and bring back the NBA, and even NHL to San Diego.
WHY I’M THE BEST CANDIDATE
I have open communication with my district and a community voting record on affordable housing, parks and recreation, zoning and setbacks, contractor compliance, SANDAG, and eliminating all scooters ‘now.’ The desire of my constituents is my heartfelt and moral responsibility. But fundamentally, it’s all about the preceding discourse in character traits, which define me as a candidate.
DR. LINDA LUKACS
I have lived in San Diego County for approximately 27 years, having relocated here from a suburb of Cleveland. I’ve been privileged to live in both our coastal communities and inland communities. I have resided in PB, UTC, Mt. Helix, and now OB. I bring a comprehensive skill set that includes careers in healthcare, academics, and entrepreneurship. I am a dentist, registered nurse, Realtor, educator, and businesswoman. I’ve held numerous leadership positions. I am proud to be respected as a problem solver, one who is not afraid to tackle critical issues, and someone who works hard to get results.
WHY I AM RUNNING
Sadly, despite all of its wonderful attributes, our communities continue to suffer a myriad of significant and concerning challenges. Together we must find practical and effective solutions for the benefit of our families, our businesses, our neighborhoods, and our future.
I feel a strong responsibility to help, to make a difference, to take an active part in working towards solutions that can and will make a real and positive difference. I appreciate how daunting this task is. However, it is imperative that we address critical issues with realistic and responsible, long-term strategic planning.
MAJOR ELECTION ISSUES
Most often noted as critical challenges and concerns in our communities are the homelessness crisis, declining public safety, and failing infrastructure. The homelessness crisis is a tragic, complex, and multifactorial problem. Our current strategy is not working. I support programs that address the root causes of the problem.
Our law enforcement agencies are in trouble. We are losing officers at an alarming rate. Declining public safety puts us all at risk. Things must, should, and can be made better. I fully support our law enforcement agencies and programs that aid in upholding the law, keeping us safe, enhancing working conditions, and providing equitable compensation.
Our infrastructure is failing. Our roads are crumbling, water mains are rupturing, our electrical grid is stressed and antiquated, and our cliffs are dangerously eroding. We can’t get away with Band-Aid repairs any longer. It’s time that we start replacing, modernizing, and expanding our infrastructure.
WHY I AM THE BEST CANDIDATE
I bring a comprehensive skill set to the San Diego government with broad experience in healthcare, academics, and business. I hold professional licenses in dentistry, nursing, and real estate. Additionally, I am a professor, lecturer, and business owner. I am a proven leader having held many positions in organized dentistry.
I am committed to being present and visible in our district and listening to residents and business owners. I support actions that are fiscally responsible, environmentally sensible, that support the common good, and enhance the quality of life for all of District 2.
MANDY HAVLIK
A resident of Point Loma, Havlik is an ardent advocate and defender of the coastal region and has been involved in community issues since arriving in 2009 with her husband, Cameron, then a senior Naval officer and now a Navy civilian employee. An Arizona native, she sacrificed her career to become a military spouse. She is the mother of two elementary school-age children.
She is well known as an elected member of the Peninsula Community Planning Board, founding member of Kate’s Trees, member of Sunset Cliffs Natural Park Council, and Save Famosa Canyon, Ocean Beach Elementary School volunteer, Rotarian, and community advocate before the Ocean Beach Planning Board, and Ocean Beach Town Council.
WHY I AM RUNNING
Havlik has a different perspective on what a City Council member should be doing. It is why she is running for office and what makes her stand out in a crowded field. Havlik brings an extraordinary amount of diversity to a much-changed district after the drawing of new maps.
I am going to bring the community back to City Hall. I will only answer to the community. This is one of the most important City Council races in the history of District 2 and will provide a forum to present community concerns on a lack of parks, dangerous streets and intersections, political establishment inaction on short-term vacation rentals, restoration of the Ocean Beach Pier, and the slow progress in addressing the homeless situation.
MAJOR ELECTION ISSUES
Issues plaguing our district are the status of the single-family home due to lot splits and backyard apartments, short-term vacation rentals that give priority to tourists over resident families, and the failure to provide adequate public services. We have a known community park deficit on the Peninsula. Why are all of our open spaces being stolen for the benefit of developers?
Ordinances are being passed without any way to enforce them. Winter storms ravage the aging Ocean Beach Pier each year, yet the City does little to find a solution. I, along with a majority of District 2 voters, opposed Measure E, which would have erased the 30-foot coastal height limit in Midway. The Midway area can be revitalized and can address some of our community park deficit, without removing the 30-foot coastal height limit. We need more trees planted in all of our public spaces and right-of-way easements.
WHY I AM THE BEST CANDIDATE
Havlik is uniquely suited and qualified to provide much-needed community-based leadership to the City Council because she isn’t betrothed to special interests or corporations. Havlik will bring much-needed transparency, inclusion, and accountability back to City Hall.
We can protect our coastal quality of life from the threat of Manhattan-style density. Let’s partner with community groups instead of corporations. I am concerned about the plans that City Hall and other special interests groups have for our community. I have a proven track record for reaching out to neighbors, listening to the community, and coming up with practical solutions that help improve our neighborhoods. Feel free to contact me. I will call you back. My website is mandyhavlik.com. I can be reached at [email protected] or 619-535-9411.
DR. JOEL DAY
Having earned his master’s degree from University of San Diego, and a Ph.D. in international politics and comparative government from University of Denver, Day has established himself as a leader and educator. He is a professor of public policy at UC San Diego, teaching international best practices of governance, and providing a foundation upon which to solve San Diego’s most pressing challenges like homelessness, housing affordability, and climate change.
Day’s experience as a department director for the City means he knows exactly which levers of city government must be pulled to get results. At City Hall, he managed community engagement, public safety operations, and led policy changes on police oversight. Day’s roots in District 2 run deep. His grandfather ended his service in the Navy here in San Diego after WWII, working on farms from the border to Bakersfield. Day met his wife, Lauren, in college at Point Loma Nazarene University. Along with their two sons, Bobby and Wesley, the family calls Clairemont home.
WHY I AM RUNNING
To create a sustainable and quality city for my kids. My boys are fourth-generation District 2 residents, and I want them to have a safe, strong city they can afford to call home. San Diego has so much promise, but we are continually battling a controlling set of insider interests and officials that don’t deliver for their communities. Economic inequality continues to fall most heavily on the most vulnerable in our community. We know that there are solutions to San Diego’s intractable problems, and yet our elected officials have failed to provide them. To be a city that works for working families, we need fresh, knowledgeable leadership, and a representative that has lived the struggles our families face.
MAJOR ELECTION ISSUES
Speculators are pushing families out of their neighborhoods, the cost of energy is skyrocketing, and crime is rising. The city plays whack-a-mole with homelessness instead of offering real solutions. For so many families, the wolf is at the door and the city is nowhere to be found. We must prioritize making our housing more affordable, ending homelessness, investing in public safety, and increasing working families’ quality of life. We also have to make critical investments in infrastructure and energy to lower our greenhouse gas emissions and aggressively confront the climate emergency. Without these structural changes, San Diego will continue with a reactive policy that is always behind the needs of our most vulnerable communities.
WHY I’M THE BEST CANDIDATE
My father went to prison for 25 years when I was 6 years old. My sister and I grew up in a household of serious economic, addiction, and mental health challenges. But we had a lifeline at our public library – where I learned to read and which set me on a path to be the first in my family to graduate from college.
We have to get back to investing in the basics that make our city a place of opportunity, grounded in the public promise of neighborhood infrastructure, community parks, and libraries. I’m running to make sure that every individual, family, and neighborhood gets the same opportunity.
In 2020, I served as a department director and led the city response (to COVID) focusing on providing our vulnerable neighbors with healthcare, getting folks off the streets and into the shelter, protecting critical city infrastructure, and extending support for struggling families. I also advised the city on international affairs and combating domestic terrorism, and spearheaded the “WelcomingSD” initiative to support immigrants and refugees. I have the knowledge, experience, and drive to serve the people of District 2, and make a city that works for working families, not special interests.
LORI SALDAÑA
Saldaña is a lifetime San Diegan who served as an assembly member and state constitutional officer as speaker pro tempore in the California Legislature. She presided over assembly floor sessions and was chair of the Legislative Women’s Caucus. She chaired the Housing and Community Development Committee and was a member of Elections and Redistricting, Rules, Veterans Affairs, Judiciary, and the Water, Parks and Wildlife Committees and was appointed to the Assembly Ethics Committee, to investigate complaints within the legislature.
Saldaña authored bills on gun safety (to end “Open Carry” in California), hate crimes, climate change, energy efficiency, and environmental protection. Saldaña and her sisters were the first in their family to graduate college. Her father, Frank Saldaña, was a career Marine and journalist who retired from the San Diego Evening Tribune. Her mother, Virginia Saldaña, had an early career in banking, before focusing on raising four daughters.
WHY I AM RUNNING
To provide support to San Diegans in challenging times, using the skills and relationships developed as a state legislator, teacher/technology educator, environmental policy researcher, business partner, mayoral and presidential appointee, and lifelong San Diegan to provide solutions to challenging problems.
To work with colleagues in City Hall, and at the state and federal level, to protect the environment, address climate change, build more housing, reduce homelessness, support local businesses, expand public transit, improve public safety, and manage the city’s finances and investments based on best practices and proven results.
MAJOR ELECTION ISSUES
Housing and homelessness: San Diego must secure more financing to build supportive homes for older/disabled adults, low-income families, and veterans, and provide people experiencing homelessness with transitional and affordable housing. COVID recovery: Support residents as we adjust to, and recover from, COVID and prepare the city for future epidemics.
City workforce: Ensure sufficient staffing to meet needs in all city departments, and rely less upon outside contracting. Climate change and clean energy: Implement the Climate Action Plan, reduce utility costs, and adjust to climate changes affecting the city’s infrastructure and natural areas.
WHY I’M THE BEST CANDIDATE
I represented nearly 500,000 constituents, including all of District 2, while serving as a state assembly member, and will apply this advocacy, public policy experience, and personal knowledge to my City Council work.
As a lifetime District 2 resident, teacher and researcher, and a mayoral and presidential appointee, I will bring a lifetime of lived experience, research, advocacy, and legislative work to support constituents and address issues that impact their lives. I’m the only candidate who has already represented this entire district and provided constituent services to give residents the support they need for their businesses, schools, and non-profits to operate effectively.
As concerns over violent crime increase, I have experience working with city, county, and state levels of law enforcement on public safety issues, including authoring a bill to end the open carry of handguns, reducing hate-motivated violent crimes, auditing deaths in custody, and testing ‘all’ sexual assault evidence kits.
DR. JENNIFER CAMPBELL
Incumbent District 2 Councilmember Campbell previously practiced medicine and delivered healthcare for nearly four decades as a family doctor caring for thousands of patients while also teaching medical students and residents. She put her unique experience to work for San Diego during the coronavirus pandemic, moving quickly to enact emergency public health orders, encouraging masks and social distancing, and taking action to stop illegal super-spreader events.
She fought to earn her spot at the University of Pittsburgh Medical School in the 1970s when few women were admitted to study medicine. Through much of medical school, Campbell was a single mom. And, like many LGBTQ Americans, Campbell faced down her fair share of discrimination and adversity. Campbell lives in the Bay Ho neighborhood of Clairemont. She and her partner Suzanne are proud parents of six adult children and nine grandchildren.
WHY I AM RUNNING
Campbell knows firsthand if we want to build a better future, we’ve got to fight for it. And on the City Council, she has. Tackling the homelessness epidemic, Campbell expanded permanent housing of the homeless via the Shelter to Home program, the Family Reunification Program, and the Safe Parking Program.
She is a leader on climate action, leading the creation of the San Diego Community Power group of cities in 2019, moving San Diego to 100% clean energy by 2035, preserving more wetlands on Mission Bay, and cutting the use of pesticides and herbicides in city parks. And Campbell stepped up to lead on regulating short-term rentals when no one else would, forging the landmark compromise to reduce whole-home short-term rentals by half and paving the way for common-sense enforcement to crack down on nuisance properties.
MAJOR ELECTION ISSUES
COVID response: Passed emergency rental relief for residential and small business owners; passed eviction moratorium to help keep working families and small businesses afloat; spoke out strongly against super-spreader events not following public health guidelines to wear masks and social distance during the summer surge.
Affordable housing and homelessness: Adopted the community action plan on homelessness with 3- and 10-year goals to reduce homelessness in San Diego; increased outreach services to help more homeless get off the street and into treatment and housing; joined with the Midway Community Planning Group to revitalize and clean up the Sports Arena area, adding housing, parks, restaurants, and new jobs; and supported the creation of over 1,000 new affordable residential units.
Environment: As chair of the City’s Environment Committee for two years, helped create San Diego Community Power, the city’s community-focused clean energy alternative to profit-driven utility companies; moved San Diego closer to 100% renewable energy by 2035; passed the resolution declaring a climate emergency, sounding the alarm in this global climate crisis and doubling down on achieving San Diego’s Climate Action Plan goals.
WHY I’M THE BEST CANDIDATE
Campbell pledged to get things done on the issues that really matter to us – COVID, tackling the homelessness crisis, protecting the environment – and she’s delivering. Standing up for what’s right. Relying on science. Tackling our community’s challenges – homelessness, housing, climate. Those are the values that motivate Campbell every day.