Some would say Ed Harris is crazy to run for mayor against popular incumbent Kevin Faulconer given the crowded candidate field.
But that’s just what the lifeguard turned legislator, now lifeguard again, wants to hear.
“They told me in 2009 I would never be able to unite the lifeguards into their own union,” said Harris, who now represents his colleagues as a union rep with the city. “I’ve been told my whole life that you can’t do it — it won’t work. I was a Marine. I don’t really buy into that. If you have the ability to fix things or help people and you don’t, then you’re failing to live your own life.”
Harris has tossed his hat into the ring joining a field of eight mayoral candidates because he feels he has a unique perspective on what needs to be done to make things right at City Hall.
“I tried to stay out of (the race),” admitted the lifeguard veteran, who served a nine-month stint as City Councilman for District 2, representing the beaches. “I saw where the money goes — and the reasons why we don’t have enough for police officers and firefighters and library staff, et cetera.”
Said Harris, “If you want to fix the city of San Diego, you’ve got to start building the foundation from the bottom up. You don’t hire guys who want to go to Washington or Sacramento. You have to have someone that is committed (locally).”
The other candidates include nurse practitioner Gita Appelbaum; retired military man Marty Gardner; real estate investor Steven Greenwald; restaurateur Sina Simon Moghadam; socioeconomist Gregory Morales; community college instructor Lori Saldaña; and businessman Lawrence Zynda.
A major priority for Harris is addressing the current severe shortage of first responders. Pointing out that the current shortage of police and firemen is well documented, Harris said the situation with lifeguards is even worse.
“Forty percent of lifeguards serving will be leaving in the next five years, and most of the people leaving the (most experienced) boat safety unit will be leaving in the next 18 to 36 months: That’s crippling,” he said, noting, “It take eight years to make a boating safety officer.”
Harris was the odd man out during negotiations between the city and operators of Belmont Park, which the city approved with the mayor’s consent. Harris felt that was a raw deal for the taxpayers.
“They (city) orchestrated a deal that gave close to $70 million in taxpayer subsidies to Belmont over the life of the lease,” he said. “You have to make sure you’re getting fair market value. A very good deal for the city doesn’t mean the taxpayers get fleeced over it.”
Concerning ongoing negotiations between the city and the Chargers on a new stadium, Harris said, “I don’t think San Diego can handle another giveaway on the magnitude of what we’ve seen in the past. The Chargers are playing chess, and the city is playing checkers. We (city) don’t represent the developers. We represent the taxpayers. We’re not responsible for the developers making a profit. We provide our land. We need to get fair market value for it. It’s black and white.”
It’s Harris’s view that “Politics start in your backyard.”
He takes issue with a current proposal by developers to put in 63 condos where Mission Bay Elementary School used to be.
“When the project was sold and supported by (then Councilman) Faulconer, it had a park in the center of it,” Harris said. “But now they’re maximizing units on the property, and they did away with the park in the middle in favor of a linear park along Mission Boulevard. This is not a park but a green-space setback. And you don’t want kids playing next to a busy street.”
Harris has come a long way during his more than a quarter century of public service.
“I was a kid coming out of the Marine Corps jogging on the beach when I saw a flyer for lifeguards, and that led to a 27-year career that I’m extraordinarily grateful for to the city of San Diego,” he said. “The least I can do is give back to the city.”