City Councilman Kevin Faulconer’s active participation in the community was rewarded with a big turnout for his State of the District address on April 5 at the Point Loma Library.
Among the attendees were Mayor Jerry Sanders, Councilmen Tony Young and Ben Hueso, and Police Chief William Lansdowne. Residents and representatives from local organizations filled out the large crowd, which packed into the library’s community room to hear Faulconer’s prognosis and prognostication.
Faulconer’s speech was not as harsh as promised, but it did send a clear message that actions speak louder than words. He appears to have embraced this philosophy during laps around the district to hear out community concerns.
Faulconer touched on three areas that critically need improvements: City Hall’s finances, neighborhood services, and District 2 beaches, bays and parks. He told the audience that his address would be hopeful, but realistic.
“Our streets are in some of the worst condition that I’ve seen since I’ve been here, our park maintenance is badly behind schedule and our emergency response times and the equipment we need to give our police and firefighters is sorely lacking,” he said.
While the mayor is largely responsible for shaping city finance reform, Faulconer dedicated the first part of his address to reviewing changes that have been made or can be expected. He emphasized that the city’s financial rehabilitation is inextricably linked to improvements in District 2.
“We cannot afford the basic services we need as a city unless our city is solvent,” Faulconer said. “I want to be upfront about that right away.”
Many times throughout the address, Faulconer referenced the new strong mayor form of government and Sanders, crediting them with reorganizing the city’s priorities for the better.
Among the new measures to improve fiscal responsibility are transparent and accurate budgeting, especially with regards to overtime pay and the city’s Real Estate Assets Department, Sanders’ coming pension deficit plan and the City Council’s new independent budget analyst.
Faulconer said that tracking expenses on a monthly basis should not be the “the insurmountable task that it currently is,” and he vowed to continue his vigilance of city policies and practices.
“I know that fiscal reform is the principle reason many of you elected me,” he said. “That is first and foremost in my mind.”
Faulconer then transitioned to a subject that has earned him respect among his constituents: neighborhood services. After less than two months in office, Faulconer and his nine-person staff have begun repairs on the crumbling Mission Bay sea wall, held community forums in Ocean Beach and Mission Hills, and reconvened the North Bay Traffic Task Force to address the “worst, most congested intersections in the entire city.”
Through his attendance at community planning board and town council meetings, Faulconer has identified beach parking and crime as topics to pursue further. He is currently working with City Attorney Michael Aguirre to create a community service program for defendants who commit minor crimes in the beach neighborhoods.
Faulconer has also advocated postponing the Pacific Beach Block Party until a neighborhood consensus is reached.
“Residents want the block party to be a true neighborhood festival, not a disruptive nightmare that the community has to endure,” Faulconer said, adding that his office will create a special events committee in the near future.
As the Mission Bay Park Committee’s former chair for five years, Faulconer has taken a strong stance on protecting and preserving District 2’s green spaces. One of his largest priorities is keeping Mission Bay revenue within the park for improvements; currently, millions of dollars are diverted to the city at the expense of park maintenance and facilities.
Additionally, he and Sanders authored a last-minute amendment to downtown’s Community Plan update to sell additional development rights for $90 million after the council discovered a huge deficit of public park funding. Faulconer also reaffirmed plans to create leash-free dog parks in Little Italy, reconstitute the Joint Powers Authority to reinvigorate the North Embarcadero Visionary Plan, work with Public Works to preserve Point Loma’s small canyons during sewer line repairs and ensure that the former Naval Training Center’s planned 46-acre park comes to fruition.
“We’ve already started to make a dent,” Faulconer said of his recent efforts.
Throughout, there was buoyant talk of “turning the ship around,” “turning the corner,” and reaffirming San Diego’s identity as “America’s Finest City.” This outlook seemed to resonate with a crowd of people pleased to have a voice again at the city level.
Faulconer’s quick learning curve and ability to keep his facts straight impressed Donna Alm, vice president of marketing at the Centre City Development Corporation.
“I don’t think I’ve experienced a council member that was quite as active in the district, who seemed to know every problem and had somebody working on it,” she said.