Interim Mayor Todd Gloria’s December Update
Dear Friends,
This time last year, I had just been elected Council President for 2013 by my Council colleagues. It was a tremendous honor, and I was looking forward to advancing policies that would strengthen our neighborhoods and our economy. We began the year with a new mayor who accomplished little, disrupted much, and ultimately became a liability for our City. What occurred in those first nine months, well it’s nothing I could ever have imagined.
When I became Interim Mayor on August 30, it was my intention to accomplish as much as I possibly could in a short period of time. This time of year we all make our holiday lists. Here is a list of my Favorite Things we’ve done since I became Interim Mayor.
—Our new Downtown library, the San Diego Library @ Joan ^ Irwin Jacobs Common, opened after 30 years of planning and dreaming and reflects San Diego’s value of knowledge, technology, literacy, and education.
—The Convention Center expansion was approved which will create 7,000 permanent jobs and have an estimated economic impact of $700 million a year.
—The Workforce Housing Offset was updated increasing the funding stream for affordable housing options.
—I brought forth a project list for a $120 million infrastructure bond that includes $43,460,000 for street resurfacing and additional improvements made to libraries, fire stations, and storm drains. This infrastructure bond will be considered by my Council colleagues next month.
—Border relations were strengthened by regularly scheduled meetings with elected officials from the Baja region as well as City department leaders meeting with their Tijuana counterparts to make our shared region greater.
—The Prevailing Wage Ordinance was approved which is expected to result in safer and better monitored work sites, on-time completion, properly trained apprentices, and fewer construction defects, change orders, and cost overruns.
—A reorganization of City government was approved which will make our City’s operations run more smoothly and efficiently, save time and money, and invest in the development of our employees.
—We unveiled a ground-breaking Climate Action Plan that positions San Diego as a national leader in clean energy and a clean tech economy.
—The City Council approved dispersing $6 million of collected assessments to the San Diego Tourism Marketing District to re-launch marketing efforts to draw visitors to San Diego and create jobs.
—Our City’s lobbyists were re-hired ending a nine-month period where we had no one in Sacramento or Washington, D.C. vying for resources or funding for our City.
I know these accomplishments happened because of the cooperative spirit of my Council colleagues, our City leadership team, the City Attorney, City employees, and all San Diegans. Together, we helped our City get back on its feet and moving in the right direction again. There is more work to be done between now and March when a new mayor takes office, and I promise you I won’t be slowing down anytime soon.
Finally, I hope you’ll be able to join me at the State of the City Address on Jan. 15 at 6p.m. at the Balboa Theatre to celebrate our progress and envision our future.
The year started out naughty and ended up nice. I wish you all a joyful and safe holiday season. As always, thank you for the opportunity to serve.
Respectfully,
Todd Gloria
Interim Mayor
Toyland Parade Correction and Additional Information:
In the 50th Golden Anniversary North Park Toyland Parade spread printed on Nov. 22, 2013 (Vol. 5, Issue 24, pages 12 – 13), the Toyland Parade Queen was incorrectly identified as Lidia Marin, when in fact this year’s Queen is Tava Espinoza.
Tava Halama Espinoza was born and raised in San Diego. Having attended Patrick Henry High School, Tava developed a passion for photography and helping fellow students through the Peer Mediation Program. She currently is a student at San Diego City College, with the goal of earning her Associate Arts Degree in 2016. Tava was an official photographer for the 49th Annual Toyland Parade, and has marched in the parade for the past 10 years with Vernetta’s Dance Studio, which she’s attended since age 6.
Additional Information Regarding the Toyland Parade:
The 50th Golden Anniversary North Park Toyland Parade takes place on Saturday, Dec. 7. The parade runs from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., starting at the intersection of University Ave. and Utah. St. The Toyland Parade Festival, located behind Birch North Park Theatre, runs from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
More information, including the route of the parade, can be found online at toylandparade.com.
120613 Letters
Thank you for the article Laura Fink wrote in the Nov 22 – Dec 5 2013 Uptown News regarding David Alvarez [See “David Alvarez: San Diego’s Jackie Robinson,” Vol. 5 Issue 24]. Her portrayal of Mr. Alvarez as “Rookie of the Year” certainly rings true—I wonder if there has ever been a less experienced major candidate for Mayor of San Diego. And I think that in itself is of significant concern with Mr. Alvarez’s candidacy.
Let’s pretend for a minute that instead of mayor, we are considering applicants for CEO of a large, complex organization, responsible for a multi-million dollar budget and extensive negotiations with various groups and individuals. If Mr. Alvarez’s resume was before us, would any rational person give him serious consideration? It’s nothing personal, he just does not have the experience to be considered for such an important role. It’s almost painful to read Ms. Fink’s article as she struggles to list Mr. Alvarez’s qualifications for being mayor: getting elected to City Council and having some roads paved seemed to be highlights (although I think streets all over the city are being repaved, is this all because of Mr. Alvarez?)
I consider myself a fairly Progressive Democrat—this is not about party or politics. Given the recent problems we’ve had in the mayor’s office, I hope we all look beyond political parties and vote for the person best suited (and experienced) for this important job. The mayor’s office is not a place for on-the-job training. I assume Mr. Alvarez is a good person with many good qualities. He just does not have the experience for this job, at this time.
David Osborne
Normal Heights Resident
[see “Might Aphrodite,” Vol. 5, Issue 24]
[To Charlene Baldridge]
Your intelligent review wowed me as much as did the performance, which made so enormous an impression on me that I dreamt of it that night, and best of all was myself inhabiting the role of Vanda.
I saw Venus in Fur in its second preview, as an usher. Since then, I eagerly looked for reviews, hoping to see this production captured in truth. I have seen at least four other print reviews; a couple good, but none close to your SDUN review. You did it all. They are very lucky to have you.
Sincerely and best thoughts,
Bonnie Bekken
