Kevin Faulconer

JONES, FAULCONER TEAM UP ON BILL TO TACKLE HOMELESSNESS

East County News Service

January 28, 2024 (Escondido) -- A diverse group of community leaders including Senator Brian W. Jones (R-Santee), former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, Escondido City Councilmember Joe Garcia, Escondido Union School Board Member Joan Gardner, and Michael Branch, CEO of the East County Transitional Living Center, recently held a press conference at Grape Day Park in Escondido to announce new legislation tackling the homeless crisis.


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NEWSOM WINS BIG: RECALL FAILING BY 2 TO 1 MARGIN

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Gavin Newsom earlier today, via his Twitter feed

September 14, 2021 (San Diego) – Major networks including CNN, CBS and NBC have called California’s gubernatorial recall election, with voters statewide resoundingly rejecting efforts to recall Governor Gavin Newsom. As of 8:30 p.m., the recall is failing by a 67.8% “no” to 32.1% “yes” margin with more than half of all votes tallied.

The recall is losing by wide margins even in conservative counties such as Orange, Riverside, and San Bernadino. In San Diego County, early results show 60.63% voted against recalling Newsom, with 39.37% in favor of the ouster effort.


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WITHOUT BEAR OR REALITY TV, SAN DIEGO'S KEVIN FAULCONER RUNS A SERIOUS CAMPAIGN FOR GOVERNOR

By Ben Christopher, CalMatters

CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters

Photo:  Kevin Faulconer after an election victory in 2016. Photo by Chris Stone

June 20, 2021 (San Diego) - Kevin Faulconer is not the guy with the bear. 

You’re thinking of John Cox, the mild-mannered Republican and unsuccessful 2018 gubernatorial candidate who spent much of May palling around the state with a 1,000-pound Kodiak named Tag, hoping to siphon off some of the bear’s star power in his effort to unseat Gov. Gavin Newsom in the all-but-certain recall election that could be as soon as September.  

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REV. SHANE PROTESTS CUTS TO LIBRARY FUNDING DURING COVID ERA ON BIRTHDAY OF MALCOLM X

By Miriam Raftery

Photo by Brian Goodin: Rev. Shane Harris, outside Malcolm X Library, speaks out to protect library funding

May 23, 2020 (San Diego) – Civil rights leader Rev. Shane Harris with the People’s Alliance for Justice held a press conference to protest library budget cuts at the Malcolm X Library in San Diego on May 20th, birthday of the slain human rights leader for whom the library is named.


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HEAR OUR INTERVIEW: ESTELA DE LOS RIOS SPEAKS OUT ON HOMELESSNESS IN SAN DIEGO REGION

 

 

By Miriam Raftery

Hear our interview, originally aired on KNSJ 89.1 FM radio in January,  by clicking the audio link, and scroll down for highlights of how Esetela de los Rios believes  our region’s homeless problems could and should be solved .

February 18, 2017 (San Diego)—Estela de los Rios with CSA, a fair housing and human rights organization in El Cajon since 1969, is calling for  a change in how the homeless are treated in the city of San Diego and across San Diego County.  San Diego now has the fourth highest number of homeless people in the nation according to the federal Housing and Urban Development (HUD) agency statistics.  Yet instead of providing meaningful help to homeless people, San Diego has often resorted to criminalizing homelessness—passing out citations for sleeping in public places and having police seize tents and sleeping bags even amid cold winter storms.

Homeless has affected every city in San Diego County,  including East County cities of El Cajon, La Mesa, Lemon Grove and Santee, as well as unincorporated areas of the County. As San Diego cracks down on homelessness, more homeless people have resorted to camping along river banks,  in parks and on the streets of communities in East County, where homelessness is a problem for every city.

Audio: 

Estela de los Rios on homelessness

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PETITION LAUNCHED TO SAVE EAST COUNTY LAKES--AND PROTECT LIVES DURING WILDFIRES

 

By Miriam Raftery

July 26, 2016 (Lake Morena) – An online petition has been launched asking the City of San Diego to stop draining Lake Morena and Barrett Lake. Rural residents seek help from San Diego residents and all who are concerned about wildlife or the prospect of a devastating firestorm to sign the petition.

The petition, posted by Campo resident Karen Noblitt-McIntyre, accuses San Diego officials of ignoring public safety, noting that two residents died during the recent Border Fire. Firefighting aircraft were diverted to water sources farther away due to lack of water in these lakes, witnesses stated in recent public meetings.

The petition states that the city has put wildlife and rural communities at risk, also failing to live up to its promise to repair the dam at Lake Morena. The city drained Lake Morena to less than 3% of capacity and Barrett Lake to below 6% of capacity, public records indicate.  Although San Diego claimed it needed drinking water during the drought, the city did not ask its residents to conserve water before draining East County’s lakes.  The water was pumped to Otay reservoir, which overfilled when rain fell, so the city dumped the precious water supply into the ocean.


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IBEW POLITICAL DIRECTOR WILL RUN FOR SAN DIEGO MAYOR

 

By Chris Jennewein

Reprinted with permission from Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Association (SDONA)

October 26, 2015 (San Diego)--Gretchen Newsom, an Ocean Beach community leader and political director of IBEW Local 569, announced Saturday that she will run for mayor of San Diego next year.


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FOLLOWING WORLDWIDE CLIMATE CHANGE MARCH, SAN DIEGO COUNCIL CALLS ON MAYOR TO ISSUE CLIMATE ACTION PLAN

 

 

By Miriam Raftery

September 22, 2014 (San Diego) – On Sunday, a global climate march drew a half million people worldwide at over 150 locations, all calling for action to stop climate change. The march drew over 400,000 in New York City and an estimated 1,000 to 2,000 in San Diego.  

Today, San Diego’s City Council voted 5 to 3 in favor of a resolution asking Mayor Kevin Faulconer to issue a climate change plan.

The vote split the council down party lines, with all Democrats voting in favor and Republicans voting against.


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SAN DIEGO CITY COUNCIL APPROVES ZONING FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES

 

February 28, 2014 (San Diego)--By an 8 to 1 vote, the San Diego City Council has voted to create new zoning laws allowing up to 30 medical marijuana dispensaries within the city limits – up to four in  each council district.


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NEW SAN DIEGO POLICE CHIEF NAMED

 

Photo courtesy ECM news partner 10 News

February 27, 2014 (San Diego) – San Diego Police Department will soon be headed up by its first female Chief.  Assistant Chief Shelley Zimmerman will replace retiring Chief William Lansdowne, who steps down March 3.  Lansdowne leaves office following a series of scandals including allegations of sexual misconduct by officers, so the choice of a woman to head up the department can be viewed as sending a strong signal that the city is serious about cleaning up the department's tarnished image.

Zimmerman has the support of Mayor-Elect Kevin Faulconer as well as the San Diego Police Officers Association.


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FAULCONER ELECTED NEXT SAN DIEGO MAYOR

 

By Nadin Abbott; Miriam Raftery also contributed to this report

February 12, 2014 (San Diego) Republican Councilmember Kevin Faulconer was elected as the next San Diego City Mayor in the special election by a substantial margin. The Registrar of Voters final tally has Kevin Faulconer with 12,7296 votes, translating to 54.53% of the vote, and David Alvarez with 11,4478 votes, translating to 45.47%.

Faulconer’s election opens a vacancy on the Council—and an opportunity for Democrats to pick up a consolation prize. The Democratic-controlled Council will name Faulconer’s replacement, which is expected to give Democrats enough votes to override a mayoral veto.  Still with San Diego’s strong mayor form of government, Faulconer will have many options for implementing his policies without Council approval.


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OBAMA ENDORSES ALVAREZ FOR MAYOR; SAN DIEGANS HEAD TO POLLS TUESDAY

 

 

By Miriam Raftery

San Diegans head to the polls on Tuesday to elect the city’s next mayor.   Councilmembers David Alvarez and Kevin Faulconer are vying for the spot.  The race is a classic matchup pitting interests of working people vs. big business.  Urban poor and minorities vs. wealthy powerbrokers   Boosting budgets to help those in need vs. belt tightening and fiscal restraint.

As the election draws near, some high-profile endorsements have been announced.  Today, President Barack Obama weighed in on San Diego’s mayoral race, throwing his support behind Alvarez.


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SAN DIEGO MAYORAL CANDIDATES AGREE TO SIX DEBATES AHEAD OF FEBRUARY ELECTION

 

November 28, 2013 (San Diego) – Mayoral candidates and San Diego City Councilmembers David Alvarez and Kevin Faulconer announced a scheduling agreement for debates in the special runoff election campaign.

The agreement came after more than 30 debates and forums were scheduled in the eight-week primary election ending November 19, 2013. The top two finishers said they’ve agreed to participate in six debates to be held after the New Year.


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FAULCONER ON TOP IN MAYORAL RACE; ALVAREZ EDGES AHEAD OF FLETCHER

 

Update November 20, 2013:  With 100% of precincts counted but over 34,000 mail-in ballots remaining to be counted, the tally stands at Faulconer 43.58%, Alvarez 25.59%, Fletcher 24.3%, Aguirre 4.44%. Of seven lesser known candidates in the race, none attained more than a half percent. A run-off election will be held early next year between the top two.

By Miriam Raftery

November 19, 2013 (San Diego) – The San Diego Mayoral race appears destined for a run-off election, since no candidate has captured more than 50% of the votes needed to win outright. 

With 86.9% of precincts counted, Kevin Faulconer, the only Republican in the race, leads with 43.84%. 

Of three prominent Democrats in the race, former Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher had the early lead, up by 2% for most of the evening thanks to absentee ballots. But late tonight, as working class districts polling results came in, Councilman David Alvarez, the Democratic Party's endorsed candidate, has movedahead slightly of Fletcher slightly with 25.19% of the vote to Fletcher's 24.39%.


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BEWARE OF CALLS URGING VOTERS TO GO TO POLLS ON WRONG DATE FOR MAYORAL ELECTION

 

By Miriam Raftery

November 18, 2013 (San Diego ) – East County Magazine photographer Tom Abbott has informed ECM that he received an automated phone call this morning urging him to exercise his right to vote – on November 20, one day AFTER the San Diego mayoral election.

Abbott said he tried to dial *69 to redial the number and learn where it came from, but before he could do so, another call came in. 

There is no evidence--yet--to reveal which candidate or independent expenditure group is behind the deceptive (and illegal) call.  Both Abbott and his wife are registered independents, so the motive apparently isn't partisan. But one is a union member and other is a naturalized citizen of Latino descent, raising the possibility that union members or minorities could be targets of an organized effort to suppress the vote.


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THREE MAYORAL CANDIDATES CLASH IN KNSJ DEBATE

 

Faulconer, Alvarez surprisingly similar on issues; Aguirre drops bombs

By Mark Gabrish Conlan • for East County Magazine, www.eastcountymagazine.org

 

November 13, 2013 (San Diego)--Three of the four so-called “major” candidates for mayor of San Diego in the November 19 special election — Republican Kevin Faulconer and Democrats David Alvarez and Mike Aguirre — debated November 11 at California Western School of Law in an event co-sponsored by the school and KNSJ 89.1 FM Descanso, San Diego County’s new community radio station. The fourth “major” candidate, Republican-turned-independent-turned-Democrat Nathan Fletcher, did not appear.

Surprisingly, given how most of the local media outlets have scripted their coverage of the race — Faulconer the center-Right Republican, Alvarez the progressive Democrat and Fletcher the man in the middle — Faulconer and Alvarez, colleagues on the current San Diego City Council, agreed on as many issues as they disagreed. It was Aguirre, running a distant fourth in most polls, who challenged the other two candidates and confronted many issues that both Faulconer and Alvarez did their best to duck.


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ECM’S NONPARTISAN GUIDE TO SAN DIEGO MAYORAL CANDIDATES

 

 

By Nadin Abbott

October 31, 2013 (San Diego) With the mayoral race moving to high gear and early voting starting, ECM has compiled information on the leading candidates in the special election San Diego Mayor, filling the vacancy left by Bob Filner’s resignation. We include highlights of their announced agendas and endorsements.


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LORI SALDAÑA DROPS MAYORAL BID, ENDORSES COUNCILMAN ALVAREZ: FIRST MAYORAL DEBATE SET FOR FRIDAY

By Miriam Raftery

September 19, 2013 (San Diego) – After filing papers to run for Mayor,  former Democratic Assemblywoman Lori Saldaña yesterday announced she will not run and instead has endorsed Councilman David Alvarez. 

“David has a strong record of supporting neighborhoods and protecting the environment,” said Saldaña, who believes he is the best choice because of his “commitment to standing up for our communities.” Alvarez represents South San Diego and the Barrio Logan area.  Alvarez has also been endorsed by the Sa n Diego-Imperial Counties Labor Council. 

Today, former Councilmember Donna Frye also endorsed Alvarez, stating, "David understands that people deserve to be treated with courtesy and respect and be provided an opportunity to have their issues heard in public, before (not after) decisions are made."

The first mayoral debate among prominent candidates is set for 3:15 Friday at the Westin Gaslamp Quarter Hotel, sponsored by the Asian Business Association.  Democrat Nathan Fletcher, a former Republican, declined to participate. However Democrats Alvarez and Mike Aguirre, the former city attorney, will participate along with Republican Councilman Kevin Faulconer.


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THE RACE FOR SAN DIEGO MAYOR HEATS UP

 

 

 

By Nadin Abbott

September 5, 2013 (San Diego)—The special election set for November 19 to replace Bob Filner, who resigned August 30, is starting to shape up.  To date, 21 people have thrown their hat in the ring. But thus far, only three candidates  have strong name recognition.

The first, and no surprise to any observer of San Diego politics, is former Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher who previously ran for Mayor against Filner. The second is Second District Councilmember Kevin Faulconer. The third is former City Attorney Mike Aguirre, recently recently has represented consumer groups fighting utility companies and big businesses.


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SAN DIEGO CITY COUNCIL UNANIMOUSLY DENIES QUAIL BRUSH POWER PLANT

By Nadin Abbott

September 24, 2012 (San Diego)--The mood was tense as people from multiple walks of life and political views filed into San Diego City Chambers. Among them was Republican Santee Councilman Jack Dale and Democrat David Secor, candidate for U.S. Congress for the 50th district. Both Dale and Secor came to oppose the Quail Brush gas-fired power plant.

So did Massada Disenhouse, activist for the Sierra Club and Martha Sullivan, a former California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) employee, and many others.


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DANON SEEKS TO SHAKE UP A STAGNANT BOARD OF SUPERVISORS

 

By E.A. Barrera

May 23, 2012 (San Diego) -- Steve Danon has been active in Republican politics since his days as College Republican president at San Diego State University. He has worked for Republicans ranging from Supervisors Dianne Jacob and Ron Roberts to Congressman Brian Bilbray.

He is one of a new generation of youthful conservative leaders emerging in San Diego that include Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher and City Councilman Kevin Faulconer (both of whom have endorsed Danon).


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