A recent guest speaker for the Coronado Optimist Club was Scott Peters, the U.S. Congressional Representative for the 52nd District. The 50th District of CA includes San Marcos, Escondido, the coastal communities of San Diego, and Coronado.
Representative Peters has many years of service (since 2000) to the San Diego Community as a City Councilman and US Representative. As a U.S. Congressman, Scott works hard on a bipartisan basis to focus on four major pillars of commerce important to San Diego.
US Military: The military supplies up to 25% of all jobs in San Diego. Recent projects that Scott has supported include the building of the SEAL training facility on the strand, upgrades to Miramar MCAS, and the building of many more berths for US vessels in San Diego Harbor.
Tourism: Recent projects include the expansion of the airport to include an upgraded Terminal 1. That project was approved by the city in 2006. The new Terminal and associated infrastructure will open officially in September 2025.
The Mexico/US Border: Before the expansion and upgrade of the US Border Station, wait times to cross the border could be as much as 4 hours. This had a serious negative impact on commerce in the San Diego area. The upgrade not only facilitates commerce but also provides much-improved border crossing security to restrict the illegal movement of guns, people, and drugs.
Scientific Community: Pete Wilson (ex-Mayor of San Diego) dedicated a lot of land in and around Sorrento Valley to develop and attract significant investment by the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. Today, there are 1000 biotech companies in San Diego doing research and development on a whole range of treatments for diseases and conditions that were unthinkable 20 years ago. In 2023, the companies in the area received over $3.0 billion in grants from the NIH to conduct research.
Three challenges that Representative Peters sees going forward in the current administration.
Cuts to Medicaid: Although California is the 5th least dependent state on Federal Medicaid funding, 21% of San Diegans depend on Medicaid for their health care.
Cuts to scientific spending on research.
The TJ sewage problem at the border. Scott noted that $600 million has been allocated to repair and expand the US facility, which will help mitigate the problem. He also noted that President Trump has taken a personal interest in the project and the problem, which Representative Peters views as a positive thing.
VOL. 115, NO. 34 – Aug. 20, 2025