What a difference two months makes.

Back in March, Chula Vista Mayor John McCann, the Republican leader of San Diego County’s second largest city, appeared headed toward re-election unopposed.

Then Democrats spotted an opening. They think McCann is beatable this year because of two top-of-mind issues for voters: immigration and the gap between rich and poor.

But it’s an open question whether Democrats can turn this local race into a referendum on national hot-button issues, writes our Jim Hinch. 

McCann has won six back-to-back elections in Chula Vista since entering politics and has presided over a period of economic growth and fiscal stability.

Opponents are distorting his record on immigration, he said, and ignoring results he’s achieved for Chula Vistans of all income levels —  including affordable home ownership opportunities, falling crime rates and a recent 25 percent drop in unsheltered homelessness.

Read the full story here.

Chula Vista Police Chief Sues Her Own City

If Chula Vista’s rough-and-tumble mayor’s race isn’t enough, here’s more evidence South County politics is a full-contact sport.

Chula Vista Police Chief Roxana Kennedy filed a lawsuit accusing the city manager and four Democratic city councilmembers of harassment, discrimination and retaliation following a monthslong standoff over Kennedy’s employment status.

Kennedy, who has been on medical leave since January, alleges in the suit that City Manager Tiffany Allen and the four Democrats conspired to oust her in an effort to replace her with someone younger and Latino.

Kennedy made similar allegations in multiple claims she filed against the city in March.

In Kennedy’s absence, Assistant Chief of Police Dan Peak has been running the department.

“The City of Chula Vista categorically denies the allegations and will vigorously defend against them in court,” a city spokesperson said in a statement. “The city is confident the truth will show that no wrongdoing occurred.”  

Councilmember Calls Out Mayor’s Adviser

On Tuesday, Councilmember Vivian Moreno raised concerns about how Mayor Todd Gloria has handled real estate deals and also one of his top advisors, Steve Cushman. 

Cushman wrote a letter to the City Council expressing “firm opposition” to an affordable housing project in Barrio Logan. Cushman wanted to block the project because of air quality problems in the neighborhood and questioned whether new housing should continue to be built in Barrio Logan at all. 

Moreno was clearly troubled. She said she couldn’t understand why Cushman opposed “desperately needed affordable housing” in a “community that has endured decades of disinvestment from this city.”

“The letter this advisor sent out worries me about the type of counsel the mayor is receiving,” Moreno said. “This administration has not handled real estate projects properly.”

Cushman defended his position. He said Barrio Logan was one of the top five most dangerous areas in all of California for cancer risk and air pollution. 

The Council ultimately approved the project. 

Mayor Wants to Keep Flock Surveillance

This week we wrote about one councilmember who thinks the city’s $2 million contract with Flock, a surveillance technology company, is bad for public safety.

Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera, who represents District 9, suggested ending the contract and using that money for recreation centers and libraries instead.

Gloria told us he opposes Elo-Rivera’s idea. “Bottom line is that that money is well spent,” he said. 

The Learning Curve: School Board Shoo-In

Prospective San Diego School District Trustee Hayden Gore is living every politician’s dream. He’s all but won his election without even having to run.

Gore is the lone candidate to replace outgoing Trustee Cody Petterson, who opted not to seek re-election.

As an avowed progressive and longtime educator, Gore won early support from the district’s powerful teachers union. In fact, the union’s former president personally recruited Gore.

Our education reporter, Jakob McWhinney, sat down with Gore to learn more about his plans.

Gore said he believes teachers and families want a school board member who will fight for them, especially at a time when public education, he said, “is under attack.”

Also in the report: McWhinney pronounces a guilty verdict on San Diego Unified’s latest #chartcrime.

Read the Learning Curve here.

In Other News

  • Don’t throw away that Christmas sweater. Mayor Todd Gloria’s May revision to his proposed budget restored funding for San Diego’s annual December Nights holiday festival. The mayor also walked back cuts to libraries, recreation centers and bathroom maintenance. (Union-Tribune)
  • The San Diego City Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to rename Cesar Chavez Parkway as Chicano Park Boulevard, in honor of the Barrio Logan landmark. The move follows revelations of multiple sexual assault allegations against Chavez. (Union-Tribune)
  • CalMatters sorted through competing proposals to overhaul San Diego County’s government bureaucracy.
  • Rising ocean temperatures are killing seabirds along San Diego’s shoreline, Times of San Diego reports.
  • Amid an ongoing battle in Imperial County over a massive proposed AI data center, one city in the county is taking the pre-emptive step of seeking to ban the centers for at least five years before one is even proposed. (inewsource)

The Morning Report was written by Jim Hinch, Will Huntsberry and Mariana Martínez Barba. It was edited by Will Huntsberry.

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