D3 forum hosted by Bankers Hill Community Group
By Morgan M. Hurley
It’s 2024 and that means it is an election year. Not only on the national (presidential) front, but also here locally – with county supervisor seats in the mix, six city council seats, and even the office of the mayor – it should be one heck of a campaign year.
San Diego City Council District 3, where Hillcrest resides, is one of the seats which will be hotly contested.
Ever since Christine Kehoe made history by winning her race in 1993, the District 3 seat has been held by an LGBTQ person – Kehoe, Toni Atkins, Todd Gloria, Chris Ward, and Stephen Whitburn.
Whitburn faces two challengers from his own party this term, democrats Kate Callen and Coleen Cusack, and one republican, Ellis California Jones.
Get a look at all the candidates
The first candidate’s forum for District 3 will be held Feb. 19, from 6:30 to 8 pm at the Bankers Hill Clubhouse, located at 3030 Front St. All candidates have confirmed their attendance and participation and voters are welcome and encouraged to participate (you do not have to live in Bankers Hill to attend).
Sponsored by the Bankers Hill Community Group (BHCG), the event will start with each candidate giving opening remarks, followed by a question and answer session.
Questions will be taken live from the audience and each candidate will be allowed time to respond. The forum will be moderated by the League of Women Voters of San Diego (LWVSD).
In addition to the in-person forum on Feb. 19, the LWVSD will be live streaming the event on their YouTube channel and then saving and posting the recording for those who are unable to attend but would like to watch at a later time. To tune in live or watch later, visit bit.ly/41RnhZK.
BHCG is the residential community organization for the Bankers Hill neighborhood and they meet monthly at the Clubhouse.
Their annual January meeting is in a roundtable format, and there will be nine separate tables with specific topics discussed and moderators at each table. To learn more about BHCG and the topics for January’s format, visit bankershill.org.
In other city council races:
Including District 3, five of the nine San Diego City Council seats are in the running this year, with another seat set for a special election. The physical makeup of these races has changed drastically in the last month, with many challengers failing to qualify for the ballot by the December deadline.
District 1 – Joe LaCava (D, incumbent), was originally challenged by Anthony Olmo, but Olmo failed to get enough signatures, so LaCava is now running unopposed.
District 4 – since Monica Montgomery Steppe (D) won her County Supervisor District 4 seat in November, a special election will be held March 3 to fill her city council seat.
The race has narrowed since the December deadline, and final candidates for the seat are as follows: Henry Foster III (Montgomery Steppe’s current chief of staff); Tylisa Suseberry (a legislative staffer), and Chida Warren-Darby (director of appointments and board commissions under Mayor Gloria).
District 5 – incumbent Marni Von Wilpert (D) will run unopposed as her initial challenger (Brittany Nauck) failed to get enough signatures to qualify for the ballot.
District 7 — Raul Campillo (D, incumbent) is unopposed in his district.
District 9 – Incumbent Sean Elo-Rivera (D) is being challenged by Terry Hoskins (D) who is retired from both the military and police force; and Fernando Garcia (I) a business owner.
D3 Councilmember Whitburn has three challengers (top to bottom) Kate Callan (D); Ellis California Jones 9r 0; and Coleen Cusack (D). All four candidates have confirmed they will be at the Bankers Hill candidate forum. (Campaign photos)
Other local races to watch with LGBTQ members:
Mayor Todd Gloria has four challengers – two independents, one democrat and one republican. Larry Turner (Independent, community relations officer for the San Diego Police Department); Genevieve Jones-Wright (Democrat, executive director of Community Advocates for Just and Moral Governance); Jane Glasson (Republican, special education assistant); and, Dan Smiechowski (Independent, real estate professional).
Former mayor Kevin Faulconer (R) is running against Terra Lawson-Remer for County Supervisor District 3. Lawson-Remer, a member of the LGBTQ community, is a Democrat and is in her first term.
Former city councilmember and conservative talk radio host Carl DeMaio (R) has once again thrown his hat in the ring, this time for the 75th district of California’s State Assembly. He is running to take over fellow republican Marie Waldron’s seat, who is termed out. DeMaio, who is also LGBTQ, previously ran for San Diego mayor and then for congress on two occasions, but was unsuccessful.
Get out and vote
The primary is set for Tuesday, March 5 and ballots will be in the mail Feb. 4. Take note — this is the California state primary election – it has been moved up from June (where it was held for more than half a century) and will include the presidential candidates.
If you have not registered to vote, you need to do so at least 15 days prior to the election to be eligible. If you are already registered but have moved or changed your name, etc., it is important you check your registration status and update it if it is not accurate.
To learn more about these and other races on the primary ballot, to register to vote, or to check your voter registration status, visit the San Diego Registrar of Voters at sdvote.com. Do it today.
—Morgan M. Hurley can be reached at [email protected].
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Thank you, Morgan, and LGBTQSD News, for this opportunity. As a native San Diegan born in this district, I am both humbled and blessed to have the chance to represent such a rich and diverse community. While I am not a member of the LGBTQ community, I recognize the longstanding kinship between the Black and LGBTQ communities in our shared struggle for acceptance and equality. I am committed to nurturing this alliance, bringing a conservative perspective to our united efforts.