San Diego’s Acting Mayor Is Noble Crusader to Some, Eccentric to Others

When San Diego City Councilman Bill Mitchell was running for mayor in 1983, he visualized himself sitting in the mayor’s chair making mayoral decisions. A firm believer in the power of positive thinking, Mitchell was practicing what he called “knowingness.”

“A winner doesn’t say, ‘I’m going to try to win,’ ” he explained at the time. “You work on knowing that you’ve already won. . . . You’ve got to cleanse your mind of doubt. It’s more than believing. It’s a knowingness.”

Mitchell received 4.9% of the votes, finishing a distant fourth.

But now that Mayor Roger Hedgecock has been convicted on 13 felony counts and has resigned, effective Oct. 18, Bill Mitchell will have his chance to sit in the mayor’s chair. Mitchell, as deputy mayor, will become acting mayor when Hedgecock leaves office.

Actually, Mitchell says he will continue working in his own City Hall office, saving the mayor’s quarters for ceremonial purposes. He will be acting mayor only through December, when his yearlong term as deputy mayor ends.

The city is expected to call for a special mayoral election, to be held within six months.

If Hedgecock was a controversial leader, the short term of Bill Mitchell, 52, promises to at least be colorful.

The man who will take over the reins of California’s second-largest city has been likened to a political Don Quixote--a noble crusader to some, an eccentric to others. Mitchell is a self-described “metaphysical Christian” who writes poetry, has a flaring temper and sometimes wears a Scottish kilt to community functions.

In two terms on the City Council, Mitchell has developed a strong record in law enforcement and preserving the environment, and is known as an approachable problem-solver for the constituents of his district, which encompasses affluent La Jolla and the northern edges of the city.

‘Off-the-Wall’ Ideas

But he has also gained a reputation for what fellow Councilman Mike Gotch calls his “off-the-wall” ideas and comments. Around San Diego City Hall, they are called “Mitchellisms”--oft-repeated anecdotes in which Mitchell, much to his chagrin, plays the buffoon.

But Mitchell perceives himself as a creative thinker who is often misunderstood.

For example, several colleagues recall that a Fire Department supervisor told the City Council that false alarms were running up the department’s expenses.

“And Bill said, ‘Why don’t we just focus on the real fires and stop worrying about these false alarms?’ We all just scratched our heads,” one councilman recalled. Later, after the supervisor explained that firefighters don’t know whether an alarm is false unless they answer it, Mitchell reportedly recommended that the department only use its old equipment for such incidents.

People also talk about the time that Mitchell expressed doubt about the 911 emergency phone system. Why? Because there is no 11 on the phone.

“It was a joke,” Mitchell says. But many delight in the notion that he wasn’t joking. Such is Mitchell’s reputation.

Right Brain, Left Brain

The councilman offered this explanation as to why he colleagues perceive him as off the wall:

“What I think it is, is that I’m right-brain and left-brain oriented. . . . The left brain is the logical side, and the creative brain is the right brain--innovative, artistic. . . . I’ve taken a lot of courses and I feel I’m balanced on that.

“And when I’m into left brain, I’m with them. They understand me. But when I go right brain on ‘em, they think I’m off the wall. That’s when I get into my creative brain.”

Mitchell may not be a traditional politician, but he has proven himself to be resilient. A registered Republican and a real estate broker, Mitchell walked 500 miles soliciting votes door to door and upset a seemingly entrenched incumbent in 1977.

In his reelection bid four years later, he finished second in the primary but came back to win the general election. He now faces another tough reelection test Nov. 5. Even if he loses, he will remain in office until Jan. 1 and serve as acting mayor.