Castaneda Enters 8th District City Council Race

Pledging to end the “revolving door” at San Diego City Hall, businessman Bob Castaneda on Wednesday announced his candidacy for the 8th District seat that will change hands for the third time in five years this fall.

At a downtown news conference, Castaneda complained about the frequent turnover in the 8th District’s council representation and promised that, if elected, he would serve two full four-year terms--an optimistic goal for a Republican running in a heavily Democratic district.

“District 8 has long-term problems and needs that will take long-term commitment,” Castaneda said. “In recent years, we have seen a revolving door of officeholders representing us. . . . There is too much undone today for any candidate to commit to less than eight years in office.”

The 8th District currently is represented by lawyer Celia Ballesteros, who was appointed to the seat last December after Uvaldo Martinez resigned in the wake of his guilty plea to felony charges stemming from his misuse of a city-issued credit card. As a condition of her appointment, Ballesteros pledged to the council that she would not run for the seat this fall. Martinez had held the seat since 1982, when he was appointed to it to succeed Lucy Killea after her election to the state Assembly.

Latino Roots Stressed

Castaneda, a 36-year-old Golden Hill resident and former owner of a food supply business, stressed his Latino roots and the fact that he is a third-generation San Diegan in describing public office as “the next logical step” in his years of community activism. In addition to serving on the boards of directors of the Young Republicans and Mexican and American Foundation, Castaneda has worked for the Logan Heights and Escondido community clinics, and in a Chicano Federation program aimed at preventing students from dropping out of school.

Identifying policy goals that were long on generalities but short on specifics, Castaneda said that he would push for continued revitalization of the 8th District, which stretches south from Hillcrest through downtown to Otay Mesa and San Ysidro. His top citywide priorities, Castaneda added, include crime control, financial policies that “make the municipal dollar stretch” and growth management.

Castaneda’s entry in the 8th District race increases the size of a field of candidates that is expected to be the largest of any of the four council campaigns being waged this fall. Other announced or potential 8th District candidates include lawyer Michael Aguirre; college professor and former city school board president Bob Filner; Neil Good, administrative assistant to county Supervisor Leon Williams; Gail MacLeod, planning director of the Rancho Santa Fe Assn.; former investment broker Ty Smith; lawyer and city planning commissioner Henry Empeno; former TV news reporter Jesse Macias; San Diego community activist Paul Clark; frequent candidate John Kelley, and former City Hall aide Danny Martinez.

The top two vote-getters in the September district primary will face each other in the November citywide general election.