Mayoral Race

Several years ago, a young newcomer burst onto San Diego’s political scene. He was personable, energetic and a quick learner. Peter Navarro, an economics professor at the University of California in Irvine, moved into an affluent North City neighborhood and began advocating against further development of the surrounding communities.

He quickly gathered a constituency: upper-middle-class residents who owned homes in these newly developed areas; people seeking to escape the growing crime and deteriorating quality of life in San Diego’s older urbanized areas; economically secure retirees and families with higher level incomes who invested considerable resources to live in a safe community.

For many, the dream of the good life in San Diego was rapidly becoming a nightmare. The green panorama they once enjoyed from the decks of their new homes slowly disappeared as developers built more housing tracts to accommodate more newcomers. The 15-minute drive to work downtown turned into a 90-minute traffic jam. They watched their pristine canyons fill with the cardboard shelters of migrant workers from neighboring agricultural fields.

Navarro decided he wanted to be mayor. He hoped to achieve this by parlaying the prestige he acquired with residents north of California 52 and collecting on IOUs from his involvement in previous local elections. As mayor he would be in a position to resolve the development issue once and for all.

But understanding and serving a relatively small constituency in the city’s northern communities is not the same as understanding and serving the needs of all its residents. The vast majority of San Diegans are not upper middle class or affluent. For them, the main issues are not traffic or the loss of unspoiled vistas. For most San Diegans economic survival is the uppermost concern. They are afraid of losing their jobs and not being able to find another one. They are concerned about rampant crime, drug abuse and youth violence. Parents worry their children won’t receive an adequate education and residents anguish over the deterioration of their neighborhoods.

Navarro seems incapable of seriously addressing these issues. His one-issue approach to leadership is reflected in his campaign signs that read “Don’t yield to developers.”

San Diego needs a mayor who will put the city’s economic recovery first on the agenda and who has the ability to promote innovative programs that preserve existing jobs and attract new industry and commerce.

Most of all, our mayor must be able to understand the needs of San Diego’s increasingly diverse population.

Navarro is not mayor material.

AL DUCHENY, San Diego