Race for Mayor Tightens Up at End

After a campaign filled with gloomy talk about the city’s financial problems, San Diego voters will choose today between a former police chief and a City Council member who owns a surf shop to be the next mayor.

Former Police Chief Jerry Sanders is leading in two public opinion polls, one done for the ABC TV affiliate, and another done by an independent pollster.

Both polls also show that Councilwoman Donna Frye has gained ground in the campaign’s final stretch. She has warned voters that the city may require a half-cent boost in the sales tax.

“Jerry represents the establishment, and Donna represents the nonestablishment,” said former City Councilman Bill Mitchell, who supports Sanders.

Sanders, 55, a Republican, is backed by the Chamber of Commerce, the local Republican Party and the editorial page of the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Frye, 53, a Democrat and wife of surf legend Skip Frye, is the favorite of private-sector labor unions, which funded a last-minute TV and mail campaign for her.

Sanders outspent Frye by more than 3 to 1. His campaign was guided by political consultants; hers was largely organized by herself and a coterie of supporters.

A year ago, Frye, waging a write-in campaign, placed first in a mayoral runoff against then-Mayor Dick Murphy and county Supervisor Ron Roberts, a fellow Republican. But a judge ruled that several thousand ballots for Frye were invalid because they had not been properly filled out, giving the victory to Murphy.

Under continued criticism and facing a possible recall, Murphy resigned in July to give San Diego a “fresh start” as the city government struggles with a $2-billion pension deficit, a criminal investigation by the U.S. attorney’s office, a civil investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the upcoming trial of six pension board members on felony charges.

Sanders and Frye have each proposed a fiscal plan that leans heavily on reducing the city payroll and cutting pension benefits. Sanders has talked of a 10% reduction in all departments except police and fire. Frye has vowed to unilaterally roll back pension benefits on her first day in office.

The election contributed to an unusual sense of foreboding in San Diego. At times it has seemed as if the candidates were competing to see who could paint the most negative view of the city’s fiscal future.

When Sanders suggested late in the campaign that things were not hopeless, the local media reacted with disbelief. “Sanders optimistic, but others not so sure,” said the headline of a front-page story in the San Diego paper.

Cynthia Vicknair, an independent political consultant, said the Frye-Sanders contest has been “the most substantive discussion” of city finances of any recent mayoral election.

“I think there’s a realization that this city is headed for bankruptcy,” Vicknair said. “The election will decide how radical a solution the voters will accept.”

Sanders, the son of a Los Angeles police officer, spent 20 years on the San Diego department before being named chief in 1993. He retired as chief six years later to head the local United Way. Later, he joined the board of the Red Cross. He takes credit for salvaging both organizations from fiscal and image problems.

Frye began in politics as an activist demanding that City Hall enforce clean-water laws after her husband became sick. She founded Surfers Tired of Pollution (STOP) and was elected to the City Council in 2001 from a beach district. She was the first council member to warn that the city’s pension plan was headed for the red.

As a first-time campaigner, Sanders has been detail-oriented, promising to hire a retired admiral to run day-to-day operations at City Hall. In the primary, he said he could not rule out raising taxes but retreated from that position after criticism from anti-tax Republicans.

Frye has sided with combative City Atty. Michael Aguirre in many of his accusations about incompetence at City Hall. Frustrated at what she saw as Sanders’ refusal to discuss their opposing fiscal plans, she brought a supporter dressed in a chicken suit to a news conference.

“There is nothing similar about these candidates,” said John Kern, Murphy’s former chief of staff.