Written by Michael Palomba
It’s not everyday that local San Diego politicians make national news. But recently, Mayor Kevin Faulconer did just that. A recent piece in National Review titled “Is San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer a Model for the Struggling California GOP?” discusses how Faulconer is thriving in a majority blue region, and how the rest of the GOP can learn from his leadership.
Looking back to 2013, San Diego’s finances were in horrible shape. This was thanks to Democratic Mayor Bob Filner, who resigned in August 2013 over allegations of sexual harassment. Moreover, he later pleaded guilty to charges of false imprisonment and battery.
Luckily, Faulconer swooped in to make big changes. He made a commitment to fix the city’s crumbling finances, and he did just that. In addition, Faulconer made an effort to reach out to non-Republican voters. His campaign headquarters was located in a historically black neighborhood and he stressed the importance of having a physical presence and connecting with locals.
The city’s finances are not the only thing that Faulconer has improved; his leadership particularly shines on the issue of homelessness. He has made it one of his main focuses and insists that the rest of the Republican Party should zero in on it as well. At the recent California Republican Party convention in Palm Springs, he said homelessness is “not merely an issue in California, but ‘the’ issue.”
Homeless is one of the many issues that California’s Democratic leadership has utterly failed to remedy, and he believes that Republicans can capitalize on that. As of 2019, 43.11% of registered voters were Democrats, so Republicans have some work to do.
The results of Faulconer’s fight against homelessness really speak for themselves. Through the use of greater law enforcement against tent encampments, expansion of shelters, and increased spending on services, homeless has dropped six percent in the last year. While that may not seem like a lot, San Diego is the only major West Coast city to see improvement with regard to homelessness, and one of the few with a leader who has been willing to address it.
Photo by Josh Esh
