Saldana criticizing Faulconer’s record

San Diego mayoral candidate Lori Saldaña says incumbent Kevin Faulconer shouldn’t be re-elected because he hasn’t accomplished much and he favors the business community over ordinary residents.

In a wide ranging interview this past week, the former state assemblywoman also contended that Faulconer has spent too much time trying to keep the Chargers and cares more about running for higher office than the future of the city.

“San Diego voters deserve to have this mayor stand up and defend his track record, which I believe is minimal, and his vision — if he has one — for San Diego,” she said. “He needs to tell us what he’s going to do for four years, not for two years if he runs for another office.”

Faulconer’s campaign manager, Jason Roe, said the Republican mayor has a long list of accomplishments during his two years in office, including a bold climate action plan, new labor pacts with employee unions and a greater city focus on infrastructure and street repair.

“I would say he’s been remarkably successful,” Roe said.

He also said Faulconer didn’t spend much time on the Chargers after the team ended stadium negotiations last June, and that he plans to serve an entire four-year term if re-elected.

Saldaña, whose late January entry in the race came less than five months before the June 7 primary, said people shouldn’t underestimate her chances just because she has limited time and far less campaign money than Faulconer.

But if she can’t win, it’s important also for Faulconer to face a legitimate challenger, Saldaña said.

“This mayor is more of a public relations master than somebody who has a vision for the future of the eighth largest city in the country,” said Saldaña, a former Democrat who is running as an independent. “I’m running to give voters a chance to compare and contrast myself and Kevin Faulconer on ideas, track record and experience.”

During her stint in the state Assembly from 2004 to 2010, Saldaña said she built bipartisan support for infrastructure bond measures and had success creating more housing for military families.

“I think I have a much stronger track record of working on substantive issues than he does,” she said.

Regarding the city’s climate action plan and a new proposal to send some future city revenues into an infrastructure fund, Saldaña said Faulconer has a bad habit of taking credit for other people’s work.

She says Councilman Todd Gloria deserves credit for the climate action plan, and Councilman Mark Kersey deserves credit for the infrastructure proposal, which could be on the June ballot.

Roe agreed those other men played a role, but said Faulconer still had the choice whether to support them and that working with others is what effective leaders do.

“His collaborative approach to getting things done is why he has been successful,” Roe said. “He’s happy to share the credit in order to get things done with people of opposing views.”

Saldaña criticized the mayor for vetoing a city minimum wage increase in summer 2014, contending his decision has helped increase local homelessness and crime.

“There are more people living in more desperate circumstances,” she said.

Saldaña said Faulconer’s list of campaign donors, which includes a wide range of business interests, is a clue to why he made that move.

“He is taking money from the people who want to build the tallest buildings and pay the lowest wages,” she said. “It’s very clear who he is standing with, and it’s not the people of San Diego.”

Roe said the mayor vetoed the wage increase, which will appear on the June ballot thanks to a subsequent referendum, because it would have hurt small businesses and increased unemployment.

“One of the primary reasons he opposed the wage increase is that it would hurt the very people that supporters say it would help,” he said, contending that recent increases in California’s minimum wage have had that impact. “We’re already seeing restaurants shrink staff and serve smaller portions.”

Roe said the mayor’s focus on neighborhood upgrades, especially in the city’s lower-income areas, show that he is focused on ordinary San Diegans.

Saldaña said Faulconer’s proposal to contribute $200 million in city taxpayer money to a Chargers stadium makes the minimum wage veto more frustrating.

“We have a mayor not looking out for the well-being of residents but focused on keeping some of the richest people in the country happy even when the team has made it clear they prefer to move away,” she said.

Saldaña said the Chargers are an important civic institution, but that they shouldn’t be subsidized and the city will survive without them.

“San Diego is recognized for a quality of life that many people admire all around the country and the world, and that’s not because of the Chargers,” she said. “It’s the climate, the citizens and our research facilities.”

Roe said the $200 million looks less significant when you consider the city already spends $13 million on annual upkeep at Qualcomm Stadium. Not spending that money over the next 20 years would save the city $260 million, he said.

Roe, who said that Faulconer has tackled the stadium issue more effectively than previous mayors, also noted that a new stadium would increase tourism revenue by boosting San Diego’s two college bowl games.

Saldaña has focused on her concerns that she believes Faulconer plans to run for higher office.

“The reason this mayor has a $1 million campaign warchest is not for the mayor’s race, it’s to run for governor,” she said. “His eyes are not on San Diego, but mine are.”

Saldaña has made a formal pledge to serve all four years if elected mayor and she has challenged Faulconer to do the same.

Roe said there’s no evidence of any kind that Faulconer will seek higher office and that the mayor plans to serve all four years. But he’s declined to sign the pledge. State Republican analysts and some polls have indicated Faulconer could be the top GOP contender for governor in 2018.

“He never signs pledges and he’s not going to start today,” Roe said.

Saldaña is the first challenger with name recognition to enter the mayor’s race.

Faulconer’s strongest previous challenger was Ocean Beach Town Council President Gretchen Newsom, but the Democrat dropped out of the race in December only seven weeks after entering.

Other candidates in the race — Kenneth Gardner, Sina Moghadamzadhe, Gregory Morales and Steven Greenwald — have little name recognition.