San Diegans will be called upon to make a familiar decision for mayor this year; Port Commissioner Peter Q. Davis, County Supervisor Ron Roberts and environmental designer Jim Bell each ran unsuccessfully against Mayor Dick Murphy in 2000. After four trying years under Murphy, voters would be wise not to make the same mistake in 2004.
Davis offers San Diego the most promising choice for mayor. His financial expertise is just what the doctor ordered for a city that is increasingly becoming mired in fiscal crises. With a pension fund deficit, a confrontation with the Chargers and fire preparedness issues all looming in the face of increased budget cuts, Davis possesses the best qualifications to guide the city through the important years ahead.
Davis touts public safety as his primary concern; this is more than welcome given Murphy’s bungling of the San Diego fires and aftermath. While his calls for increasing police, fire and lifeguard funding would require drastic reprioritizing, Davis seems to be the only candidate commanding the responsible, fiscal leadership necessary to do so — exactly the brand of leadership that City Hall lacks. A former banker and head of the Centre City Development Corporation, Davis has led in both the public and private sectors, most notably in the redevelopment of downtown San Diego over the last 25 years.
On the issues, he is adamantly opposed to further under-funding San Diego’s pension system on the grounds that future generations will have to make up for a potential $2 billion deficit. Also, he seems the right person to negotiate a deal with Alex Spanos and devise a plan to not only keep taxpayers from footing the bill for a new Chargers stadium, but also turn the venture into a revenue-generator.
Like his opponents, Davis of course identifies traffic, crime and beach and bay pollution as areas for improvement, but he alone seems to possess the prowess and reason to tackle these issues and at the same time balance the city budget. Unlike Murphy, whose “10 Goals” agenda has proved pretty fruitless, Davis stresses flexibility in undertaking such issues.
Although he supports Proposition C to raise revenue for the city, Davis recognizes its flaws, calling the transient occupancy tax inflexible and “a terrible deal.” He has also proven to some degree that he is an environment-friendly developer, concerned with air and water pollution and urban sprawl.
Though a Republican, Davis seems progressive enough; he has supported needle-exchange programs and the medical use of marijuana, and told the San Diego Union-Tribune this month that he would support a self-funding grant for the Boy Scouts in Balboa Park but not public subsidy.
The lone Democrat in the race, Jim Bell, is a compelling candidate running on a very worthy ecological self-sufficiency platform. However, the opening claims on his campaign Web site (“We live on spaceship Earth. We are its astronauts.”) are probably enough to keep anyone in City Hall from taking him seriously, even if voters do. Roberts has years of experience in San Diego but lacks Davis’ well-rounded appeal. The two candidates receiving the most votes will face off on the November ballot, unless one receives more than 50 percent of the vote on March 2 and is elected mayor outright.
Jim Bell
http://www.jimbell.com
Peter Q. Davis
http://www.peterqdavisformayor.com
Dick Murphy
http://www.murphy4mayor.com
Ron Roberts
http://www.ronroberts2004.com