New San Diego council district boundaries shake up District 2 race
Incumbent Jennifer Campbell gets new competition from Joel Day.
New San Diego City Council district boundaries approved last month have significantly altered the 2022 council race in District 2, with incumbent Jennifer Campbell facing more competition.
The volunteer panel that redrew the boundaries moved central and eastern Clairemont from District 6 to District 2 (which includes Point Loma and Ocean Beach), eliminating two of the leading candidates in the race to succeed termed-out Councilman Chris Cate this year in District 6.
Critics say new map, which was approved 7-2, doesn’t do enough to boost voting power of minority groups
Clairemont residents Nicole Crosby and Joel Day, who had been candidates for District 6, were forced by the new boundaries to either abandon their campaigns or run for the council in District 2 instead of 6.
Crosby abandoned her campaign. Day decided to run in District 2, where he is challenging Campbell.
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The new boundaries might prompt former state Assemblywoman Lori Saldana, another Clairemont resident, to enter the race. The Point Loma Democratic Club has listed her as a candidate, but she hasn’t filed candidacy papers with the city clerk. Saldana didn’t return multiple phone calls Jan. 4.
Campbell, Day and Saldana are all Democrats. The District 2 race also includes Republican Linda Lukacs, Democrat Loxie Grant and Leslie Michelle Codling-DiChet. The primary is June 7.
Day, 36, seems capable of mounting a challenge against Campbell, despite incumbents having a strong track record in San Diego council campaigns.
Day raised $87,000 for his District 6 campaign during the first half of 2021. He recently returned four of the 750 contributions he received because some donors didn’t feel comfortable with him using the money for District 2 instead of District 6.
Day said his goal has always been to represent his community of Clairemont, whether it is in District 6 or 2.
He criticized Campbell, 76, who faced a recall effort last year, as having lost the trust of the community.
San Diego council president says effort was reckless and unnecessary.
Day previously worked at City Hall as a department director overseeing community engagement and police oversight. He moved to San Diego at age 18 to attend Point Loma Nazarene University.
Campbell’s campaign consultant, Dan Rottenstreich, said Campbell plans to run on her record of tackling tough issues and forging compromises at City Hall, especially on vacation rental legislation.
Campbell, who lives in Bay Ho, recently lost the council presidency to member Sean Elo-Rivera. But Rottenstreich said voters don’t care about internal debates among elected leaders.
He said Campbell should be credited for successfully fighting off the recall campaign.
