BARRIOS SAYS HE’LL SERVE IF HE WINS

Council candidate halted campaign on Monday but ‘will respect’ voters’ will

SAN DIEGO

When Kelvin Barrios announced Monday he was suspending his campaign for the San Diego City Council District 9 seat, he resisted stating categorically that he is out of the race and would not serve if elected.

Now he has reversed course and says his political future is in voters’ hands, so if they elect him, he may serve.

“At this time, I don’t know what the outcome of this election will be,” Barrios told The San Diego UnionTribune late Thursday. “I know my district is capable of making this decision, and I will respect the will of the voters.”

He made similar comments to other news media this week.

“Yes, I would have to think what to do at that moment, because that would mean the voices of our district still wanted that I be their voice in the city,” he told Univision San Diego.

The issue is important because even though Barrios announced publicly he was suspending his campaign, his name will still appear on the ballot because, with the election only a month away, it is too late to remove it.

County Registrar of Voters Michael Vu said Barrios would be certified as the winner if he collected more votes than rival Sean Elo-Rivera. It would be up to Barrios to not accept the job, or for others to begin a recall campaign to remove him from office, Vu said.

When Barrios made his announcement, he declined to commit to not accepting the seat if he receives the most votes.

“I can’t say I have something to say on that; there is just a lot going on right now,” he said in a text message Monday afternoon.

Barrios said Thursday that the ordeal has taken a personal toll on him.

“The allegations against me have impacted me and my family and I am not prepared to further discuss this,” he wrote.

The Barrios campaign website remains active and makes no mention of the suspension he announced early this week. It appears to still be accepting political contributions, although campaign contribution reports for the period from Sept. 20 to Oct. 17 are not due until Oct. 22.

trial lawyers. He added that such actions should be areas of bipartisan interest, and stressed the need to bolster the FDA in its mandate that calls for competition.

“We need to make sure that mandate has more teeth in it, so that we never again get someone who is the sole source of some generic medicine ... driving up the price multiple,” Issa said.

Meanwhile, Campa-Najjar, a lecturer at San Diego State University, said the Affordable Care Act does fall short in some areas and added he does not support a single-payer health care system.

He said Americans should be able to have their private insurance if they want it, but suggested the government should also introduce a national Kaiser nonprofit plan as well as give people the opportunity to buy into Medicare early.

“Right now, health care is the most important thing in people’s lives,” Campa-Najjar said.

“Not just in this pandemic ... but everybody who was born in hospital, you came in through the health care system and, God willing, you will leave the world through the health care system. And how much time you have between those two moments depends on the kind of health care you have.”

Issa and Campa-Najjar also staked out different positions when it came to what’s next for the federal government in supporting local residents and businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Both were critical of how California and Gov. Gavin Newsom managed shutdowns.

Campa-Najjar said the they were “inconsistent and problematic” and focused on how the federal government could aid small businesses through additional Paycheck Protection Program loans, as well as providing more personal protective equipment.

“What we need right now is to learn from our mistakes and do it better,” the Jamul resident said. “What I would do is invest in PPP loans for small businesses, not those who are well off and well connected in corporations, but those small businesses that employ half of American workers.”

Issa, meanwhile, said he opposed the idea of more PPP loans, saying it would be “foolhardy” and “paying people not to work has run its course.”

Instead the businessman, once the wealthiest member of Congress, suggested that federal resources should focus on researching the disease as well as f inding ways for businesses and consumers to function as safe as possible.

“We need to stop treating it as some sort of an alien disease, and instead get back to work,” Issa said. “Right now, I don’t believe there is virtually any business that should not be allowed to open.”

Despite some clear divisions, the candidates also had a handful of areas where they agreed.

Issa and Campa-Najjar both said they would oppose efforts to expand the U.S. Supreme Court or “pack the bench.”

Both candidates also said they oppose Proposition 15, which will be on the ballot in November and would remove the property tax limitations on commercial and industrial properties that was put in place by 1978’s Proposition 13.

Issa and Campa-Najjar also shared a similar perspective when discussing how the federal government could help address the homelessness crisis.

Campa-Najjar emphasized the role the federal government could play in funding additional mental health services and vocational training. Issa similarly pointed to using federal funds to support vocational training, but also suggested looking to faith-based organizations for assistance.

Thursday’s debate did at times turn contentious with both candidates accusing each other of f lip-f lopping on issues or being out of touch with the district that had been represented by Hunter, who resigned in January after pleading guilty to one count of misusing campaign funds. He was sentenced to 11 months in federal prison in March.

Military and overseas voters have already begun casting their ballots, but San Diego County’s Registrar of Voters will send all of the county’s more than 1.9 million registered voters mail ballots starting Monday. Voters will also have the option to vote in person at one of 235 “super poll” locations, which will be open Oct. 31 through Nov. 2, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Election Day, Nov. 3, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and public health concerns, San Diego County will have fewer in-person polling locations this year and it is likely voters have been assigned a different polling location. That is why the registrar is encouraging voters to check their sample ballot or visit the registrar’s website at sdvote.com to confirm their designated polling location.