San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
GLORIA, BRY CAMPAIGN ACROSS THE CITY
With 10 days to go before election day, S.D. mayoral rivals hold rallies, other events
Two Democrats in a fierce battle to become San Diego’s next mayor spent Saturday bouncing between campaign events, which included rallies, a horn-honking caravan of vehicles and volunteers delivering fliers across the city.
Councilwoman Barbara Bry led a caravan of nearly 50 cars decorated with her campaign signs and pro-bry slogans through parts of downtown San Diego and some surrounding neighborhoods. Assemblyman Todd Gloria handed out campaign literature and yard signs in Mission Valley to more than 100 local labor union members, who then spread across the city to deliver the literature directly to homes – and voters.
With just 10 days left until the Nov. 3 election, both candidates have prioritized finding new supporters and urging them to vote in the hotly contested mayoral runoff. They’ve also both been flooding local TV sets with campaign ads. Two recent Union-tribune/10 News polls, one in early September and one in early October, showed the race to be nearly a dead heat. Bry led by three percentage points in September and Gloria led by one percentage point in October, but both leads were within the polling margin of error.
In the October poll, 23 percent of voters described themselves as undecided. The TV ads and the campaign events on Saturday aimed to help sway some of those undecided voters.
“You don’t want to wake up regretting that you might not have done the one thing that would have gotten you where you need to be,” Gloria said during his Saturday rally, as a long line of cars driven by union members were given literature.
Gloria said it’s also nice to see the finish line in the race, noting that he began his mayoral campaign 22 months ago and that the two rival Democrats have participated in more than 30 virtual forums just since the March primary.
“More than anything, I’m anxious to stop talking about what I want to do and to actually start doing it,” he said.
Across town, Bry gave a campaign speech to a group of nearly 50 supporters, many of whom had decorated their cars in preparation for the
caravan.
“I’m still standing today in an election that I was never supposed to have a chance in — because of you,” Bry said. “We have built a grassroots, volunteer-driven effort in every neighborhood. And when we win, we’re going to take back City Hall from the special interests.”
Residents and volunteers from neighborhoods throughout the city adorned their cars with green-andblue signs saying “Barbara Bry for Mayor: Solutions. Not Empty Promises.”
Some added green pom poms and hand-written signs that said “Stop Special Interests” and “Shutdown Short-term Rentals.”
As the group of more
than 30 cars left the downtown parking lot, they were joined by a couple on a motorcycle holding up green-and-blue signs supporting Bry.
Gloria said at his event that it was exciting to see so many union members willing to spend their Saturday driving all over the city for him. Gloria has repeatedly touted his broad support, which also includes business leaders and the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce.
“This is the coalition we’ve built,” he said.
Gloria said this mayoral campaign has been relatively strange, with forums held online and rallies that feature social distancing and everyone wearing masks.
The TV ads, many of them negative, have also given the campaign a nasty
edge in recent weeks.
On Saturday, Gloria criticized Bry for shifting to the right politically on many issues during the campaign.
“I supported her strongly when she ran for council in 2016, but I don’t recognize the person who’s running for mayor,” he said. “Her positions are radically different than they were four years ago.”
In response to such criticisms, Bry has repeatedly described herself as an independent-thinking problem solver.
Tom Lemmon, leader of the local chapter of the state Building and Construction Trades union, said at the Mission Valley event that Gloria’s strong support for organized labor is one reason he’s the right choice in the Democrat-versus-democrat battle.
“Todd has a long history
of caring about workers,” Lemmon said. “That’s why labor pulled out strong today.”
In a normal election with no pandemic, the union members would knock on doors and speak with voters. But this year, they are simply dropping the literature off at doorsteps.
“This is a lot better than getting a piece in the mail because it’s actually hand-delivered by somebody,” Lemmon said.
Supporters of Bry praised the candidate during her campaign event.
Logan Heights resident Martha Zapata said she’s voting for Bry because she has a fresh outlook and is connected to all of San Diego’s diverse communities, including those south of Interstate 8.
“Our communities in the south are very diverse and
very entrepreneurial, they’re extremely entrepreneurial, hard-working people, but don’t have the right financial support and access to micro loans,” Zapata said.
Bay Ho resident and campaign volunteer David Curtis said he first learned of Bry when she was gathering signatures to enter the primary. He said he was impressed that she was willing to speak with him about his vision for the city for 30 minutes before asking for his support.
“That was pretty tremendous to me because she was just after one signature, but she was willing to talk to me for that long,” he said.
Nick Serrano, Gloria’s campaign manager, said Saturday was a big opportunity to sway voters.
“We know folks are actively voting right now, so we are getting out the vote — not only the importance of voting, but why Todd Gloria is the right candidate to be mayor,” he said. “He has the right experience and the right vision for the city, and he’s willing to stand up for working families.”
During her rally, Bry pointed to the diverse experiences of her life as being the preparation needed to lead the city. She focused particularly on her 30 years in the world of tech and biotech, contending that more jobs in those high-paying fields are key to San Diego’s future.
“As an entrepreneur, I’ve had to think in new ways my whole life,” she said. “The city of San Diego now needs to think in new ways.”
Gloria, 42, lives in Mission Hills. Bry, 71, lives in La Jolla.