DISTRICT 7: ZOSA

In San Diego City Council District 7 — which includes neighborhoods just north of Interstate 8 from Linda Vista and Mission Valley to San Carlos and Tierrasanta — voters have a clear choice in deciding who to replace termed-out incumbent Scott Sherman. Like Sherman, fellow Republican Noli Zosa would bring a valuable perspective as a longtime business owner to a City Council that could otherwise have no small business owners when Sherman, Mark Kersey and Barbara Bry cycle off. Diversity matters not just in race and ethnic background — Zosa, of Filipino descent, would be the third Asianamerican on the City Council — but in life experiences.

Zosa, a University of San Diego graduate, is a founding partner of the Dirty Birds restaurant chain. He has a 30-year history of community service on numerous local boards and commissions, including the YMCA Mission Valley board, Mission Trails Citizens Advisory Council, San Diego Park and Recreation Board, and the Linda Vista Planning Group. He won much-deserved praise for his successful 2019 push to save Skateworld, the city’s last roller skating rink. In interviews with The San Diego Union-tribune Editorial Board and in his response to an emailed questionnaire, Zosa has consistently offered pragmatic, thoughtful responses on city issues from homelessness to the fate of the sports arena site to how to deal with the pandemic. His terse declaration — “We cannot subsidize our way out of this housing crisis” — should be the starting point of any debate about how to address the crisis.

Zosa’s opponent, Deputy City Attorney Raul Campillo, a Democrat, deserves credit for having similar views on housing, as demonstrated in his response to our Q&A. Like Zosa, he displays a thorough familiarity with many big local issues. Campillo also offers a sharp analysis of the Climate Action Plan and how to reach its goals.

But in a joint Zoom interview with Zosa in September, Campillo seemed at times peevish and curt. When asked how he was of service to his fellow San Diegans during the pandemic, his response was that long days at his job as deputy city attorney have occupied the bulk of his time. That showed a huge contrast with Zosa’s 30 years of activism and his community service since March.

Zosa has his own faults. His comment in a video interview earlier this year that the media loves the pandemic because it helps ratings was offensive. But he apologized sincerely. “It was a very reckless, reckless, reckless statement,” he told our board. Such complete contrition after a mistake is rare not just among politicians but people in general.

We recommend a vote for Noli Zosa.