Bailey sells illusion of eliminating homelessness

Coronado Mayor Richard Bailey presents himself as a politician who has a solution for homelessness.

Given Coronado hasn’t really had much of a homeless problem — certainly not when compared with its neighbor across the bay — this calls for some examination.

In 2020, 16 people were deemed homeless in the small coastal city during the annual countywide pointin-time count. Two years later, only one homeless person was found in the one-day count.

For context, the 2022 count in the city of San Diego was 4,801, a slight decrease, and the countywide homeless tally was 8,427, a 10.3 percent increase.

When authorities encounter someone who is unhoused in Coronado, they often send the person over the bridge to a shelter operated by a nonprofit group in San Diego.

Bailey, a Republican, recently has been making the rounds on national and local conservative-leaning media outlets, including Fox News and KUSI, touting his city’s progress. He says Coronado has hit on the solution to homelessness and others should follow it. He doesn’t mention a key to this success is shipping people out of town, nor the relatively minor scope of the problem.

Gushing headlines have followed: “GOP mayor in California virtually eliminates homelessness,” “Coronado has the lowest homeless rate in California,” “GOP mayor’s zero-tolerance policy nearly eliminates homelessness in city.”

On Twitter, Bailey said, “Coronado has emerged as a shining example of addressing homelessness, and its efforts are gaining recognition. Unlike other cities that permit tent encampments on sidewalks, we prioritize getting people help as the only choice. Let’s adopt this approach across San Diego!”

That’s not much different from what San Diego and other cities try to do —

could rival that of the La Jolla Open Aire Market.

Venus Molina, chief of staff for City Councilmember Jennifer Campbell — whose District 2 office helped broker the agreement with the Coastal Commission that allowed the ordinance to be enforced in the coastal zone — previously told the La Jolla Light, a publication of the U-T Community Press, that commercial activities that seek donations instead of a set charge are not considered vending.

At the La Jolla Parks & Beaches board meeting, where Molina was not present, Evans said: “It’s clear vending is merchandise sales and money transactions . ... And some of these vendors are transacting, so I’m trying to understand who is setting these definitions and policies at the city.”

He said there is confusion about how the city defines vending and asked for clarification from city representatives in attendance. They agreed to return with more information at a future meeting.

One person who attended the meeting told the La Jolla Light that he offered an artist money for a piece that was listed as available by donation, but the artist said the donation wasn’t enough for the art and would not accept it.

Molina later told the La Jolla Light that people who see someone using donations as a loophole should report the vendor and file a complaint to San Diego’s Code Enforcement Division or to park rangers with the vendor’s name, location and/ or what the vendor is offering.

“The vending ordinance is for people selling goods,” she said. “Those that ask for donations (instead of a set price) are being sneaky and trying to game the system. They should accept a dollar, even if the suggested donation is $20.”

“This is going to be handled on a case-by-case basis, but it is going to be enforced,” Molina said. “Once word gets out that (using donations) is going to be addressed, it’s going to get squashed.”

The Code Enforcement Division can be reached at (619) 236-5500.