State Senator Christine Kehoe to File Paperwork to Explore Run for Mayor

May 31st, 2010 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Colin Parent, Spokesperson, 858-442-7374, colin@christinekehoe.org

State Senator Christine Kehoe to File Paperwork to Explore Run for Mayor

May 31, 2011, SAN DIEGO – State Senator Christine Kehoe will open a committee this week to explore a possible run for Mayor of the City of San Diego.

Senator Kehoe issued the following statement:

“Since my first election to the San Diego City Council, I have been committed to addressing our City’s problems with practical solutions.

I have carried that approach to the State Legislature, where I have authored commonsense laws that protected our natural resources, ended redevelopment loopholes, and forced local agencies to better balance the needs of all San Diegans.

The challenges San Diegans face together can be resolved. We need honest solutions that don’t cause more problems than they solve. Working together and using commonsense, we can get San Diego back on the right track.

That’s why I am taking a very serious look at running for Mayor.”

Senator Kehoe is a Democrat representing the 39th Senate District, which overlaps about two thirds of the City of San Diego. She has a long record of practical problem solving for San Diego:

· Served as the Executive Director of the Hillcrest Business Association, where she worked for small business owners to cut through red tape at City Hall.

· On the City Council, Kehoe shepherded the City Heights Urban Village project, a 12-block public-private partnership that has become a national model of mixed-use neighborhood revitalization. She also completed the long-stalled portion of the I-15 freeway.

· Closed a loophole that allowed redevelopment funds to be siphoned out of neighborhoods. (SB 93, 2003)

· Reformed the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority by eliminating $400,000 in excessive annual salaries for political appointees and requiring efficiency between local and state agencies. (SB 10, 2007)

· Created the San Diego River Conservancy to protect the 52-mile water route. (AB 2156, 2001-02)

· Co-authored a landmark bill which granted equal benefits under California law to domestic partners, (AB 205, 2003), and authored a bill that prevents the state from contracting with employers who discriminate with regard to benefits for registered domestic partners. (AB 17, 2004)

Christine Kehoe became the region’s first out LGBT elected official when she won her first race for the San Diego City Council in 1993. She was elected to the State Assembly in 2000, and most recently was elected to her second term in the State Senate in 2008. Kehoe served as the chairperson of the Senate’s Local Government committee, and currently chairs the Senate Appropriations committee. She is a homeowner in North Park with her partner of 26 years, Julie Warren.

Senator Kehoe will make her decision for the Mayor’s race at a later time.

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