PSD Announces 2012 Primary Endorsements

PSD Announces 2012 Primary Endorsements

Progressive San Diego is pleased to announce the results of its endorsement process for candidates who sought our endorsement for the  June 5, 2012 Primary Election. Further endorsement decisions will be made as necessary for the General Election in November.

Congressional District 52: Scott Peters and Lori Saldaña. 
Lori Saldaña is a “progressive's progressive,” with an outstanding record of standing up for progressive values. PSD encourages her to continue  her efforts to improve consensus-building among progressives. Scott  Peters, whose voting record on local issues has not always earned him  the praise of progressives, is guided by deeply held progressive values  that will serve his constituency well on the issues he will have to confront  at the federal level. PSD urges him to remember that even the toughest  decisions he will have to make must be guided by what is in the best  interests of individuals and local communities.

Congressional District 53: Susan Davis.

State Assembly District 78: Toni Atkins.

State Assembly District 79: Sid Voorakkara, Pat Washington, and Shirley Weber.
It is rare that one race has so many good progressive candidates. While each of the three candidates has unique strengths, the residents of the 79th Assembly  District will be served well by whoever is elected to represent them in Sacramento.

San Diego City Mayor: Bob Filner.

San Diego City Council District 3: No Endorsement. 
Despite the fact that PSD endorsed Todd Gloria four years ago, he failed to  receive our endorsement this time. PSD is deeply concerned that Todd is not a  bona fide progressive. For instance, he strongly supports the expansion of the  Convention Center without any financial protections for taxpayers and without  any credible evidence of benefits for anyone other than downtown hoteliers. He  also actively campaigned against the creation of the Latino/Immigrant Empowerment District for the new council district delineated by  the San Diego Redistricting Commission. Unfortunately, there are many other  examples of anti-progressive actions. PSD hopes that Todd will take this  opportunity to demonstrate that his many departures from the priorities and  interests of the people who voted him into office are simply good-faith mistakes  by a first-term council member. PSD has invited him to a follow-up meeting with the endorsement panel in order to discuss what he can do to earn our  endorsement next time.

San Diego City Council District 7: Mat Kostrinsky.

San Diego City Council District 9: Marti Emerald.  
 Marti Emerald has cast good votes on the majority of progressive issues over the  past four years, and PSD is pleased to endorse her again. Her opponent, Mateo  Camarillo, has a long history of promoting positive change in the San Diego  community, but he did not demonstrate a stron g understanding of the leading progressive issues facing the City.

Progressives worked hard to ensure that the 9th Council Distrct, whose boundaries were set by the San Diego Redistricting Commission last year, would  be a “majority-minority district”--meaning that a majority of the eligible voters are  non-white. Given this effort, PSD is pleased that Marti has expressed a strong  willingness to encourage and mentor aspiring leaders in the new district who  reflect its tremendous diversity.

San Diego Unified School Board District A: John Lee Evans.
San Diego Unified School Board District D: Richard Barrera.
San Diego Unified School Board District E: Marne Foster.
San Diego Community College Board District B: Bernie Rhinerson.
Chula Vista City Council Seat 3: Pamela Bensoussan.
Chula Vista City Council Seat 4: Mary Salas.