District 4 Electricians' Statement on the Exclusion of District 4's Working Families in the Appointment of Port Commissioners

by Kevin Alvin and Kevin Gorman

As union electrical workers and District 4 residents, the most important issue for us in the 2012 election was good jobs. We volunteered to get out the vote in our neighborhoods because we need progressive change when it comes to jobs and sharing prosperity in our City.

We share Mayor Filner's vision for a City that creates jobs by focusing on a combination of the energy and maritime sectors and that adds 50,000 family-sustaining jobs in the City by 2020. This ambitious goal cannot be met unless all of San Diego's communities are engaged in the effort to expand the deployment of renewable energy and efficiency technologies, to upgrade and improve our energy infrastructure, and to expand the capacity of the Port.

We believe Port commissioners must be selected because they have a proven commitment to creating high-quality careers by driving investment and developing the framework to provide access to jobs and careers for unemployed, underemployed and dislocated workers.  We need Commissioners who will be focused on job creation, who will work to boost economic recovery, and who will drive bold smart policy making that will responsibly expand business opportunities and invest in infrastructure.

This is why we are deeply disappointed that District 4 residents will not be represented for the selection of two San Diego Port Commissioners this coming Monday, January 7, 2013. We believe these appointments should not be made until an election is held to fill the vacant District 4 Council seat.

We hope that principled San Diegans will step-up and join us in speaking out for District 4.  We deserve a voice in San Diego government all the time. It is especially important when it comes to the Port because it is critical to creating jobs and shared prosperity in the City.

We believe Monday's vote would likely have a different outcome if 4^th District families had a representative on Council. The vote scheduled for Monday could and should be postponed until we have a District 4 Council Representative.

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Kevin Gorman is the President of the San Diego Electrical Workers Minority Caucus (EWMC) and Vice President of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW 569). Kevin Alvin is an EWMC board member and a Business Agent for IBEW 569. Kevin Gorman and Kevin Alvin are both residents in San Diego City Council District 4.

The Electrical Workers Minority Caucus  (EWMC) San Diego is a local organization that supports and assists organizing efforts of minority workers in the IBEW, fosters leadership development, performs community service projects, and facilitates the involvement of minority workers in community and political affairs.

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) is the oldest and largest union dedicated to electrical workers in the United States. Local 569 is comprised of approximately 2500 men and women in San Diego and Imperial Counties.