Wednesday, we learned that Kevin Faulconer would be the next mayor of San Diego. While the final vote count will continue to trickle in, he appears to have defeated fellow Councilman David Alvarez by a comfortable margin, taking an early lead with absentee ballots and holding it well into the night. Alvarez needed a surge in Election Day voters that never came.
Surprisingly, Faulconer’s victory may not have been the most important political news of the day. Potentially more relevant was Interim Mayor Todd Gloria’s proclamation that “It’s still my city, and you’re just mayoring in it.”
OK, that’s not what he said. The actual quote was a more mundane “absolutely.” The question was whether he and the City Council would consider appointing a Democrat to serve out Faulconer’s term on City Council. With less than a year left, replacing Faulconer is achieved via an odd application process and City Council vote, not another expensive special election. If Gloria and his Council colleagues can find a reliable Democrat from Faulconer’s 2010 District 2 (pre-redistricting), they can add a sixth vote on the City Council.
That sixth vote effectively takes the veto pen out of Mayor Faulconer’s hand until after the 2014 election. If Democrats can pick up the District 2 or District 6 Council seat in 2014, they could keep that veto pen in a box through the end of Faulconer’s term.
It was always going to be tough for Mayor Faulconer to drive a conservative agenda through Council President Gloria. During his time as interim mayor, Gloria garnered tremendous good will and no doubt learned administrative ropes that Faulconer will need time to master. With a simple Council majority, Gloria could likely enact a more progressive agenda than Faulconer would like, but it would have to be negotiated to avoid a veto. With no veto threat, the sky is the limit.
That doesn’t mean Tuesday’s election was meaningless. With little to say about legislation, Faulconer may well try to flex his executive powers to keep campaign promises. Expect him to implement managed competition to the broadest extent possible, something Alvarez wouldn’t have done. Labor negotiations will be much different with Faulconer at the table, as will discussions with the tourism industry. Even on smaller issues, Faulconer could follow the micromanaging style ironically laid out by Mayor Filner, except that Faulconer is more likely to have City Attorney Goldsmith on his side.
Or Faulconer could trade some of those prerogatives to moderate the Council agenda, embodying the independent minded deal-maker he campaigned as. He may need to, because Tuesday marked not just the end of the special election, but the start of the 2016 mayoral race. By Election Day, many San Diegans were wishing they could vote for Gloria. In 2016, Gloria could give them that option. While this election showed that San Diego’s progressive coalition isn’t ready for special election-time, it will no doubt reappear in a presidential election year that might feature Hillary Clinton. Faulconer stands a much better chance in 2016 if his record is more Jerry Sanders than Carl DeMaio. Democrats will have to decide if they want to woo moderates with deal making or energize the base by passing an ambitious progressive agenda on 6-3 votes. Game on.
