SAN DIEGO – Anthony Bernal, a candidate for San Diego City Council in District Three, challenged the Chargers today to come up with a financing plan for a new stadium that works for San Diego taxpayers, and said he would like to work with them to get it done. A football fan himself, Bernal would like to keep the Chargers in San Diego, but not at the expense of taxpayers.
“We have been discussing the possibility of a new stadium in San Diego for years now,” Bernal said. “San Diegans are making it very clear that they love the Chargers but improving our crumbling infrastructure is a much higher priority.”
Bernal’s campaign put together a short survey* on the possibility of building a new stadium Downtown. Over 200 people participated in the survey and, as of today, 51% actually said they are open to considering a new stadium in Downtown. Sixty-nine percent, however, said they would not vote to use taxpayer dollars to build the stadium and 65% said cost to taxpayers is their biggest concern.
Bernal says the feedback he receives from residents and the results of the survey indicate that there is only one possible solution: the stadium must be funded without taxpayer dollars. Bernal concludes, “If the Chargers really want to build a stadium in San Diego, we have to come up with a proposal that doesn’t ask taxpayers to choose football over infrastructure.”
Bernal has experience working at City Hall. For more than seven years, Bernal has worked in the office of incumbent San Diego City Councilmember for the Third District, Todd Gloria, who will be termed out in 2016. Bernal serves as Councilmember Gloria’s Director of Business and Community Projects.
The 2016 primary will occur June 7. www.bernal4all.com.
