The packed room was clearly with 3rd District Councilmember Todd Gloria for a third term as City Council president Wednesday, but he lost it by one vote and the new president is 1st District Councilmember Sherri Lightner.
All four Republican Councilmembers and Lightner voted against Gloria for a third term, causing the motion to re-elect Gloria to fail. A second vote was taken after it was clear Gloria could not prevail, and Lightner was elected in a 7-2 vote, which was opposed by Gloria and David Alvarez.
A small scattering of “boos” was heard as Lightner assumed the post, and the one hour and 38-minute Council session that decided who the next Council president would be was over.
Lightner did not make a statement and Republicans Lorie Zapf, Mark Kersey, and Chris Cate did not explain their votes. But 7th District Councilman Scott Sherman, a Republican, did explain his vote for Lightner, a Democrat.
“Todd Gloria has a done a great job. He came and healed the city,” began Sherman, adding he did not want to go into the sexual harassment scandal of former Mayor Bob Filner which led Gloria to be the interim mayor for five months.
“He was the right person for the (mayor’s) job at the right time,” began Sherman. “That doesn’t mean the job goes in perpetuity.”
“The last time I voted for Todd Gloria I was praised for being non-partisan. Am I going to be partisan if I vote for a different Democrat?” asked Sherman.
“Sherrie Lightner has proven herself to be a very capable leader, a very bipartisan leader,” Sherman told the crowd. “Todd’s done a good job here. But at the same time, there are times to step down and let somebody else take the reins.”
“She would be the first woman council president,” said Sherman.
Immediately after the vote, Gloria cited “politics” as the reason he lost. “This wasn’t about my performance as council president, as a councilmember, or as interim mayor. That’s disappointing, but I’ll carry on.”
“I will still be active, involved, tough spoken when necessary,” added Gloria.
Dr. Carl Luna, political science professor at Mesa College, said this to KWSB-TV(Channel 5): “It’s surprising. One would not expect Todd Gloria to go down in flames like this.”
Luna added: “She’s blazing her own path. The question is can she get the other Democrats to follow her or will Republicans be able to do what they want?”
Before the final vote, 7th District Councilmember Marti Emerald said this to Gloria: “I find it personally very sad and disappointing that we can’t get you five votes.”
“Since Todd could not muster 5 votes,” continued Emerald, who then nominated Lightner as the new president, adding that Lightner would be the first female Council president “with a great sense of promise.”
Emerald’s motion was seconded by Zapf. Besides Republicans Zapf, Kersey, Sherman and Cate, this second vote also drew votes from 4th District Councilmember Myrtle Cole and Lightner.
Several dozen public speakers praised Gloria repeatedly including Stampp Corbin, publisher of LGBT Weekly, before the vote. Corbin told the Council he suspected they had already made up their minds.
“The citizens are asking you to reconsider. The citizens of this city clearly want to honor the young man who stepped forward during a very difficult time,” said Corbin. “It’s about what the citizens of San Diego want.”
One of the first things Lightner must do is appoint heads to all of the City Council committees and representatives who will represent the City as members of outside organizations. The Council is expected to vote on that next week, and they will have to pick a president pro tem, a job that Lightner held for two years in which she acted as council president when Gloria was absent.
Ironically, Gloria likely would have been re-elected Dec. 8 when the original vote was scheduled because Cate was not sworn into office until Dec. 10 and Democrat Edward Harris was still on the Council. Gloria and the Council voted 8-0 to suspend the rules and have the vote taken after Cate was sworn into office Dec. 10.
“It’s the right thing to do,” said Gloria, adding that it made sense and transparency for Cate to be able to vote for council president.
After the selection of the new Council president Gloria issued the following statement,
“Today’s decision was based on politics, not performance. While, of course, I am disappointed by the outcome, San Diegans know that I’ve never needed a title to accomplish important things for our city. I’ve always asked people to just call me Todd.
“At my core, I ran for office because I want to empower people to improve their lives and raise up their communities. I remain strongly committed to advancing initiatives that do that and I will now dedicate more time, energy and commitment to these efforts to help San Diego families.
“It was a privilege to serve as the Council President. I am very proud of the progress we made as a Council and as a city. From balancing the budget to paving more streets to leading the city through the civic nightmare of a mayoral resignation in a bipartisan, respectful way, San Diego is better off today than it was two years ago. I congratulate Council President Lightner on her election and will work with her and the Council to keep our city on this path.
“Thank you to countless people who have reached out in recent days to lend their support, as well as to the people of Council District Three who I am honored to continue to serve. In spite of the political maneuvering that occurred today, I remain tenaciously committed to San Diego and its people.”
Ligthner left City Hall without commenting on her new position. However, she later issued a statement that said she is honored her colleagues have selected her as their new leader,
“I have worked hard during my six years on Council to be fair, open minded, and independent. I’ve always been a voice for our neighborhoods, and I’m not afraid to go against the grain or stand up for the little guy. I’ll continue to do my homework and make well-researched, informed decisions,” her statement read in part.
