Two politicians battling to represent Clairemont and Point Loma on the City Council sparred this week over increasing taxes, trash service, homelessness and whether San Diego should be compared to Coronado.
Democrat Nicole Crosby and Republican-turned-independent Richard Bailey also debated during a Thursday forum what services the city should cut, rent control for seniors and the proposed Midway Rising project.
Bailey and Crosby are trying to replace termed-out Councilmember Jennifer Campbell in District 2, which also includes Ocean Beach, Mission Beach, Loma Portal, Roseville, Sunset Cliffs and nearby areas.
Crosby supported a 1-cent city sales tax hike that voters narrowly rejected in 2024, and she expressed support for another attempt.
She stressed that all the money from a local increase would stay in San Diego. She also noted that San Diego has the lowest sales tax rate in the county.
Bailey opposes any new taxes.
“The city does not have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem,” he said.
On the city’s oft-criticized trash service, Crosby said she would replace property tax billing with more traditional monthly billing after a recent scandal where 87,000 customers were overcharged or undercharged.
Bailey would go much further.
“The right thing is for the city to not be in the trash business whatsoever,” said Bailey, contending that shifting to private haulers would save customers 20% to 30%.
The candidates, who are locked in a Nov. 3 runoff, also disagreed on city homelessness spending and enforcement of the city’s 2-year-old camping ban.
Bailey praised the ban but criticized the city for lax enforcement of it.
“They need to combine compassionate outreach with enforcement,” Bailey said.
Crosby argued against enforcing the ban, contending it creates hours and hours of extra work for police and firefighters.
“We need to not enforce the camping ban because that has actually been costing the city so much more money than providing housing and resources to people,” she said.
On homelessness in general, Bailey said he would sharply cut city spending.
“In 2017, the city was spending approximately $20 million a year on homelessness, and today they are spending about $220 million a year,” he said. “Has the problem gotten any better? No.”
Crosby suggested some more modest changes, such as more cooperation among agencies on available shelter beds.
“It’s always a mystery who has beds and who doesn’t,” she said.
The two also clashed over Coronado, where Bailey served as mayor for eight years before moving to Point Loma.
Bailey said one reason voters should pick him is how financially stable and well-run Coronado is compared to San Diego.
“When you drive across the bridge into Coronado, you’ll notice the streets are actually paved, the parks are actually clean and well-maintained and the downtown business environment is a safe and enjoyable place,” he said.
Crosby said the comparison was ridiculous.
“You have a very rich constituency and it’s tiny,” she said.
Bailey and Crosby also debated his proposal to solve the city’s financial crisis by slashing staff back to 2015 levels.
He said that would turn a $100 million structural deficit into a $200 million surplus and yield an additional $100 million in annual pension savings.
Crosby compared Bailey’s plan to the Trump administration’s 2025 to slash federal staffing with a new Department of Government Efficiency.
“My opponent wants to DOGE the city and it’s just preposterous,” she said. ‘You’re going to be firing 1,000 people, including the firefighters, the lifeguards, the police officers, the stormwater workers, the pothole fillers — these are people that are necessary.”
Crosby said she would support rent control for senior citizens to help them avoid homelessness.
“There are people who say we shouldn’t have rent control, but let’s talk about a plan that will actually help our seniors,” she said.
Bailey disagreed.
“You’d be hard-pressed to find a single economist in the world — right, left or center —who agrees with rent control,” he said.
The two candidates agreed on many subjects during the 90-minute forum, which was sponsored by the Peninsula Community Planning Board and held at the Point Loma Library.
They both support the city’s 30-foot coastal height limit, they both agree City Hall should listen to community planning groups more and they both criticized the city’s Complete Communities housing incentive for allowing too much density without complementary new infrastructure.
They also fielded several questions about Midway Rising, with both candidates generally agreeing that the existing proposal does not require enough new infrastructure and does not include enough parking.