Historian Thomas Frank’s 2004 book — “What’s the Matter with Kansas?” — explored why so many residents of a relatively poor state were more likely to vote for conservative candidates than those with agendas meant to help the less affluent. Frank concluded that many Kansans had been bamboozled by populist anti-elitism. Columnist George F. Will said the more likely reason was that they were voting for politicians they perceived as sharing their values.
In the California of 2026, we’re witnessing a related phenomenon, but on the left. Even as the state that is the epicenter of American poverty keeps getting more and more costly — even as quality of life issues like rampant homelessness and underperforming schools remain entrenched — many residents remain far more likely to vote for the Democrats who dominate state politics and are thus largely responsible for the status quo.
Much of this has to do not with Democrats being bamboozled but with state Republicans. Their decades-long obsession with immigration and hot-button social issues comes off as — and sometimes is — ugly nativism. Voters are naturally inclined to support those they perceive as sharing their tolerant values.
But when GOP candidates come along with a constructive, straightforward focus on making life better, their party’s baggage shouldn’t be held against them. That’s because as long as California is essentially a one-party state in which incumbents win no matter what, they have little incentive to change their ways.
Which brings us to the race in City Council District 6, which ranges from University City to Mira Mesa to Scripps Ranch in central and north San Diego. Republican Mark Powell — a successful real estate broker and former member of the county Board of Education who’s also been a reserve police officer, a classroom teacher and National University professor — is running on a reform agenda. He is sharply and properly critical of the trash collection fee bait and switch, the abrupt and chaotic imposition of paid parking at Balboa Park, and City Hall’s obsession with building little-used bike lanes.
Powell makes the point that can’t be made nearly enough: If city leaders had heeded what voters made clear they wanted in 2006 and pursued the outsourcing of city services — starting with trash collection — and heeded voters in 2012 and pursued basic pension reforms, the city’s finances would be in far better shape today. Instead, Mayor Todd Gloria and the City Council — including District 6 Councilmember Kent Lee — have spent 18 months in a near-constant push for new and higher taxes and fees.
In Lee’s responses to an Opinion board Q&A, he took thinly veiled shots at the mayor for a lack of transparency on trash fees and for poor implementation of the drastic changes at Balboa Park. But nothing he has said or done makes him likely to break with a city whose elected leaders see their top priority as staying on the good side of powerful city employee unions.
That must change. The U-T Editorial Board endorses Mark Powell in City Council District 6.
The dynamics are much different in City Council District 8, which ranges from Barrio Logan to the Tijuana River Valley to Otay Mesa East in south San Diego. Four mainstream Democrats — Gerardo Ramirez, Venus Molina, Rafael Perez and Antonio Martinez — are running for the seat being vacated by termed-out Vivian Moreno. Ramirez, Moreno’s chief of staff, and Martinez, a 14-year member of the San Ysidro school board, have made strong impressions with their criticism of how the city is run.
But in our opinion, Ramirez is far more likely to emerge as an agent for change. His responses to our questionnaire — especially on the trash fee bait and switch — were the best of the four candidates.
As for Martinez, his history as a San Ysidro school trustee actually provides the strongest reason to vote against him. In December, despite a stern warning from the county Office of Education that doing so put the district at risk of insolvency, Martinez took the lead role in winning approval for pay raises for district employees. He’d fit right in on the San Diego City Council.
That’s not acceptable. The U-T Editorial Board endorses Gerardo Ramirez in City Council District 8.
To see all our endorsements, go to www.sandiegouniontribune.com/opinion/endorsements.