What to expect in first San Diego mayoral debate
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One of only two debates between Mayor Todd Gloria and Larry Turner, the independent police officer running against his re-election bid, is set to air Wednesday night.
Driving the news: Ahead of the debate, 10News and the Union-Tribune released a joint poll showing a tight race with a huge share of undecided voters.
- 37% of respondents supported giving Gloria a second term while 33% backed Turner, a first time candidate, and 28% were undecided, per the poll of 581 likely voters by SurveyUSA.
- The debate is scheduled to air at 7pm on 10news, but was recorded Tuesday night.
What we're watching: The debate is likely to focus heavily on housing costs, which 52% of respondents said was the city's biggest problem, and homelessness, which drew the second most concern, with 27% listing it as the biggest problem.
Between the lines: Turner has focused his challenge on Gloria's response to homelessness. In recent months he's rallied with residents opposed to Gloria's plan to build the city's largest shelter in a Middletown warehouse.
- Gloria's proposal ran into council opposition, and he's now asking property owners to offer potential options as hundreds of shelter beds are due to shut down in the coming months.
- Last year, Gloria won council approval of a crackdown on homeless encampments. Turner supported the move but says police should be able to enforce penalties without having to issue warnings.
State of play: Housing prices in the city, meanwhile, are showing small, early signs of softening, but 30% of renters still spend more than half of their paycheck on housing.
- Since his time on the city council, Gloria has advocated combating rising prices by making it easier to build dense housing in the urban core; a surge in housing permits last year could indicate those actions are beginning to turn into results.
- In an August interview with Axios, Turner said increased housing density makes the city "a little less inhabitable."
- "I don't believe we have a housing shortage crisis," he said.
What's next: The only other televised debate of the mayoral race airs live on KPBS on Oct. 3.