District 2 hopefuls on housing, SDG&E

The candidates are:

• Richard Bailey – Former Coronado mayor
• Josh Coyne – Former Chief of Staff at Downtown San Diego Partnership
• Nicole Crosby – Deputy city attorney
• Mandy Havlik – Community activist
• Jacob Mitchell – Chemist and MBA student
• Mike Rickey – Merchant Marine
• Paul Suppa – Trial attorney

We posed questions from you on utilities and housing. Bailey, Mitchell and Rickey did not respond to our questions.

Q: How will you reduce utility costs?

Suppa thinks the City Council must hold SDG&E accountable even though it doesn't set rates directly. He would:

• ⚖️ Demand transparency and oppose unjustified rate increases, drawing on his experience suing PG&E on behalf of Camp Fire victims.

Havlik thinks San Diego hasn't been using its influence over SDG&E the way it should. She would:

• 🤝 Build a regional coalition across Southern California to pressure SDG&E to renegotiate transmission costs.
• 🏛️ Seriously explore a public power model to introduce real competition and transparency.
• 🔍 Push for stronger oversight of infrastructure programs like undergrounding so costs aren't passed to ratepayers.
• 💰 Create targeted subsidies and relief programs for residents struggling with rising bills.

Crosby thinks the city must start planning now for SDG&E's 2031 franchise agreement expiration. She would:

• 📋 Launch a formal five-year evaluation process using audits and performance metrics to strengthen the city's negotiating position.
• 🏙️ Investigate the feasibility of a municipally owned utility to introduce competition while preserving union jobs.

Coyne thinks City Hall should be focused on lowering costs for working families. He would:

• 🤝 Push for the best possible deal in future franchise fee negotiations, prioritizing lower costs for residents and small businesses.
• ☀️ Expand community power options and local clean energy generation to give residents more control.

Q: What specific policies would you support to address housing costs?

Suppa thinks housing growth must be responsible and tied to infrastructure. He would:

• 🚇 Support housing production near transit and job centers, faster permitting, ADUs, and adaptive reuse.

• 🏖️ Ban short-term vacation rentals in residential neighborhoods to keep homes on the long-term market.
• 🛣️ Require new growth to be matched with roads, sewers, parks, schools, and other infrastructure.

Havlik thinks the city has leaned too heavily on apartments and ADUs at the expense of homeownership options. She would:

• 🏡 Push for more condos and townhomes to give families a real path to ownership.
• 💵 Expand down payment assistance and emergency funding to prevent housing instability.
• 👴 Provide targeted rent relief and stabilization for seniors on fixed incomes.
• 🎟️ Build more deeply affordable units that support housing voucher programs.

Crosby thinks corporate ownership and short-term rentals are driving families out. She would:

• 🏢 Eliminate tax incentives for large companies buying up affordable housing.
• 🔄 Update short-term rental policies to create more homeownership opportunities.
• 🏘️ Promote gentle density with family-friendly homeownership, preserving parking and neighborhood character.
• 📊 Establish auditing standards with the San Diego Housing Commission to track affordable housing progress.

Coyne thinks increasing supply is the only real path to lower housing costs. He would:

• 🏗️ Prioritize "missing middle" housing, especially in areas like the Midway District, for working families, seniors and teachers.
• ✂️ Reduce red tape and streamline permitting to move projects forward faster.
• 🤝 Pair growth with infrastructure improvements, public safety investments, and community engagement.