District 2 hopefuls split on police, city spending
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San Diego voters in District 2 will narrow the field on June 2 for a council member to fill an open seat.
The council race has attracted the most candidates and spending.
Catch up quick: District 2 covers Clairemont, Point Loma, Mission Beach, Ocean Beach and the Midway District. The top two vote-getters on June 2 will advance to the November election.
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 city spending and the police budget. Bailey, Mitchell and Rickey did not respond to our questions.
Q: What's your stance on the SDPD budget relative to other city services?
Paul Suppa thinks the police budget has grown unchecked while basic neighborhood services have been gutted. He would:
- ❌ Rescind the proposed FY2027 SDPD budget increase.
- 📚 Redirect those funds to reopen libraries and restore arts, cultural and community programs.
- ⚖️ Insist every department share in budget sacrifices — including SDPD overtime and compensation.
Mandy Havlik thinks SDPD is being treated as exempt from the budget deficit while residents bear the cuts. She would:
- 🔍 Take a hard look at police overtime, especially for special events, and demand accountability.
- 🏛️ Treat public safety broadly, saying libraries, rec centers and maintained neighborhoods are safety too.
Nicole Crosby thinks police resources are misallocated and need smarter targeting. She would:
- 🧾 Audit the full city budget immediately upon taking office.
- 🤝 Develop partnerships with the county to deliver behavioral health services and reduce police calls related to homelessness.
- 👮 Prioritize police response times over parking enforcement, which disproportionately burdens low-income residents.
- 🗣️ Implement police review boards and direct community involvement in policing decisions.
Josh Coyne thinks SDPD needs to be properly staffed, but says the city also must invest in broader services. He would:
- 👮 Prioritize SDPD recruitment and retention to improve response times and neighborhood policing.
- 🌳 Continue investing in parks, libraries, homelessness outreach, and youth programs alongside public safety.
Q: The city's budget is in bad shape. What would you propose the city do to preserve services?
Paul Suppa thinks City Hall is balancing the budget on residents' backs while protecting favored spending. He would:
- 🔎 Immediately review service contracts, overtime, consulting contracts and surveillance technology spending.
- 🏛️ Prioritize libraries, parks, arts, youth programs, road repair and homelessness services above all.
Mandy Havlik thinks this is fundamentally a priorities problem, not just a math problem. She would:
- 📋 Go line by line through the budget, trimming middle management and administrative overhead.
- 🏨 Modernize the Transient Occupancy Tax and close loopholes on online travel companies to bring in revenue from visitors, not residents.
- 🔄 Renegotiate city contracts to actually benefit the city financially.
Nicole Crosby thinks the city is leaving money on the table through poor contracting and missed grant opportunities. She would:
- 🔍 Audit city contracting to ensure every dollar goes as far as possible.
- 💰 Aggressively pursue federal and state grants to fund roads, parks, public safety and housing.
Josh Coyne thinks the city needs stronger regional partnerships to ease the budget burden. He would:
- 🤝 Push the county to share costs around homelessness, behavioral health and emergency mental health response.
- 📊 Pursue a coordinated regional strategy so every level of government is accountable for homelessness outcomes.