Kevin Faulconer

Kevin Faulconer
36th Mayor of San Diego
Assumed office
March 3, 2014
Preceded by Todd Gloria (Acting)
Member of San Diego City Council
from the 2nd district
In office
January 2006 – March 3, 2014
Preceded by Michael Zucchet
Succeeded by Ed Harris
Personal details
Born (1967-01-24) January 24, 1967
Oxnard, California, U.S.
Political party Republican
Alma mater San Diego State University
Website Government website

Kevin Faulconer (born January 24, 1967) is the mayor of San Diego, California. He was elected in a special election in February 2014 and is serving the balance of his predecessor's term, through the end of 2016.[1] He was sworn in as mayor on March 3, 2014.[2] On June 7, 2016, he won re-election to a second term.

Prior to his election as mayor, Faulconer served as a San Diego City Council member representing City Council District 2. He served on the council from January 2006 to March 2014,[3] including two years as the council president pro tem, the number two leadership position on the council.[4] He is a Republican, although local government positions are officially nonpartisan per California state law.

Life and career

Faulconer was born and raised in Oxnard, California,[5] where he learned to speak Spanish in grade school.[6] Graduating from San Diego State University in 1990, he was a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity, and served one year as Student Body President of Associated Students. He and his wife Katherine, a small business owner, live in Point Loma with their two children.[7] Before running for office he was an executive with the public relations firm NCG Porter Novelli and volunteered on the Mission Bay Park Committee.[5]

San Diego City Council

Faulconer and Todd Gloria at a San Diego Comic-Con event in 2014

Faulconer ran in the 2002 city council election for district 2 but lost to Michael Zucchet in a close-fought election.[8] After Zucchet resigned in 2005, a special election was held that November. There were 17 candidates and none got a majority, so a runoff was held on January 10, 2006, between the two top vote-getters, Faulconer and Lorena Gonzalez.[9] Faulconer won the runoff with 51.5% of the vote.[10] He was elected to a full term in June 2006 [11] and re-elected in June 2010;[12] in both cases he won an outright majority in the primary and so did not have to run in the November general election. He was ineligible to run for re-election in 2014 per city term limits.

Although Faulconer was once a supporter of alcohol being allowed on public beaches in San Diego (his 2006 opponent Gonzalez supported a limited ban), he changed his opinion after winning election to the city council. Following an alcohol-fueled riot at Pacific Beach in 2007, he persuaded the city council to pass a trial one-year ban on alcohol at the beaches; the next year the ban was made permanent by a citywide vote.[13] The ban has not been challenged since, with the community generally approving of cleaner beaches and fewer emergency calls, and lifeguards and police saying it has made their jobs easier. However, the long-term economic impact, claimed by one individual to be a 160,000 person reduction in attendance on holiday weekends and a 50% drop in revenue for beach businesses, has not been studied.[14]

In the fall of 2006, over 30 bars and restaurants in Pacific Beach agreed with one another to limit the offering of discounts on alcohol drinks.[15] Faulconer supported the price-fixing agreement and spoke at the press conference announcing the agreement.[16]

He campaigned against a proposed sales tax increase in 2010. Other issues he promoted include the North Embarcadero Visionary Plan and more housing services for the homeless.[7] He pushed for several years for an ordinance limiting the parking of oversize vehicles on the streets; the ordinance finally passed the city council in July 2013.[17]

Faulconer was chair of the council's Audit Committee, which is charged with clearing out an audit backlog and restoring the city's credit rating. He was vice chair of the Rules and Economic Development Committee and a member of the Budget and Finance Committee.[18]

Mayor of San Diego

San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer marching in the 2014 San Diego Gay Pride Parade

In September 2013 Faulconer entered the race to succeed mayor Bob Filner in the special election.[19] He was endorsed by the local Republican Party[20][21] and by former Mayor Jerry Sanders, now president of the San Diego Chamber of Commerce. Faulconer was also endorsed by former San Diego city attorney and mayoral candidate Mike Aguirre, a Democrat.[22] He campaigned both in English and Spanish.[23]

In the election held November 19, 2013 he received 43.58 percent of the vote and advanced to a runoff election against fellow city councilmember David Alvarez in February 2014.[24] He was elected mayor on February 11 with 54.5% of the vote. He was sworn in on March 3, 2014.

In August 2014 he vetoed a measure passed by the City Council which would increase the minimum wage in San Diego. The Council overrode his veto by a vote of 6 to 2.[25] However, implementation of the measure was delayed by a successful signature drive led by business groups, forcing a public referendum on the issue in June 2016.[26]

A major issue during his first term has been a bid by the San Diego Chargers to move to the Los Angeles area. Faulconer has campaigned strongly to keep the Chargers in San Diego and has proposed that the city build a new stadium, financed in part by the city and county governments.[27]

In 2015 he declared his intention to run for a second term in 2016.[28] In January 2016, former state assemblywoman Lori Saldaña announced she would run against Faulconer.[29] He won re-election in the June 7, 2016 primary by garnering 58.2% of the vote.[30]

Faulconer supports a path to citizenship for undocumented Hispanics who live in the United States.[23]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Special election to replace Filner set for November 19". KFMB-TV. August 28, 2013. Retrieved August 30, 2013.
  2. ↑ "Mayor-elect Kevin Faulconer expected to be sworn in March 3". CBS-8. February 12, 2014. Retrieved February 17, 2014.
  3. ↑ Steele, Jeanette (January 14, 2006), "City Council newcomer outlines wide-ranging agenda", San Diego Union Tribune, p. B4
  4. ↑ La Jolla Light, lajollalight.com, December 14, 2010.
  5. 1 2 Profile, San Diego News Network, July 28, 2009.
  6. ↑ "How to Be a Republican Mayor". The Atlantic. January 3, 2016. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
  7. 1 2 City Council biography page
  8. ↑ San Diego Union-Tribune, November 9, 2005
  9. ↑ 10 News, November 9, 2005
  10. ↑ San Diego County election results, co.san-diego.ca.us, January 2006.
  11. ↑ Primary election results June 2006
  12. ↑ Primary election results June 2010
  13. ↑ Dillon, Liam (September 12, 2013). "How Kevin Faulconer Banned Booze at the Beach". Voice of San Diego. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
  14. ↑ Schwab, Dave (September 2013). "A look at the beach booze ban six years later". San Diego Community Newspaper Group. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
  15. ↑ http://www.justice.gov/atr/cases/f300700/300717.pdf
  16. ↑ Pacific Beach Business Wave (Fall 2006). "Councilmember Faulconer, Chief Lansdowne, and business community support Community Covenant" (Volume 3, Issue 5).
  17. ↑ De La Rosa, Christian (July 8, 2013). "City Council passes oversized vehicle restrictions". Fox 5 San Diego. Retrieved November 4, 2013.
  18. ↑ "City Council Committee Meetings". City of San Diego. Retrieved July 18, 2013.
  19. ↑ "Faulconer jumps into race for mayor: Aguirre expected to formally announce bid". ABC 10 News. September 4, 2013. Retrieved September 4, 2013.
  20. ↑ Weisberg, Lori (October 29, 2013). "Cal Atty Gen backs Fletcher for mayor". San Diego Union. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
  21. ↑ Gustafson, Craig (February 11, 2014). "Faulconer wins mayor's race". San Diego Union Tribune. Retrieved February 17, 2014.
  22. ↑ August, J. W. (October 30, 2010). "Kevin Faulconer campaign commercial uses face familiar to San Diegans". ABC 10 News. Retrieved November 3, 2013.
  23. 1 2 Willon, Phil (February 11, 2016). "Q&A San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer provides a glimmer of hope for a Republican revival in California". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
  24. ↑ "San Diego mayor race: Alvarez, Faulconer expected to meet in runoff". ABC 10 News. November 19, 2013. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
  25. ↑ Perry, Tony (August 19, 2014). "San Diego City Council overrides mayor's veto of minimum-wage hike". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  26. ↑ "Enough Signatures Gathered To Force San Diego Minimum Wage Hike To Ballot". KPBS. October 16, 2014. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  27. ↑ "Mayor offers $350M of public funding for new Chargers stadium". Fox 5 San Diego. August 10, 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  28. ↑ Garrick, David (October 26, 2015). "Democrat challenging Faulconer's re-election". San Diego Union Tribune. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  29. ↑ Garrick, David (January 25, 2016). "Saldana challenging Faulconer for re-election". The San Diego Union Tribune. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  30. ↑ Garrick, David (June 8, 2016). "Faulconer re-elected; Bry, Ellis in council runoff". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
Political offices
Preceded by
Todd Gloria
Acting		 Mayor of San Diego
2014–present 		Incumbent
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