In an August special primary election a fill District 4’s vacant supervisor seat (Nathan Fletcher resigned in May) for the remainder of the current term ending in January 2027, Democrat Monica Montgomery Steppe and Republican Amy Reichert emerged as the top two vote getters, respectively. As such, the two now face off in the Nov. 7 runoff election.

The district represents the nearly 700,000 residents of county District 4 — making up central San Diego neighborhoods such as the College Area, Clairemont and City Heights, as well as the cities of La Mesa, Lemon Grove and beyond.

Mission Times Courier/College Times Courier caught up recently with the candidates via email for a Q&A.

The candidates were given the same questions to respond to.

MTC: Gas, food, electric, rent and more continue going up for many San Diegans. What are some solutions you would propose if elected to the District 4 Supervisor seat to help locals deal with such increases?

Montgomery Steppe: The County of San Diego has a budget over $8 billion, and has the responsibility of addressing human services in addition to other government mandates. The folks we elect as County Supervisors should have the experience and competence worthy of such a big responsibility at a time when San Diegans need support more than ever.

I grew up in this District and see how the high cost of living is hurting folks. I hear every day about concerns of homelessness and housing costs, and the cost of living is the thread between most of these concerns. While the communities in this District and others have a great need for more affordable housing, displacement and the current cost of housing is a risk for families.

In my time on the San Diego City Council, I have advocated for many actions that would help address these costs. I voted in support of creation of San Diego Community Power to bring competition and lower prices to the electricity service in our region for the first time (and was the first woman to sit on the Board).

As a board member of MTS, I voted to adopt free Youth Opportunity Passes, along with a mid-year adjustment for passes for foster youth. Eliminating financial barriers to public transit is a benefit for youth in our region who can not afford a car to get to school and work.

I also recently voted to oppose water rate increases at the City of San Diego. While I understand the costs to provide that service have risen, we must do better to ensure rising costs don’t have an outsized impact on our neighbors that are least able to afford living in San Diego.

And while we don’t control gas prices at the local level, we must use our budget and our influence as the second largest County in California to affect changes at the State and federal level and bring additional dollars to our region.

reichert: So many of these issues are caused by bad government policy.

California has the highest gas tax in the nation, over 400,000 county residents are severely rent-burdened, and to make matters worse the San Diego City Council recently increased water rates by 20%. If the government would simply get out of the way on these issues, San Diegans wouldn’t be suffering.

One example is the State of California partnering with energy companies to charge people for electricity based on their income, including those who have solar. This is just another reason people are fleeing our County, because they cannot afford it.

We need practical solutions that won’t hurt people here and now.

Currently, we are taxing people out of California. I was once a single mom who raised children in this county and I know challenges firsthand. I will work on real solutions that address the root causes and make sure government is providing real solutions and not broken promises.

MTC: Do you worry about too many local businesses moving out of the area or going out of business because costs in general to run a business continue to climb? If this happens, what is the impact on the overall San Diego economy?

Montgomery Steppe: San Diego is a region made up of mostly small businesses. My parents are both entrepreneurs that have managed to create and maintain successful small businesses here in District 4, but I have seen the struggles they have gone through to stay in business over the years. I have also been a small business owner, and understand how difficult it is and the blind spot many politicians have for the issues.

In the City, I established the Strategic Alliance of Ethnic Chambers which is composed of the  Asian Business Association of San Diego, the Central San Diego Black Chamber of Commerce, and the San Diego County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Together the organizations represent tens of thousands of local businesses throughout the region. The alliance was critical in providing financial assistance to small and disadvantaged minority businesses in low and moderate-income, census tracts, Promise Zones, and Opportunity Zones.

I will continue to leverage the alliance to assist in providing the needed capital and resources to help our existing businesses thrive and new businesses succeed.

reichert: I am a lifelong San Diegan and I noticed the sudden steep decline of San Diego within the past five years. In fact, this seems to be the one issue that Democrats, Republicans and Independents agrees on. The elected officials that have gotten us into this mess have failed us. Roads in the City of San Diego are crumbling. The City of San Diego has a projected deficit of $350 million. Beware of anyone running for County Supervisor who says they want to spend County reserves and lead us into the same disastrous conditions in the City of San Diego where roads are riddled with potholes, downtown businesses lock their doors during business hours and businesses are fleeing because they cannot guarantee the safety of their employees or their customers. As I have done in the past three years, I will continue to stand up for our small businesses and make sure they are not burdened by higher taxes that are passed on to San Diegans.

MTC: Many roads in San Diego are in dire need of attention. What solutions do you have to improve road infrastructure in District 4?

Montgomery Steppe: Paving roads is the responsibility of the County for the unincorporated areas of District 4, and is the City’s responsibility for the incorporated areas.

As Chair of the City’s budget committee chair, I voted for historic investments to have our streets paved to the tune of over $100 million. Prior to being the budget chair, I championed driving investment to pave our roads in older communities for roads that had been neglected for decades. This is because I know first hand the backlog of repair and maintenance and the shortfall in funding.

In times of scarcity, there is the incentive in government budgeting to opt for lower cost repairs that don’t last as long so over time end up being more costly. However, I have a record of prioritizing street repair and paving, and I will continue to do so at the County.

reichert: Keeping our roads safe and maintained is a top priority. The County of San Diego oversees the maintenance and is responsible for the roads in the unincorporated areas while the City of San Diego is responsible for the notoriously potholed roads within its jurisdiction.

I am committed to ensuring road safety by making sure tax dollars are spent on road improvement. It does not make sense to spend more money on bike lanes when the roads are not safe for bicycles because they are riddled with potholes. Right now, over 2/3rds of Transnet dollars are going to public transit and bike lanes, that’s millions and millions of dollars that should be going to roads.

We need a balanced transportation plan, but right now there is a movement to punish those who are driving, which make up 96% of the population.

MTC: Homelessness continues to be an issue whenever we chat. A. Are elected officials in San Diego doing enough to tackle this major issue? B. Where do you draw the line between allowing people to be homeless and issuing them citations for parking, camping out in neighborhoods for days at a time etc.? C. What message do you have for those District 4 residents fed up with homeless issues right in their neighborhoods?

Montgomery Steppe: First, I did not vote in support of the recent Unsafe Camping Ordinance passed by the City of San Diego and with other cities in the region following suit (aka the camping ban). It is votes like these that are a true test of what it means to be an elected official who does the hard work to understand an issue from all perspectives and stand by a difficult vote.

The reason I voted against it is that I felt it was both bad policy and also not how we should treat our fellow humans. We MUST address the homelessness issue and do better. But all the camping ban will do (and is already doing) is driving our unhoused folks to the neighborhoods, including many in District 4, away from the urban core where they are farther from services that can help them.

As we heard from many homeless service providers who also opposed the camping ban, we must continue to provide more shelters and permanent supportive housing for our unsheltered neighbors, while we pursue more affordable housing development. The County needs to put resources towards these solutions, period. Criminalizing homelessness, especially when a disproportionate amount of unhoused San Diegans are black and brown people, without providing a sufficient amount of shelter is not the solution.

Homelessness is the number one issue on most people’s minds, but homeless youth are under counted and rarely part of the conversation. Local school districts have estimated there to be up to 20,000 homeless youth in the region – but they aren’t included in the Point In Time Count or most of the tools and resources and programs created to address homelessness. This lack of data is a huge problem I am committed to solving, and I have and will continue to champion changing the Point In Time Count and/or partnering with the school districts to get a more holistic picture of the issue. We cannot fight what we cannot see.

The data we do have – from the Regional Task Force on Homelessness – shows for every 10 people who make it out of homelessness, 13 experience homelessness for the first time. This has put prevention at the forefront of our policy-making needs. These policies include tenant protections, subsidies, and other solutions I have a proven record of championing.

Despite the rhetoric we hear, it’s not that our unhoused neighbors reject help when offered, it’s more common that the help isn’t available when it’s needed. One key missing piece is the proper staffing for service providers and case managers. I would champion a partnership with our community college districts to subsidize tuition for students studying social service majors in exchange for job placement within our community-based homelessness and mental health and addiction service infrastructure for a minimum of three years.

Additionally, it is imperative the County review all opportunities of County-owned land that can be used for donations or subsidies encouraging non-profit developers and housing service providers to provide low-cost to no-cost homelessness solutions.

reichert: No, elected officials are not doing enough to address the homeless crisis. They have failed not only the homeless but the communities they reside in.

This failure of leadership has resulted in encampments in front of businesses, our schools and our parks. California has spent over $25 billion on homelessness and for all that money being spent, we have seen homelessness dramatically increase. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. It shouldn’t surprise anyone to learn that there are many politicians on the verge of insanity in California. For years, we have witnessed billions of dollars spent trying to “House the Homeless,” yet the problem continues to worsen. One of the biggest reasons is the State’s only approach, Housing First.

Between 2005 and 2016, chronic homelessness in California decreased by 51%. However, this positive trend took a sharp reversal after the implementation of Housing First in 2016. Between 2016 and 2022, chronic homelessness increased by a staggering 93%, reaching levels not seen since 2005. Today, nearly one in three homeless individuals in the country resides in California. The rest of the nation has seen a decrease in homelessness, with the homeless count dropping from 622,000 in 2012 to 582,000 in 2022.

Enabling addicts to continue using is not compassionate. We wouldn’t allow our friends or family members to spiral into addiction without intervening, so why should we allow members of our community to do so?

The focus should be on providing a hand-up, not a perpetual handout. We must address the root causes of homelessness, tackling issues such as mental health and addiction. Taxpayers deserve accountability for the exorbitant amount of money being spent, and they are rightfully tired of witnessing the problem persist and worsen.

My opponent voted against the Unsafe Camping Ordinance without suggesting an alternative plan or solution. Allowing people to sleep and perish on our streets is not a compassionate nor feasible approach. The message I have for District 4 residents is one of hope. My comprehensive plan, “Shelter First with Treatment” can be found with details here: https://amyforsandiego.com/updates/amys-plan-to-resolve-the-homeless-crisis

MTC: If your opponent is elected, will you support them and encourage your supporters to get behind them to improve life in District 4?

Montgomery Steppe: Yes, of course. In addition to holding elected office and knowing first hand how difficult it is to do the real work of governance and policy-making, I also am a constituent of this district. We should expect those that are in elected office to be independent thinkers, to do the hard work of deeply understanding the issues and listening to the folks who are closest to the pain, and can stand by their vote even when it’s unpopular amongst their party or colleagues. I want the people that are elected to represent me to both be supported and held accountable, and I expect to be held to the same standards.

reichert: I love San Diego and I will consistently stand behind those who genuinely care about and have the best interests and well-being of San Diego at heart.

Top photo credit: Pixabay.com