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April 14, 2010 (San Diego) – All five members of the San Diego Board of Supervisors are conservative Republicans, including Supervisor Ron Roberts, who has held office for nearly 20 years. Though incumbents’ seats are generally considered safe barring a scandal, Roberts may be vulnerable due to changing demographics in his district and a formidable pack of Democratic candidates running for his seat. In fact, the Fourth Supervisorial District now has a hefty majority of 127,000 registered Democrats and only 87,000 registered Republicans, as well as 67,000 who decline to state party affiliation.
Four Democrats say that Roberts has lost touch with his constituents and has failed to represent the needs of families, working people, the poor, and the middle class. Democrats vying to replace Roberts are Shelia Jackson, president of the San Diego Unified School Board, Juan del Rio, affordable housing advocate, journalist/community activist Steve Whitburn, and retired teacher Margaret Moody.
The Fourth District stretches east to include San Diego State University and the college area as well as ethnically diverse neighborhoods such as City Heights, a hub for refugees and immigrants. It stretches from Paradise Hills and Encanto in the southeast to University City and Miramar in the north. The district also encompasses a diverse mix of communities including Hillcrest, Rolando, Chollas View, Oak Park, Golden Hill, Little Italy, North Park, South Park, Clairemont, Mission Hills and Old Town. (View district map: http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/cnty/bos/sup4/map.html .)
Roberts has a huge lead in terms of fundraising and the power of incumbency for name recognition. But Democrats collectively have boots on the ground, with candidates mobilizing core constituencies including Latinos, African-Americans, working families, parents and students, gay and lesbian voters, as well as reaching out to motivate poor and middle class constituencies.
Although Supervisor races are officially nonpartisan, meaning party affiliation does not appear on the ballot, Democrats in this race are openly touting their party in hopes of collectively gaining enough votes to block Roberts from obtaining 50% of the vote in June. If no candidate receives at least 50%, then a run-off among top contenders will occur on the November ballot.
To view our exclusive interviews with each of the candidates, click on their photos below.
To view Supervisor Ron Roberts’ website, visit http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/cnty/bos/sup4/bio.html .
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