A Mayoral Candidate Lacking of Good Judgment
People have asked me if I fear God. My response is, no. I respect and trust God. He is kind, caring, giving and provides guidance and direction to all people. He loves us and is present for all people around the world.
So what does this have to do with mayoral candidates? None of us want to fear the people elected to office to serve us. We want to trust and respect them, and know that they are representing all of their constituents, not just a select few. Elected officials represent thousands to millions of people, and should act accordingly.
However, that hasn’t been my experience with Todd Gloria, which is why I share concerns about his lack of judgment. And, they are based on actions, not impressions.
Over my career I have worked with hundreds of contractors, and have been a contractor myself. As the producer of First Night San Diego for upward of 18 years, which was deemed the largest family-oriented New Year’s Eve celebration on the West Coast, I’ve hired people of different backgrounds, cultures, and abilities. I have worked with the disabled, veterans, homeless, drug and alcohol recovery contractors, musicians, artists, writers, photographers, videographers, editors, graphic designers, voice over talent, models, sound and stage technicians, and the list goes on.
When Todd Gloria decided to be the co-author of AB5, he didn’t reach out to me, or any of the other contractors I know, to ask our impression of this bill. He did it without consulting with the people it impacts the most. Which is something I totally can’t understand. And, even when we question him, which I have, he has no sound, common sense response. He is still unwilling and unable to explain its purpose and consequences.
His action has impacted hundreds of thousands of people who believed he was in office to represent us. He lost our trust and respect.
Over the years, having worked with Todd Gloria as councilman, I have also experienced some questionable actions that forced me to challenge his ability to provide sound judgment.
I am on the Safe and Clean Committee for Old Town, San Diego. We help with graffiti removal in Old Town and surrounding areas, including Presidio Park. Once we notified Todd Gloria’s office of graffiti in the park and informed him we had the volunteers and graffiti removal material to do the job immediately. He had us delay for weeks with the purpose of staging a media event.
In turned out that I was the only media person who attended the event. The delay cost the city and left graffiti on the property (which attracts more graffiti) for an extended period of time, which was totally unnecessary.
After that experience, we stopped informing his office of graffiti issues and completed the removal with volunteers and donated product. We all know that graffiti shouldn’t be left on property to attract more graffiti and potential vandalism.
The incident that caused me the most concern regarding his lack of good judgment relates to the fact that for many years San Diego was free of fluoride in its drinking water. That’s because San Diegans voted twice to keep our drinking water free of this chemical because we can’t control the dosage, nor its potential for harm to those who drink the water.
However, several years ago, Todd Gloria was given the opportunity to stand with his constituents who were opposed to another attempt to add fluoride to our drinking water. To assist with this effort, a Hillcrest dentist and I met with Gloria to discuss the cause and potential effects of drinking fluoride-treated water.
The dentist (who knew Gloria personally and had contributed to his council campaign) shared his concerns with dental fluorosis, primarily for children of color. He explained to Gloria that it can create mottled (discolored) teeth that can break down. And, the only way to fix the teeth is to replace them with porcelain laminate veneers, which are expensive, and need to be replaced in 10 to 15 years. For children whose parents don’t have the financial means to do this, the children might have to wear metal options.
Gloria, rather than showing concern for these children, commented, “Kids think it’s cool to have metal teeth; shouldn’t be an issue.”
May I say, both the dentist and I were shocked. We couldn’t find a proper response for his comment, which lacked common sense and good judgment.
I am often reminded of Gloria saying this and still to this day ask, “How could he think that what he said wasn’t in poor taste and bad judgment?”
According to the CDC, nearly 23 percent of children ages 12-15 had fluorosis in a study done in 1986 and 1987. That rose to 41 percent in the more recent study, which covered the years 1999 through 2004. And, it may be as high as 60 percent in 2020.
How can I trust and respect this person who disregarded important and valid information, and acted so callously with his comments.
He did approve of adding fluoride (technically Fluosillicic acid, a by-product of aluminum and fertilizer manufacturing, which is more caustic than battery acid) to our drinking water, which is now costing us (City of San Diego taxpayers) to cover the cost of these chemicals, which the water department purchases from various unknown sources.
Obviously, our votes meant nothing.
It’s just one more reason that my trust and respect are gone. If you need to know, there are more reasons. But space is limited.
Please vote wisely. We need a mayor who speaks to us and cares about his/her constituents, and isn’t motivated by those in Sacramento and special interests.
Category: feature, Government, Local News, Politics
