The city of Coronado, a carefully tended enclave of Americana tucked between naval bases at the northern tip of San Diego Bay, is so beloved by residents, one is running for city council on a platform of keeping the town exactly as it is.
“My motivation for running for city council is to maintain Coronado as that little slice of paradise for future generations to enjoy,” council candidate Mark Fleming wrote on his campaign website.
But Coronado is changing anyway. And one major change—a rapid rise in the number of registered Democrats—has raised the stakes in local politics and ushered in a new era of partisanship and sharp-elbowed campaigning.
The latest example: Earlier this month, Christine Mott, a Democratic city council candidate, filed complaints with the county district attorney and the state Fair Political Practices Commission alleging that Republican Mayor Richard Bailey was unfairly—and illegally—maligning her and a fellow Democratic candidate in an election recommendation email designed to look like an official government document.
The complaints come amid a campaign marked by back-and-forth attacks in local news publications, accusations of underhanded tactics unbecoming of a proudly patriotic city and complaints of partisan bias in local community groups on social media.
“This campaign cycle has been less friendly than recent campaigns,” said Fleming, a first-time city council candidate whose campaign centers on his promise to maintain Coronado “as that little slice of paradise.”
“Frankly, I’ve been a target of some of it myself,” Fleming said. “There’s a lot of partisan politics that has weighed into our local community.”
A decade ago, voter registration in Coronado was roughly two to one in favor of Republicans. Since then, the number of Republicans has declined and Democrats have almost pulled even.
Control of both the mayor’s office and the city council is at stake. Both parties have endorsed candidates, and several issues—especially affordable housing, the environment and support for local schools—have become the subject of intense debate.
Mott’s FPPC complaint stems from an Oct. 6 email sent by Bailey to recipients of his newsletter. The email, headlined “Mayor Bailey’s Election Recommendations,” includes endorsements in local and statewide races, along with a red-letter “City Council Warning” urging readers not to vote for Mott or fellow Democrat Laura Wilkinson Sinton.
The email slams Mott for being politically inexperienced and “profiting off the backs of Coronado taxpayers,” a reference to a lawsuit Mott helped to file last year that stopped the city from chopping down five pine trees near a lawn bowling court.
The email calls Wilkinson “off-putting,” ignorant about important local issues and dishonest about her leadership role in local nonprofits and her work as a cannabis entrepreneur.
At the top of the email is a letterhead image that features an image of a crown surrounded by the words “51st Mayor Coronado CA.”
Mott’s complaint claims that the letterhead image, which resembles the city seal of Coronado, illegally misleads voters by giving them the impression that Bailey’s personal election preferences are endorsed by the city government.
“Your average Joe who receives this email might think this is a legitimate email from the city endorsing three Republican candidates and trashing and defaming two female Democratic candidates,” Mott said. “These are the kind of terrible political tricks Laura and I are dealing with.”
Bailey called Mott’s accusation “frivolous.” He said he created the letterhead image years ago using a free online graphics app called Canva. “Every elected official at local, state and federal office endorses candidates, and this is no different,” he said. “I suspect they’re upset I shared their record and experience with voters.”
Bailey said it is Democrats, not Republicans, who are lowering the tone of Coronado’s election. “When they can’t campaign on their record or experience, they tend to resort to silly accusations,” he said.
Republicans in the race pointed to recent Democratic attempts to tie them to a controversial San Diego megachurch that drew protesters when it started a satellite congregation in Coronado earlier this year.
A political organization affiliated with the church recently issued a guide to voters that includes endorsements of several Republican candidates in Coronado races. Left-leaning contributors to local social media groups were quick to trumpet the guide as evidence of right-wing extremism in local Republican politics. “The administrators on those Facebook sites jumped right on that,” Fleming said.
All four endorsed candidates told local news organizations they never sought the church’s endorsement and weren’t contacted by its representatives. Several condemned the church’s message and asked it to withdraw its support.
Republicans also complained that Democratic candidates are allowed to comment freely on local social media groups and even post advertisements, while Republicans are sometimes blocked or face insulting backlash from commenters.
Democrats countered that Republicans have used deceptive online tactics such as a recent so-called “push poll” that asked participants in a local social media group their opinions about local races using questions that were worded to favor Republicans and provide unflattering information about their rivals.
“We have found ourselves time and time again facing attacks from conservative groups and their many-armed octopus branches,” Mott said. “I’m running to bring respect and dignity back to Coronado.”
Thad Kousser, a political scientist at University of California, San Diego, said elections often become more partisan, intense and bitter when communities experience rapid change, including changes in political preference. “When the stakes for control for a city get high, both sides get motivated and mobilized,” he said.
Kousser said Coronado is the last remaining majority-Republican city in coastal San Diego County. Like many affluent coastal constituencies, it began trending blue following the election of Donald Trump. “Trump’s elevation as the voice of the Republican party really flipped many moderate voters,” he said.
If current trends continue, Kousser said Coronado could become majority Democratic in just a few years. “It’s part of the long-term trend that we’ve seen in California,” he said.
Whatever the electoral future holds, it’s not inevitable that Coronado will split along partisan lines. For all their rancor toward one another, candidates in this year’s officially non-partisan election mostly agree on key issues. All vow to tackle the Tijuana River sewage crisis, shore up the city’s stormwater infrastructure and seek a balance between growth and preserving the city’s small-town character.
Candidates in both parties also pointed to Coronado’s longstanding ties to the military as an inspiration to keep the tone civil.
“This is a Navy town. Honor matters,” Wilkinson Sinton said.
“Coronado is a very special place,” Fleming said. “You can’t go many places in the U.S. where you feel the level of patriotism you see in Coronado. It crosses party lines.”
