San Diego, CA
Coronado Council Race Turns Bitter as City Politics Shift Left
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.”
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SAN DIEGO (CNS) — Attendance at Balboa Park’s museums are down 34% on average since paid parking went into effect inside San Diego’s urban park, according to data released Tuesday by the Balboa Park Cultural Partnership.
In the analysis released Tuesday, the partnership found that between January and March of this year, attendance is down by that average of 34% compared to the previous year, with some institutions dropping by 60% over the same period.
“We’ve appreciated the city’s recent willingness to listen and take initial steps in response to community concerns,” Balboa Park Cultural Partnership Executive Director Peter Comiskey said. “However, the latest data make clear that those changes are not reversing the decline in visitation, and the impacts on our institutions are becoming more serious. We are urging additional action by our regional leaders before potentially irreversible damages take hold, and jobs and beloved programs or even organizations are lost.”
The report comes out as Mayor Todd Gloria’s draft budget for fiscal year 2027 proposes slashing arts funding by more than $11 million as a way to grapple with a structural deficit of more than $118 million.
Some of the park’s larger institutions predict more than $10 million lost in revenue from the lowered attendance alone, and jobs and program losses are a real threat, Comiskey said.
Visitors to Balboa Park were asked to pay to park their vehicles in city lots starting in January, breaking a tradition of more than 100 years of the city’s crown jewel being free for those in private vehicles.
San Diego residents are now able to purchase a monthly, quarterly or annual parking pass at a discounted rate by visiting sandiego.thepermitportal.com/. Residents can pay $30 for a monthly parking pass, $60 for a quarterly pass or $150 for an annual one. Non-residents can pay $40, $120 or $300 for the same levels.
The fiscal year 2026 budget passed last summer anticipated $15.5 million in parking revenue from Balboa Park. That number assumed $12.5 million in fee parking in Balboa Park and at least $3 million from zoo parking.
A revised figure presented to the City Council in November instead found the non-zoo parking might bring in just $2.9 million, or a decrease of $9.6 million from initial estimates.
The city originally planned to begin charging for parking in October, but delays prevented that and three months of revenue from happening. Expected parking rates have dropped as well.
The parking passes come under three pricing tiers, Levels 1, 2, and 3, based on demand and proximity:
— Level 1 lots, located in the core of the Central Mesa area, would be subject to the highest rate — $16 per day and $10 for up to four hours for nonresidents and $8 per day and $5 for up to four hours for city residents. These include Space Theater, Casa de Balboa, Alcazar, Organ Pavilion, Bea Evenson, Palisades and South Carousel;
— Level 2 lots would be priced at $10 per day for nonresidents and $5 per day for residents. These include Pepper Grove, Federal, Upper Inspiration Point and Marston Point;
— Level 3 lots would also be priced at $10 per day with the first three hours free, with a resident rate of $5 per day with the first three hours free. This includes the lower Inspiration Point lot.
The Office of the Independent Budget Analyst estimated revenues in this fiscal year from the non-zoo parking would be close to $4 million, still well short of plans.
The zoo, which operates on an independent lease from the city, will allow members to continue to park for free. For non-members and non-residents, general parking is $16 per vehicle, per day, $44 daily for oversized vehicles per day. City of San Diego resident rates are half that.
Revenues from the parking fees paid within the park must be spent on Balboa Park. The funds can support ongoing maintenance, infrastructure, and visitor amenities and may include road repaving, lighting upgrades, sign improvements and landscaping.
Gloria backed off some of the parking fees in February, citing overwhelming negative feedback.
City residents who have verified their address will again be able to park for free in the Pepper Grove, Federal, Upper Inspiration Point, Lower Inspiration Point, Marston Point, Palisades and Bea Evenson lots.
“Good governing also means listening. I’ve heard from residents and from members of the City Council about how this program is affecting San Diegans who love Balboa Park as much as I do,” Gloria said.
“That feedback matters, and it’s why I am eliminating parking fees for city residents in select lots in the park. This change will reduce revenue, and I have received a commitment from the City Council president as well as other council members to identify other service-level reductions in order to keep the budget balanced.”
Verified San Diego residents will still be charged to park in premium lots such as the Space Theater, Casa de Balboa, Alcazar, Organ Pavilion and South Carousel lots. The cost is $5 for up to four hours or $8 for a full day. Enforcement will now end at 6 p.m., instead of 8 p.m.
More than 3,000 San Diegans have registered to be verified for the resident free parking program, and the city has collected nearly $700,000 for operations and maintenance in Balboa Park.
Despite these changes, Comiskey and the cultural partnership said more must be done before summer, busy season for the park and the museums and cultural institutions within.
“The data show we are at a critical moment,” Comiskey said. “As we approach the summer tourism season, we need a clear, region-wide recovery solution that restores accessibility, rebuilds public trust, and sends a strong `welcome back’ message to residents and visitors alike.”
Copyright 2026, City News Service, Inc.
San Diego County opened its eighth crisis stabilization unit in El Cajon on Monday, providing the same short-term resource for East County residents that has helped relieve pressure on hospital emergency departments in communities to the north and south.
The newest facility replaces a former county assessor’s satellite office at South Magnolia and West Douglas avenues, near the city’s community center and library.
The El Cajon $28 million crisis unit has 12 recliners and a freshly renovated space for private consultation, accommodating residents in need of immediate mental health services for up to 24 hours.
Pioneered in a handful of local hospitals, the county began opening stand-alone crisis units in Vista and Oceanside in 2021 and 2022. The pair of locations were a direct response to Tri-City Medical Center closing its behavioral health unit and crisis center in 2018, citing the need for prohibitively expensive repairs and difficulties with staffing.
Another unit attached in Chula Vista, attached to Bayview Hospital, a behavioral health facility, opened in 2023 with an additional unit attached to the emergency department at Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center in March.
Nadia Privara-Brahms, the county’s behavioral health director, said during a ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday morning that the heavy investment in crisis centers has drastically reduced mental health care visits to local emergency departments. County data for the 2024-25 budget year estimates that 11,000 adults treated at crisis stabilization units were diverted from inpatient care and 14%, approximately 1,800, were connected to inpatient care.
“Countywide, we have seen that this model of care is working,” Privara-Brahms said. “Across the CSUs locally, we saw 85% of admissions diverted from inpatient care.”
County Supervisor Joel Anderson, whose district includes most of East County, kept the pressure on for a center to the east capable of delivering the same kind of results.
“Right now, many of these folks end up in our emergency rooms, and they’re getting great service at the highest cost,” Anderson said.
Emergency departments, he added, can only do so much to focus on providing mental health care when they must also treat the full range of other medical needs from heart attacks and strokes to broken bones and chronic disease.
“Here, we’re laser-focused on that mental health, and we’ll be able to turn people around, stabilize them, and send them home,” Anderson said.
A key innovation with stand-alone crisis units has been the ability of law enforcement officers and crisis response team members to deliver residents picked up on 5150 holds for evaluation, skipping emergency departments when a patient needs mental health care, but not other services. A 5150 hold occurs when a first responder suspects that a person may be a danger to themselves or others or gravely disabled.
Because all emergency departments must operate on a triage basis, continuously moving the most-critical cases to the front of the line regardless of how long those with less-immediate medical problems have been waiting, 5150 holds are notorious for their ability to take first responders off their beats for hours per incident.
The county’s data tracking system indicates that drop-offs at crisis units take 20 to 25 minutes, contributing significantly to getting law enforcement officers and crisis team members back in service much more quickly than was previously the case.
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