Carl Demaio

carl demaio

Carl DeMaio, (born 9/14/74) a Republican, is a San Diego City Councilmember who represents neighborhoods in San Diego’s North County. DeMaio attended Georgetown University and started two businesses: think tank Performance Institute, and the American Strategic Management Institute. The sale of those two businesses helped him support his run for mayor. DeMaio is a self-proclaimed “Taxpayer Watchdog” and has pledged to comprehensively reform City Hall if elected. He also helped to author the ballot measure Prop B, which urges a city pension overhaul. Prop B passed in the June primary election.

POSITION ON KEY ISSUES

Pension Reform: DeMaio spearheaded Proposition B, saying pensions and all the perks that go along with them are wasteful. Prop B's passage in June meant the city council would work to switch all new city hires from a pension plan to a 401(k). It also caps San Diego's payroll for five years.

Infrastructure: DeMaio frequently mentions San Diego's crumbling streets when bringing up his Roadmap to Recovery plan. The plan is a comprehensive guide to economic recovery.

Education: DeMaio has not released a specific plan to reform education but has thrown his support behind a joint session between the city and San Diego Unified School District to determine how to best tackle the schools' most pressing issues.

Construction projects: DeMaio supports a new Chargers stadium but said he would not pay for it with taxpayer funds. He would first like to see environmental impact reviews before moving on with the Balboa Park renovations. As far as the Convention Center expansion, DeMaio would like to see it grow, but with financial help from the Port District.

Job Creation: In his “Pathway to Prosperity” plan, DeMaio outlined a few ways to spur job growth in San Diego. One is to transition small business licensing transactions to an online platform. He also suggests allowing non-union workers to join businesses with union representation and generally cutting the red tape in business creation. He also released a veterans jobs plan.