Mayoral candidate Bob Filner said he will create 50,000 new jobs in San Diego by the year 2020.
The Democratic Congressman hosted a news conference at the Embarcadero Thursday to announce his goal.
He said the new jobs will have an average pay above $50,000 dollars. One of the ways he said he will do this is by creating an "aqua economy" in which San Diego's green economy would combine with the budding "blue sector" of maritime trade.
He also said he bringing high tech jobs to the city and attract venture capitol to Southern California. Locally, he said he will encourage local hiring, public construction programs and women- and veteran-run businesses.
"We have to do better for our returning veterans, those who have served our nation," he said of his plan to engage the military community on the local economy. "We call ourselves a military town and we glory in that, but our young people coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan have over a 35 percent unemployment rate."
His opponent Councilman Carl DeMaio also has a plan to bring jobs to the city, detailed in his "Pathway to Prosperity" plan.
DeMaio's communication director K.B. Forbes responded to Filner's job plan by referencing Filner's record in Congress.
Politics
"Congressman Filner can't hide from his 30-year anti-job creation record," he wrote. "Last year, the National Federation of Independent Businesses gave Filner a 0 percent rating. In his own congressional district, Filner has some of the highest unemployment rates in the nation. El Centro has a staggering 29.9 percent unemployment rate and Bob Filner has pushed for job-killing policies."
