Three newly-elected San Diego City Councilmembers were sworn in Monday morning, giving Democrats a 6-3 supermajority over Republicans.
But it's not just the partisanship that makes this new council stand out.
“Five strong women from diverse backgrounds are going to constitute a majority of our San Diego City Council,” District 1 Councilmember Barbara Bry explained at the ceremony.
The newest faces include Monica Montgomery, Dr. Jenn Campbell, and Vivian Moreno, all of whom lean Democrat. Councilmember Bry pinpointed to equity as a priority for this majority-female council.
“Equity in terms of how we invest in our communities, equity in terms of how we treat all of our residents, and equity in terms of how we make all of our decisions,” Bry said.
The supermajority makes it easier for the council to override any vetoes handed down by Republican Mayor Kevin Faulconer. Though at an apparent disadvantage, the mayor said he's not deterred.
“It's not about partisanship, it's not about Republican or Democrat, it's about doing what's right for the city, and when you put forward policies and action items in that vein, that's how we achieve success, that's what served us well before and that's how we're going to serve well together. Working together, all of us," he said.
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Former Chair of the San Diego Democratic Party Jess Durfee assessed the likely priorities of the council moving forward now that it's firmly in Democratic hands.
“Focused on improvements to our neighborhood, whether those are recreational services, transportation, sidewalks, dealing with the homeless issue, all of those things that have been sort of set aside for other priorities in the past.
In the new council's first afternoon session, District 9 Councilmember Georgette Gomez was elected as the new council president by a unanimous vote.
Notably absent from the ceremony was former Council President and Councilmember Myrtle Cole, who lost her seat to Montgomery, her former staffer.
