Supporters joined the mayor Saturday at his new election headquarters as he kicked off his re-election campaign.
“We're doing things that matter in neighborhoods as we're paving more roads than ever before,” Mayor Kevin Faulconer said Saturday. “We're keeping libraries open longer, rec centers open longer."
Two other candidates, who have sharp criticisms of the mayor, hope to oust the incumbent.
Independent candidate Lori Saldana criticized the Mayor's veto of the $11.50/hour minimum wage bill and his lack of creating affordable housing in the city.
“San Diegans overwhelmingly supported the minimum wage and one reason we have more homelessness and one reason we have more people living in poverty is because of his actions," Saldana said.
Democratic candidate Ed Harris denounced Faulconer's handling of the Chargers stadium plan.
“As usual citizens had to go out and fix the problem because government is failing,” Harris said.
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Both Saldana and Harris support a citizen's initiative to restructure hotel tax to pay for it.
“We're going to take a look at the downtown plan and do all the financial due diligence,” Mayor Faulconer said. “The city got in trouble before when it didn't look at things and do the review that it needed to financially.”
Faulconer touted doubling street repairs, improving emergency response times and helping innovative companies grow locally saying he's prepared for the long months ahead.
“I'll stack up my record on being inclusive and bringing more people together in leadership against anybody else's who's out there,” he told NBC 7.
Faulconer became the 36th mayor of San Diego in 2014, on a campaign message of bringing San Diego together and restoring integrity to City Hall after the Bob Filner resigned as mayor in the wake of a sexual harassment scandal.
California’s primary is June 7.
