An incumbent candidate for San Diego City Council's District 8 seat, Vivian Moreno, is facing off against a familiar opponent, Antonio Martinez, who ran against her for the job in 2018. The 2018 election was extremely close, ultimately Moreno won with 51% of the vote.
City Council District 8 is made up of Barrio Logan, Logan Heights, Otay Mesa, San Ysidro and Sherman Heights.
Moreno says her main priority if reelected is the same as one of her main focuses over the past four years, addressing what she says are inequities within the city of San Diego.
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"There is no denying that there is inequity in the city of San Diego and I’m trying to bridge that gap," Moreno said.
Moreno says she wants to make sure that services like graffiti removal are offered in her district as quickly as they are in other parts of the city. She says some of her proudest accomplishments over the last four years include expanding after-school programs for kids through the city's Parks and Recreation Department at the district's libraries and offering free youth passes for kids to ride the MTS system.
"Freeing that up for parents, you don’t have to take your kid to school, now they can go on the bus and ride for free," Moreno said.
Antonio Martinez is currently working as a community representative for Congressman Juan Vargas. Like Moreno, he says he's concerned about disparities he sees within the city of San Diego.
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"I feel that our communities have been neglected by the city of San Diego when it comes to the basic resources that we’re asking for that other communities take for granted," Martinez said.
He says if elected he'd like to address the crumbling infrastructure in his district, but he says his other big concern is a crime in his community.
"Crime has gone up in District 8, like I mentioned before, a lady was stabbed walking home from work in this very park and the reality is that is an issue that we have to deal with, that’s going to be the biggest priority, making sure that we’re tough on crime," he said.
Both candidates say they want to see incentive programs for first-time homebuyers be expanded to address the lack of affordable housing in the district.
Because there are only two candidates in this primary, both Moreno and Martinez will advance to the general election in November.
