Recognizable San Diego County candidates run for political party central committees

If you have never heard of a political party central committee, you are not alone. Paula Whitsell, who currently serves as the chairwoman of the Republican Party of San Diego, said she did not know what the central committee was when she got into local politics a decade-and-a-half ago.

“I started getting involved in local politics back in 2009. And when somebody said, you need to check with the Central Committee on that, I said, What's the Central committee?” said Whitsell.

The central committees for the San Diego Democratic and Republican parties are essentially governing boards for the local chapters. They decide which candidates to endorse, draft policy and platforms and help direct spending.

In March 2024, many familiar names will appear on the ballot for central committees. San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria and his fellow mayors in Coronado, Escondido, Oceanside, San Marcos and Santee are running in their respective parties. Half of the San Diego City Council is also vying for a seat on the Democratic committee.

On the Democratic committee, there are several representatives for each California Assembly district. For the Republicans, several candidates will be elected to represent each county supervisor district. There are more than 40 committee members for each party, and federal and state representatives round out the committees.

The ability to endorse candidates can be especially important when a party begins to fracture into coalitions. We asked Whitsell about the potential consequences of having the person angling for an endorsement be on the very committee that designates who receives one.

"They have to go before the full 48 people in order to get that endorsement. So it's not a slam dunk," said Whitsell. "That's something that a lot of people don't understand, that when an endorsement is given to a candidate, that's because they got the majority. Or if there's two Republicans, two-thirds vote of the Central Committee, which is 48 people."

Candidates for central committee can raise unlimited funds, from both individual donors and corporations, unlike other campaigns. Those contributions cannot directly help any concurrent campaigns (say, for mayor or city council). However, they can be directed to political parties. The very political parties that promote, boost or endorse their chosen candidates.

"The party doesn't do political donations. We don't have the wherewithal for that, first of all. Second of all, every candidate is responsible financially for their own campaigns. So we don't do political donations in the sense that you're saying, we don't write a check to a candidate's campaign," said Whitsell.

NBC 7 made numerous attempts to interview the San Diego Democratic Party but did not hear back in time for this report.