The San Diego City Council's District 3 seat has a history of producing high-profile alumni like Senator Toni Atkins and mayoral candidate Todd Gloria.
The district covers some of San Diego's oldest neighborhoods. It stretches from Downtown San Diego to Normal Heights, and includes areas like Old Town and Little Italy.
There is a rich history within the district and Balboa Park is at its center.
Candidates Chris Olsen, Toni Duran, Stephen Whitburn, and Adrian Kwiatkowski are all hoping to take over the seat vacated by Chris Ward, who is now running for State Assembly.
There are complex issues in this district. One of the issues at the top of the list is homelessness. All candidates recognize this as an issue and each of them has an idea on how to fix it.
My top priority in this race is homelessness. I see it in two ways. As a resident in my home in Hillcrest. Every evening when I come home, in the alley behind my home there are the same unsheltered residents.
Chris Olsen
It addresses both prevention short term shelter and long term housing. If we implement that then we will be able to solve the large scale homelessness we have in San Diego.
Stephen Whitburn
Local
Permanent supportive housing, that is where our chronic homeless individuals can go and be housed there is an aplication process, but they can also get services on site.
Toni Duran
We don't need police officers being the first contact person for homeless people. We need trained social workers. Trained case workers.
Adrian Kwiatkowski
Three of the four candidates have previous experience in politics. Toni Duran currently works for Senator Toni Atkins. Chris Olsen has spent the past six years working for the city's independent budget analyst office, and Adrian Kwiatkowski has worked on many projects within the district, including a mental health facility for veterans in Mission Hills. Stephen Whitburn is a long time resident.
