Todd Gloria

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Todd Gloria
AssemblymemberToddGloria.jpg
37th Mayor of San Diego
Assumed office
December 10, 2020
Preceded byKevin Faulconer
In office
August 30, 2013 – March 3, 2014
Acting
Preceded byBob Filner
Succeeded byKevin Faulconer
Member of the California State Assembly
from the 78th district
In office
December 5, 2016 – November 30, 2020
Preceded byToni Atkins
Succeeded byChris Ward
President of the San Diego City Council
In office
December 3, 2012 – December 10, 2014
Preceded byTony Young
Succeeded bySherri Lightner
Member of the San Diego City Council
from the 3rd district
In office
December 8, 2008 – December 5, 2016
Preceded byToni Atkins
Succeeded byChris Ward
Personal details
Born
Todd Rex Gloria

(1978-05-10) May 10, 1978 (age 43)
San Diego, California, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Residence(s)San Diego, California
EducationUniversity of San Diego (BA)

Todd Rex Gloria (born May 10, 1978)[1][2] is an American politician serving as the 37th and current mayor of San Diego since 2020. A member of the Democratic Party, he is the first person of color[a] and the first openly gay person to serve as San Diego's mayor.

Gloria was first elected to public office representing District 3 of the San Diego City Council. He was president of the nine-member council from 2012 through 2014. In his role as council president, Gloria served as interim Mayor of San Diego from the August 2013 resignation of Mayor Bob Filner until the March 2014 inauguration of Mayor Kevin Faulconer.[3] Gloria was then elected to represent California's 78th State Assembly district, which encompasses much of San Diego. While on the Assembly, he served as House Majority Whip.[4]

Early life and education[]

Gloria is a third-generation resident of San Diego. All four of his grandparents moved to the area because of their involvement with the military.[5] He has described his ethnic background as "[b]asically half Native American (Tlingit-Haida, an Alaska tribe), a quarter Filipino, and then a little bit of Dutch and Puerto Rican."[5]

Gloria grew up in the Clairemont neighborhood and attended Madison High School. He was interested in politics from childhood. At age 10, he was runner-up in a "mayor for a day" contest. At 14, he volunteered to work for Democratic candidates in the 1992 election.[6]

Gloria graduated summa cum laude from the University of San Diego, with majors in history and political science.[7] While a student at USD, Gloria was active in the effort to add sexual orientation to the campus nondiscrimination policy.[6] He was also a member of Delta Lambda Phi.

Early career[]

U.S. Congresswoman Susan Davis had been Gloria's political mentor since they met in 1993. Davis was the director of the Aaron Price Fellows Program, a leadership program for high school students focused on civic education and cross-cultural understanding, and Gloria was a high school freshman.[7] In 2002, Gloria became Davis's district director,[7] a position he held until his election to the City Council in 2008.[8]

Gloria also served as a San Diego Housing Commissioner from 2005 until 2008. Openly gay, he is also a former chairman of the San Diego LGBT Community Center and was a resident panelist on San Diego's Prostitution Impact Panel.[9]

San Diego City Council[]

Elections[]

Main articles: 2008 San Diego City Council election and 2012 San Diego City Council election
Council Member Todd Gloria speaking to the San Diego Workforce Partnership.

Gloria ran for the District 3 seat on the San Diego City Council vacated by the termed-out Toni Atkins in the 2008 election. He received a plurality of votes in the June 2008 primary, leading to a November run-off election against fellow Democrat Stephen Whitburn, a former journalist, community activist, and ally of then-District 6 Councilmember Donna Frye.[9][10] Gloria defeated Whitburn with 54.3% of the vote.

In the 2012 election, Gloria ran for re-election unopposed and was re-elected in the June primary.[11] As of his second term, District 3 included the neighborhoods of Balboa Park, Bankers Hill/Park West, Downtown San Diego, Golden Hill, Hillcrest, Little Italy, Mission Hills, Normal Heights, North Park, Old Town, and University Heights.[12]

Tenure[]

Gloria and San Diego mayor Kevin Faulconer at a San Diego Comic-Con event in 2014

Gloria was chair of the city's Budget and Finance Committee from 2011 to 2016. Gloria represented San Diego on the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System Board and SANDAG, where he chaired the transportation committee.[13] In December 2012, at its first meeting after new members took office, Gloria was unanimously elected to serve as Council President, replacing retiring President Tony Young.[14]

On December 10, 2014, the city council voted 4–5 on a motion of whether to reappoint Gloria as council president for the new term, with Sherri Lightner joining the four council Republicans to defeat the measure. The council then voted 7–2 to appoint Lightner as council president, with Gloria and David Alvarez in opposition.[15]

Interim Mayor[]

Upon the resignation of Mayor Bob Filner on August 30, 2013,[16] Gloria became the interim mayor of San Diego, with limited powers.[17] This made San Diego the second largest city in the United States (after Houston) to have an openly gay mayor at that time.[18][19] He served until March 3, 2014, when mayor-elect Kevin Faulconer was sworn in. While serving as interim mayor, he remained the City Councilmember for District 3 and retained the title of City Council President; however, City Council President Pro Tem Sherri Lightner carried out the duties of the Council President.[20] Gloria was considered a possible candidate to replace Filner but chose not to run.[21]

As interim mayor, Gloria reversed several of Filner's actions. He ordered city police and zoning code officers to resume enforcement actions against medical marijuana,[22] re-hired lobbying firms in Sacramento and Washington that Filner had fired,[23] and ordered public records be made more quickly and easily available to citizens.[24]

Gloria's administration authored and released a draft of the San Diego Climate Action Plan.[25]

California State Assembly[]

Gloria at Balboa Park's 100th anniversary, 2015.

On April 7, 2015, Gloria announced that he would run in 2016 for the California State Assembly 78th district seat held by Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins, who was termed out. Gloria was immediately endorsed by Atkins and by Sarah Boot, who had previously announced her own candidacy for Atkins's seat but withdrew upon Gloria's announcement.[26] While running for State Assembly, Gloria promoted the city's climate action plan.[27] On November 8, 2016, Gloria was easily elected over his relatively unknown Republican opponent with the second-highest margin of victory in San Diego County.[28] He was easily re-elected in 2018 with over 70 percent of the vote in both the primary and the general elections.

Shortly after assuming office in 2016, Gloria was chosen by Speaker Anthony Rendon to join Democratic leadership in the Assembly as Assistant Majority Whip.[29] In January 2018, he became Majority Whip.[30]

Mayor of San Diego[]

Gloria (front left) meets with Vice President Kamala Harris (front right) in 2021

Campaign[]

Main article: 2020 San Diego mayoral election

Gloria announced his candidacy for mayor of San Diego in 2020 on January 9, 2019. Gloria's campaign focused on issues such as the housing crisis, affordability, public transportation, and climate change.[31][32] Gloria was endorsed by several politicians including Governor Gavin Newsom, former Governor Jerry Brown, and San Diego City Attorney Mara Elliott.[33] On August 20, 2019, Gloria won the San Diego County Democratic Party's endorsement vote, allowing the party to spend money on behalf of his campaign.[34] Gloria received 70% of the votes, exceeding the 60% required to win. Fellow democratic rivals Barbara Bry and Tasha Williamson won 14% and 3% of the votes respectively.[35][36]

In August 2019, Gloria was accused of collecting funds for his 2020 re-election campaign to the State Assembly before filing his intent to run with the state in violation of state law.[37][38] Gloria claimed this was a technical oversight and filed the relevant paperwork the next day.[39]

Gloria received the most votes in the primary election and advanced to the general election against runner up Barbara Bry. He was then elected mayor in the November 3 election, making him the first Native American and Filipino-American mayor elected in a US city of over a million people and the city's first mayor of color and the city's first openly gay mayor.[40][41] He was sworn in on December 10, 2020.[42]

Electoral history[]

San Diego City Council[]

2008 San Diego City Council District 3 election[43]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Todd Gloria 9,288 40.64
Democratic Stephen Whitburn 6,543 28.63
Democratic John Hartley 4,018 17.58
Nonpartisan Paul Broadway 1,428 6.25
Nonpartisan Robert E. Lee 840 3.68
Nonpartisan James Hartline 739 3.23
Total votes 22,856 100%
General election
Democratic Todd Gloria 27,922 54.60
Democratic Stephen Whitburn 23,191 45.40
Total votes 51,398 100%
2012 San Diego City Council District 3 election[44]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Todd Gloria 24,475 100.00
Total votes 24,475 100

California State Assembly[]

See also: 2016 California State Assembly election
2016 California's 78th State Assembly district election
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Todd Gloria 91,602 71.8
Republican Kevin D. Melton 36,013 28.2
Total votes 127,615 100.0
General election
Democratic Todd Gloria 122,828 68.9
Republican Kevin D. Melton 55,414 31.1
Total votes 178,242 100.0
See also: 2018 California State Assembly election
2018 California's 78th State Assembly district election
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Todd Gloria (incumbent) 79,738 71.2
Republican Maggie J. Campbell 32,250 28.8
Total votes 111,988 100.0
General election
Democratic Todd Gloria (incumbent) 140,598 71.1
Republican Maggie J. Campbell 57,217 28.9
Total votes 197,815 100.0
Democratic hold

Mayor of San Diego[]

2020 San Diego mayoral election[45]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Todd Gloria 147,654 41.5%
Democratic Barbara Bry 81,541 22.9%
Republican Scott Sherman 80,352 22.6%
Democratic Tasha Williamson 25,629 7.2%
Democratic Gita Applebaum Singh 12,716 3.6%
Other Rich Riel 8,067 2.3%
Write-In Jarvis Gandy 3 0.0%
Total votes 355,994 100%
General election
Democratic Todd Gloria 346,662 55.9%
Democratic Barbara Bry 272,887 45.1%
Total votes 619,549 100%

References[]

  1. ^ @ToddGloria (May 10, 2018). "Todd Gloria on Twitter: "Thank you to the incredible #ToddSquad! I am so fortunate to celebrate my birthday in Sacramento and San Diego with these awesome public servants that help me serve #AD78. #HappyBirthdayTG"" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. ^ "Who Is Todd Gloria? An in-Depth 2020 San Diego Mayor's Race Interview". The San Diego Union-Tribune. February 28, 2019. Retrieved August 6, 2019.
  3. ^ Alford, Matt Johnson, Abbie. "Mayor-elect Kevin Faulconer expected to be sworn in March 3".
  4. ^ "Speaker Rendon Announces Assembly Leadership and Committee Assignments". Official Website - Speaker Anthony Rendon Representing the 63rd California Assembly District. 2018-12-27. Retrieved 2019-08-22.
  5. ^ a b Scannell, Christy (December 29, 2009). "Todd Gloria's juggling act part 2". San Diego News Room. via Wayback Machine. Archived from the original on March 23, 2012. Retrieved August 24, 2013.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  6. ^ a b Rowe, Peter (August 24, 2013). "Todd Gloria, in the mayor's office -- at least temporarily". San Diego Union Tribune. Retrieved 25 August 2013.[dead link]
  7. ^ a b c "ASIAN JOURNAL a San Diego original. The 1st Asian Journal in Ca,USA. A Filipino American weekly. Online - Digital - Print Editions".
  8. ^ Writer to hold funeral for unpublished novel | The San Diego Union-Tribune
  9. ^ a b Steele, Jeanette (Oct 18, 2008), "District 3 candidates are alike but different", San Diego Union Tribune, p. CZ-1
  10. ^ Opposing forces | The San Diego Union-Tribune
  11. ^ "County of San Diego, Presidential Primary Election, Tuesday, June 5, 2012" (PDF). San Diego County Registrar of Voters. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
  12. ^ "Communities - City of San Diego Official Website".
  13. ^ "About Todd Gloria". San Diego City Council. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  14. ^ "Gloria succeeds Young as City Council president". CBS-8. December 3, 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
  15. ^ Mento, Tarryn; Trageser, Claire (December 10, 2014). "Gloria Ousted As San Diego Council President; Fellow Democrat Lightner Elected". KPBS. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
  16. ^ "Bob Filner Resigns: San Diego Mayor Agrees To Step Down Amid Sexual Harassment Scandal". Huffington Post. August 23, 2013. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
  17. ^ Dotinga, Randy (August 22, 2013). "The Differences Between an Interim Mayor and a Strong Mayor". Voice of San Diego. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
  18. ^ "Todd Gloria to serve as interim mayor following Bob Filner's resignation". LGBTQ Nation. August 24, 2013. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
  19. ^ Ring, Trudy (August 23, 2013). "San Diego Mayor Resigns; City Will Have Gay Interim Mayor". The Advocate. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
  20. ^ Gustafson, Craig (August 30, 2013). "Q&A with Todd Gloria, interim mayor". Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  21. ^ "Former Councilman Carl DeMaio, Supervisor Ron Roberts will not run for San Diego mayor". ABC 10 News. September 3, 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  22. ^ Gustafson, Craig (September 12, 2013). "Gloria: Med pot shops illegal: Interim mayor says he'll enforce de facto ban on pot shops". San Diego Union Tribune. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
  23. ^ Gardner, Michael (September 11, 2013). "Gloria wants lobbyist for San Diego". San Diego Union Tribune. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
  24. ^ Seibert, Trent (September 10, 2013). "Public records start to flow under Gloria". San Diego Union Tribune. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
  25. ^ Mento, Tarryn (September 30, 2014). "San Diego Mayor Releases Climate Action Plan". KPBS Public Media. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  26. ^ Garrick, David (April 8, 2015). "Gloria to run for Atkins' Assembly seat". San Diego Union Tribune.
  27. ^ Skibba, Ramin (2015-06-10). "Todd Gloria touts San Diego Climate Action Plan before students at UCSD". La Jolla Light. Retrieved 2021-08-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  28. ^ Stone, Ken (November 8, 2016). "Todd Gloria to Trump: California Will Stay Progressive - Times of San Diego". Times of San Diego. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  29. ^ Jennewein, Chris (December 27, 2016). "New Assembly Member Todd Gloria Named to Leadership Post". Times of San Diego. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
  30. ^ Stewart, Joshua (January 4, 2018). "Assemblyman Todd Gloria named majority whip". sandiegouniontribune.com. Retrieved January 20, 2019.
  31. ^ "Assemblymember Todd Gloria announces 2020 run for Mayor of San Diego -". McKinnon Broadcasting. 2019-01-09. Retrieved 2019-01-12.
  32. ^ Garrick, David (January 9, 2019). "Assemblyman Gloria announces 2020 run for San Diego mayor". San Diego Union Tribune. Retrieved August 20, 2019.
  33. ^ "Gov. Newsom endorses Todd Gloria for mayor". Fox 5. August 8, 2019. Retrieved August 20, 2019.
  34. ^ Bowen, Andrew. "San Diego County Democrats Endorse Gloria In Mayor's Race". KPBS Public Media. Retrieved 2019-08-22.
  35. ^ Keatts, Andrew (August 21, 2019). "Gloria Takes Democratic Mayoral Endorsement". Voice of San Diego. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
  36. ^ Bowen, Andrew (August 21, 2019). "San Diego County Democrats Endorse Gloria In Mayor's Race". Voice of San Diego. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
  37. ^ Garcia, Alberto (August 12, 2019). "Todd Gloria Failed to File Candidacy Form Before Raising Money". La Prensa San Diego. Retrieved August 20, 2019.
  38. ^ Stone, Ken (August 13, 2019). "Todd Gloria Files for Assembly Re-Election While Running for San Diego Mayor". Times of San Diego. Retrieved August 20, 2019.
  39. ^ Hargrove, Dorian (August 15, 2019). "Mayoral Candidate Todd Gloria Accused of Laundering Political Funds". NBC San Diego. Retrieved August 20, 2019.
  40. ^ Garrick, David (November 8, 2020). "Todd Gloria will bring lots of firsts as San Diego's new mayor". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
  41. ^ Bajko, Matthew S. (March 8, 2019). "EQCA endorses gay San Diego mayoral candidate Gloria". The Bay Area Reporter. Retrieved August 20, 2019.
  42. ^ "Todd Gloria Sworn In As San Diego's 37th Mayor". KPBS. December 10, 2020. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  43. ^ "Election History - Council District 3" (PDF). City of San Diego. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  44. ^ "Election History - Council District 3" (PDF). City of San Diego. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  45. ^ "Election Night Results". March 2, 2020 Presidential Primary. San Diego County Registrar of Voters. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
  1. ^ Tlingit-Haida, Puerto Rican and Filipino

External links[]

Political offices
Preceded by Mayor of San Diego
Acting
2013–2014 		Succeeded by
Kevin Faulconer
Preceded by
Kevin Faulconer
 Mayor of San Diego
2020–present 		Incumbent
Retrieved from ""