Voice of San Diego Podcast

On this week's episode of the VOSD Podcast, we were joined by state Assemblymember Chris Ward to discuss a host of issues we are facing today.

Also, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria announced this week that he is hiring a chief operating officer. His choice is Bethany Bezak, the city’s chief of analytics and performance. The decision reverses months of insistence that he would run city operations himself. 

A Conversation with Chris Ward 

Midway Rising, the proposed redevelopment of 50 acres of city land at the sports arena site, seems to be one step closer to reality.

Assemblymember Ward explained why he supported state legislation shielding the project’s environmental review from lawsuits, which he said could otherwise delay it by years. 

The episode also covered a story that broke the morning of the recording. Public records show a development firm floated a 400-megawatt data center on the Navy’s NAVWAR property near Midway. It would be the largest in California.

Ward also discussed his surveillance pricing bill, which he plans to reintroduce in December, and a renewed push for the City Council to cancel the city’s Flock license plate reader contract amid privacy concerns. Ward also outlined the challenge of regulating artificial intelligence at the state level, and he highlighted a new journalism tax credit he helped pass.

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San Diego City Council District 2 candidates Nicole Crosby and Richard Bailey debate at Politifest 2026, moderated by Voice of San Diego's Scott Lewis. Each opens with a presentation on housing, homelessness, infrastructure and the city budget. They then take on short-term rentals, where to build, Midway Rising, the Ocean Beach Pier, trash collection and pensions.

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Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton joins Voice of San Diego's Scott Lewis, Jakob McWhinney and Bella Ross at Politifest 2026 for a wide-ranging conversation. Topics include his path to winning, immigration enforcement, housing, environmental review, energy and climate, and AI policy. The session ends with audience and student questions.

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On the latest episode of the VOSD Podcast, our hosts explain why the mayor's support may be unwelcome assistance to one City Council candidate. Plus, a recap of Politifest.

First up! We revealed that Mayor Todd Gloria is working behind the scenes to make sure that Councilmember Henry Foster does not get re-elected.

As our editors wrote in the Politics report, the mayor "has described Foster’s downfall to them as his No. 1 political priority."

Our podcasts hosts explain why that support may not be something candidate Martha Abraham wants. She's running against Foster as an outsider who is fighting the establishment forces.

Behind voice: Our managing editor takes some time on the show to explain how Voice of San Diego reporters and editors handle anonymous sourcing and corrections.

Finally, our hosts pull clips from Politifest and breakdown some of the most interesting discussions from our annual event.

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On this week's episode of the VOSD Podcast reporter Bella Ross went down a rabbit hole involving an Avengers ad on the Gaslamp sign. For six days, you couldn't even see the Gaslamp sign — Marvel covered it with a massive wrap for "Avengers: Doomsday." Turns out, that's illegal. San Diego city officials have fined advertisers for building wraps for years, and the companies usually just eat the cost. But the fee against this marvel ad was a record-breaking $160,000.

So, who approved it? Bella dug in. The city is questioning the Gaslamp Quarter Association's director over allegations that he may have given the ad agency a green light he wasn’t supposed to — and possibly took $10,000 to do it. He's denying he approved anything. The Association has until Oct. 9 to respond, and the city could pull the association’s contract with the city over it. 

The trash fee saga got worse, too. We knew the city overcharged thousands of residents for trash collection on their property tax bills, but  it turns out a spreadsheet error also led to some being undercharged.  Those who were overcharged are getting new bills, but the city will have to figure out how to get additional fees from those who were undercharged since a state law prevents them from sending updated property tax bills. Candidates running for City Council weighed in on the fiasco and they all agreed on one thing: The city needs to hire someone to run the city's operations. 

Sacramento also handed Midway Rising a win with Gov. Gavin Newsom signing a bill that protects the project  from environmental lawsuits. Midway Rising still has a long way to go, but this was an important step. .

Our hosts also preview Politifest and who has dropped out. 

0:00 PolitiFest Jitters & Turning 50
1:18 Show Intro & Teases: Avengers News, Getting Ghosted
2:43 PolitiFest Preview: Sessions & Guests
3:02 District 4 Shakeup
4:58 Henry Foster Stays In
9:43 El Cajon City Council Debate Still On
12:28 The Avengers Sign Scoop: Illegal Gaslamp Billboard
22:20 A Walk Through Downtown
35:38 Trash Fee Fiasco, Part 2: The Undercharge Problem
40:16 Council Candidates Agree: Hire a City COO
41:21 Mayor Gloria's Cross-Country Mayors Tour
44:10 Midway Rising Clears a Legal Hurdle in Sacramento
46:24 Politifest Preview: The Measure B Showdown
50:08 The Future of the Democratic Party Panel

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Thousands of San Diego residents recently discovered that the city had mistakenly overcharged people for trash pickup on their property tax bills.

The San Diego Union-Tribune was the first to report the story. 

On this week's show, our hosts discuss how officials are responding. 

Many residents are blaming the mayor and a lot of people want answers. Meanwhile, councilmembers are questioning Mayor Todd Gloria's leadership. 

Are you ready for the election? The episode also digs into this cycle's competitive City Council races. There are two open seats and two incumbents fighting to keep their positions from political newcomers. 

We are hosting a debate between the candidates for City Council District 2 and 4. And our journalists will lead two separate conversations with candidates running for District 6 and 8. Those sessions are going down at Politifest on Saturday, Oct. 3.

Follow Voice of San Diego on Instagram, Facebook, X, LinkedIn, TikTok, and YouTube, and read more at voiceofsandiego.org. Tickets for Politifest are up now at vosd.org/pf26.

We need 30 pod people to donate $50 to meet our $1,500 match. Show the power of the pod people and donate today to help us meet our match. Go to vosd.org/podpeople.

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Politifest: https://vosd.org/pf26

0:00 Trash Fee Billing Fiasco & Court Settlement
4:43 "Do the Basics Right" – Council Pushback
8:19 The Mayor's Fix & Accountability Language
37:28 Housing Op-Ed: "Half-Baked Solutions" & ADUs
42:33 Trump Ties & Immigration Enforcement Comments
44:41 How This Race Compares to Past City Fights
46:07 Voter Frustration With City Hall

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It's officially the start of San Diego’s silly season. 

Your mailboxes will start to fill up with mailers and candidates for public office will try their hardest to earn your vote. We’re here to help you make sense of their messaging and the races. 

This week's episode kicked off with the strangest kind of controversy: an AI-generated graphic that took shots at co-hosts Jakob McWhinney and Scott Lewis for something we never said on the showOur hosts walked through the whole saga including angry emails and a deleted apology.

Silly Season 

City Hall reporter Mariana Martínez Barba published a story on the San Diego City Council District 4 race between incumbent Henry Foster and challenger Martha Abraham. 

Our hosts explain how Abraham has tapped into residents’ animosity toward City Hall and the momentum she’s building in the community. Foster last week lost the endorsement of the union that represents city firefighters. 

Also, during a recent debate, District 8 candidate Gerardo Ramirez addressed an attack from his opponent Antonio Martinez about a contribution from a landowner who wants to open a landfill in Otay Mesa. Ramirez said he does not support the landfill or anything that will increase pollution in the district. 

Extra! We’re hosting a debate between Foster and Abraham, and a conversation with Antonio Martinez on Saturday, Oct. 3, at Politifest. Get your ticket here. 

The crew also has an update on the fraud charges brought against 12 individuals  accused of billing the government for daycare services that were never provided.Plus,  Jakob explains how a veteran special education teacher who was just awarded teacher of the year, lost her current job.

0:00 The "AI Slop" Meme Mishap
1:17 The NIMBY Avengers Controversy
18:31 City Council: Foster vs. Abraham in Southeastern San Diego
30:09 Another Contested Council Race Heats Up
35:26 Correction from a Previous Episode
36:01 Support the Show
36:37 Feds Charge San Diegans With Fraud
41:41 A Teacher's Position Eliminated

Follow Voice of San Diego on Instagram, Facebook, X, LinkedIn, TikTok, and YouTube, and read more at voiceofsandiego.org. Tickets for Politifest are up now at vosd.org/pf26.

We need 30 pod people to donate $50 to meet our $1,500 match. Show the power of the pod people and donate today to help us meet our match. Go to vosd.org/podpeople.

Instagram: https://instagram.com/voiceofsandiego

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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/voiceofsandiego

Website: https://voiceofsandiego.org

Politifest: https://vosd.org/pf26

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This week, the Voice of San Diego crew was joined by Joey Safchik, host of NBC San Diego's "Politically Speaking," and there was a lot to get through!

First, a bittersweet news update. Reporter Jakob McWhinney broke a story last week about an organization embedded in San Diego's law enforcement community that hired a controversial figure. After the outrage, the hire got rescinded. But it didn't stop there – the whole organization has since dissolved entirely. No one says you can’t redeem yourself, but in the end you have to own what got you there. 

Also on the show: Our intern Naomi Granata released an article revealing the staggering amount Airbnb spent on lobbying in San Diego, all to kill a proposed tax on vacation rentals and vacant second homes. We dug through the numbers. 

Finally, we dive into the midterm election ballot.

We covered a few races worth watching:

• 48th Congressional District: Democrat Marni Von Wilpert faces Republican Jim Desmond in one of ten House races nationally that could flip control of Congress.
• State Senate, District 40: Former City Attorney Mara Elliot and nonprofit leader Kristie Bruce-Lane, who’s backed by controversial conservative Carol DeMaio, battle it out to replace termed-out Republican Brian Jones.
• San Diego City Council, District 2: Former Coronado Mayor Richard Bailey faces off against Deputy City Attorney Nicole Crosby. Bailey just confirmed he voted for Trump in 2024. Could that have an impact on voters? 
• San Diego City Council, District 4: Incumbent Henry Foster is challenged by political outsider Martha Abraham, who's making the case that a Foster win could leave the council without a single woman.
• Prop 40:The billionaire tax — a one-time, 5 percent tax on California's billionaires to fund healthcare. This would be the first time the state has ever taxed assets, as opposed to income and property. It’s complicated and many people are split on it. 

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On this week's podcast episode, our hosts explain how two county supervisors are proposing the region address the Tijuana River sewage crisis.

As our MacKenzie Elmer reported, San Diego County Supervisors Paloma Aguirre and Terra-Lawson Remer think the county, and the county taxpayer, should treat the river.

We unpack their proposal on the show.

We also have updates: First up, two bills we were following related to the Midway Rising project are sitting on the governor's desk. Next, a scandal involving a former sheriff's deputy with a history of assaulting women blew up days after we reported on his new job as a chaplain. Lastly, new developments related to the Islamic Center shooting and the breakdown of the Muslim community's relationship with City Hall.

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On this episode of the VOSD Podcast, host Scott Lewis sits down with Michael Zucchet, general manager of the San Diego Municipal Employees Association.

They get into pension underfunding and the failed 2024 sales tax measure. (Oh yeah, this is a very nerdy episode.) They also unpack a heated debate over whether San Diego’s workforce is bloated — as some critics claim — or stretched thin by hundreds of new parks and services added since 2015.

Also on the show: They also get into labor costs and pensions, a trash-bin “lid lifter” mandate and questions over the Port Commission’s handling of Harbor Island.

0:00 Intro
1:10 The City's Pension Underfunding History
5:25 Revenue Measures: Trash Fee & Hotel Tax
7:57 Sales Tax Attempts & the 2024 Measure
11:25 Debating the City's Workforce Size
15:50 Budget Cuts in the "Era of Austerity"
24:15 Clarifying What Layoffs Really Mean
27:20 The City's Reactive Budget Cycle
30:31 New Revenue Ideas & Rollout Growing Pains
35:46 Labor Costs, Pensions & Wages
43:58 The "Lid Lifters" Trash Bin Controversy
47:10 New Parks Without New Staff
50:24 Port Commission & Harbor Island
52:58 Closing & Credits

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