City of San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders is requesting the Department of Homeland Security re-examine its assessment that San Diego is not at high risk of terrorist attack. Mayor Sanders submitted a formal letter to Secretary Chertoff asking for careful reconsideration today. KPBS Reporter Amy Isackson has more.
Earlier this week, San Diego fell off the list of "high-threat" urban areas that receive millions in federal dollars for terrorism related training and equipment. San Diego was instead placed on a secondary list and must now compete with 15 other regions for the funds.
Mayor Sanders says Secretary Chertoff did not explain why San Diego is not on the primary list because Chertoff said the rationale in confidential. Sanders says he doesn't understand it especially given San Diego is the nation's seventh largest city and is the worlds busiest border.
Sanders: "If we have some type of large catastrophic incident hits the San Diego region, its gone hit both sides of the border. That's an international issue. That's something that I think the federal government legitimately needs to think about."
Sanders says there may be a misconception that the federal government takes care of the border and San Diego's large military installations will help in emergencies.
He says he'll send a delegation to Washington to lobby for the funds. Amy Isackson, KPBS news.
