San Diego’s economy and how to improve it have been major topics of discussion during the race to be San Diego’s next mayor.
The newest plan comes from Congressman Bob Filner. Among his goals are creating 50,000 jobs with salaries of at least $50,000 by the year 2020 and increasing the city’s investment in the military. He also wants to create 6,000 jobs in what he calls the “aqua economy,” which combines eco-friendly green jobs with water-based blue jobs.
Filner’s opponent, City Councilman Carl DeMaio, has long touted his Roadmap to Recovery plan, which includes creating job-friendly policies that target defense, tourism, high tech and clean tech jobs. But Filner said he’s better suited to put his plan into place.
“I've done this in the Congress and I've done this on the City Council,” Filner said. “We don't have a 300-page plan without the background and the understanding to get it done.”
DeMaio’s plan is actually 80 pages.
In a statement, DeMaio’s campaign said Filner’s congressional district has some of the highest unemployment rates in the nation. El Centro has nearly 30 percent unemployment.
But all these jobs plans might not mean much if Congress and the president can’t come to an agreement on how to cut the federal deficit. If they don’t, automatic federal budget cuts will be triggered, which could severely impact San Diego’s military economy. But Filner said he doesn’t think it will be an issue.
“Congress is dumb, but it ain’t stupid,” he said.
Filner said such cuts would be so devastating, it’s not in anyone’s interest to let them go forward. He said Congress and the president might reach a deal on one of the last days of the year, but he believes lawmakers will come up with something.
