Voters in San Diego City Council District 8 are choosing between two Democrats this election: Gerardo Ramirez and Antonio Martinez.
Ramirez is the chief of staff for termed-out District 8 incumbent Vivian Moreno. Martinez is a San Ysidro School District Board of Education and a former staffer for U.S. Rep. Juan Vargas.
Why it matters
District 8 includes Logan Heights, Barrio Logan, Egger Highlands, San Ysidro and Otay Mesa. Many of those communities suffer from air pollution caused by freeways and industrial sites on the bayfront, as well as the flow of raw sewage from Mexico into the Tijuana River Valley.
None of those pollution sources is in the direct control of the city of San Diego. But the next District 8 councilmember will have to work with other agencies, such as SANDAG, Caltrans, the Port of San Diego and the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, to address their public and environmental health impacts.
Closer look
While both Martinez and Ramirez are Democrats, they have attracted support from differing constituencies. Martinez has won endorsements from a host of elected officials, as well as unions representing city firefighters and local hospitality workers. Ramirez was endorsed by the Municipal Employees Association, which represents white collar city workers, as well as the conservative-leaning Lincoln Club Business League.
District 8 has seen the second highest amount of campaign spending, after District 2. That suggests interest groups and campaign donors see the race as decisive.
