S1: Welcome in San Diego. It's Jade Hindman. On today's show , we're talking about the race for the 48th Congressional District. Today , we'll be talking to candidate Marney Van Wilford. This is KPBS Midday Edition. Connecting our communities through conversation. On Midday Edition this week , we are bringing you interviews with the leading Democratic candidates for Congressional District 48. Now , we just heard from Amar Campanella , and yesterday we spoke with candidate Brandon Riker. Well , now I'm here with another leading candidate , San Diego City Councilmember Marie von Wilbert and Councilwoman Marni von Wilbert. Let me get that right.
S2: It's a hard name. No , it's really not.
S1: But welcome to you. Thanks so much for coming in.
S2: Thank you so much for having me today. Yeah.
S1: So first question here. California's 48th district , one of five Republican held seats targeted by prop 50 , which voters passed.
S2: And now I'm working to flip this congressional seat so we can have a Congress that fights back and stands up to Donald Trump.
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S2: You know , I will fight back against the Ice raids in our communities. We have to fix the broken healthcare system. We have , restore funding to Medicare and Medicaid , and stop the $29 billion we're sending to Trump to on a foreign war that he has no business being in , and actually focus on the American people again. You know , we need an economy that works for working people , not just the wealthy few. And we need to make sure everyone in this country , no matter who you love , what gender you are , what your skin color , what religion do you believe in , where you come from. You deserve to be treated with dignity and respect , and you deserve a government that promotes that.
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S2: My father was not born here. If we didn't value immigration in this country , I wouldn't be here. And I'm not waiting until I get to Congress to start fighting Ice. I actually led the vote at the city of San Diego to sue Ice , take them to court to stop their raids in our communities. We also voted to prevent ice from coming on city property without a warrant. Stop these maskless raids. They're doing so in Congress. I will continue to fight back. I will not fund the Ice budget that Donald Trump wants to fight. They need to have actual immigration controls in this country that do not require tearing families apart and going into hospitals and churches. You know , I grew up in a border town here in San Diego. We can have a strong , secure border that stops bad actors in drugs and guns and promotes trade and the economy and healthy , wonderful immigration. We need to have a path to citizenship for people who've been here and do nothing other than go to school and get educated like the dreamers who want to become citizens.
S1: Much of of this campaign has really focused on the major issue of affordability as well.
S2: Ever since the Donald Trump declared his war in Iran , the prices of the pump are nearly $7 of gas at the pump. I've actually been already working to tackle the cost of living. I met with teachers in our region who told me they couldn't afford to buy homes in the areas where they teach in our public schools , so I started the first teacher down payment assistance fund with private dollars from a developer to help teachers get a down payment to stay in their homes. And it's working and they're staying in our schools. I also help write the first law that passed in the nation requiring grocery stores , if they're going to give $3 coupons off of the price of eggs or milk or toilet paper , they can't force you to download a digital coupon. Just have regular coupons at the stores. People , this is food we're talking about. And meanwhile , I'm watching Donald Trump. And now people like Jim Desmond who've pledged their loyalty to Trump , raise our costs. We have to undo the tariffs that Donald Trump has put on this country. We have to stop this war , and we have to start focusing on the American people again.
S1: So , you know , San Diego County is , you know , can still consistently among the most expensive housing markets in the nation.
S2: You know , here at the city of San Diego , we started cutting the bureaucracy and red tape that was making it costlier to build affordable housing. Affordable developers are now guaranteed a housing permit within 30 days , so we don't add to their costs. We need more housing for seniors who are increasingly priced out on a fixed income , and I'm proud that my district in San Diego has been home to new senior housing. We converted an old hotel , a Radisson , into 162 senior units for affordable housing. We also built 55 and up housing in our communities. We need more of this and more affordable housing , and that's what I'll help focus on in Washington , D.C..
S1: And you mentioned the war in Iran , which it was launched in late February without congressional approval.
S2: I would vote for the War Powers Resolution to stop Donald Trump from taking our nation to war without the consent of the American people. You know , I also served in the United States Peace Corps in sub-Saharan Africa during the Aids crisis. I will be the second Peace Corps volunteer in Congress if I win. And we need to restore that. We need to restore foreign diplomacy and regain our relationships with our NATO allies. We need to have USAID again in the Foreign Service , because war should only be a last resort. We have to rely on American foreign diplomacy as a first resort.
S1: KPBS recently reported on the use of campaign website Red boxes , which appear to be ad buying instructions to outside groups. And you're not alone on this.
S2: You know , that is a decision that allowed corporate dollars to flow into campaigns. And the Supreme Court was wrong on that. We need to overturn it. And second , you know , when I go around the district and I hear from people , their concerns are not how campaigns are and the fine details of them , what their concerns are. Are you an authentic candidate who's going to stand up for me when you get to Congress ? And I have a record that I've stood on. You know , when we had a mass shooting in San Diego when I first got elected in 2021 , the downtown Gaslamp , the shooter used a ghost gun. So I wrote the first law in California banning the sale of untraceable ghost guns , and I won when I was sued in federal court by the local gun lobby here. And we're seeing an increase in violence. You know , that horrific hate crime I'm calling it a hate crime at the Islamic Center was horrible. We need to stop gun violence. We have to stop political violence. We have to bring back love and tolerance and stop the hate in our communities. And that's the record I'm running on. And that's who I will be in Congress.
S1: We've seen a lot of personal attacks thrown between candidates.
S2: You know , I flipped a red district red to blue , and then I immediately started working for everybody because you represent everybody , no matter their political party. And one of the main things I do is I listen and I treat people with kindness. Uh , everyone's welcome in my office , even if we have opposing views , because I learn something from every conversation. We need people in politics who treat people with professionalism and kindness. I'm happy to point out the truth when we need to. Donald Trump's actions have been horrendous for this country , and I will always call him out. From everything from the January 6th insurrection to his $1.8 billion slush fund , he wants to pay those rioters to the Golden Ballroom he's building in the white House. While he ignores that the homes around us are burning all the time with wildfires , with the housing costs , with our economy falling apart. But we can still reach across the aisle and work in a bipartisan way when we can. And that's what we should do as Americans.
S1: President Trump has thrown his support behind Republican candidate Jim Desmond , the Republican frontrunner there.
S2: You know , right after I got elected in 2020 and I and I beat my Republican opponent , I immediately went on the news and said , hey , I don't care whose yard sign you had for campaigns in your yard. I now represent everybody , and we need to find the things we agree on , including bringing down the cost of living in Southern California and creating good jobs. We need public education to be funded and restored. We need to treat our veterans with dignity and respect , and Republicans and Democrats agree on that. You know , just this morning , I had a veterans roundtable , and I heard from people across the political spectrum about how they're trying to access health care at the VA and how job training programs are when they get out of the service. You know , we can agree on many things , and we need to work together to rebuild our country and stop the chaos and corruption of Donald Trump.
S1: You know , you've you've talked a lot about your record in office.
S2: You know , I got to sue the opioid corporations , even the Purdue Pharmaceuticals and the Sackler family themselves for the opioid and addiction crisis in our streets. And now that we're using the settlement money we got , I worked across the aisle with Republican Supervisor Julie Anderson here in San Diego County to deliver a comprehensive city and county opioid reduction program. I got to sue Monsanto , a big environmental pollution case , for poisoning the waterways here in San Diego. And we won 50 million back for environmental remediation. So I'm used to the big fights , and I'm used to being able to fight for for small folks. And that's what I'm going to do in Congress. You know , on the city council , we're working hard to try and meet a massive budget deficit. And I'm trying to protect public safety , but at the same time worked to reduce police overtime because the budget cannot hold it right now. I'm watching. Donald Trump deployed the National Guard into American cities , and seeing how he's raising the national deficit and spending our taxpayer money like it's no consequence to him. So maybe we need people in local government who have to pass balanced budgets to take on this reckless spending of Donald Trump in Washington , D.C..
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S2: You know , it's not easy to take on a Republican race , but it's something that we need to do because Donald Trump's party is really tearing our country apart. I've also worked hard to bring people together. You know , when I did my first law banning ghost guns , I didn't divide people in our community is so often Second Amendment issues can be I brought us together. You know , my press conferences , I had Moms Demand Action for gun Violence. I brought high school students in who are sick and tired of hiding under their desk from active shooters , and I brought uniform law enforcement to my side because they also don't like being shot on the street by illegal guns. And the conversation was broadened. You know , we had Republican and independent voters calling my city council office after that ghost gun law passed and they asked , wait , even the police support your gun law ? And I said , yes , they do. And I got re-elected in 2024 with no opponent , because I've learned how to serve and how to be kind and how to listen and how to lead.
S1: Speaking of which , I mean , if you don't advance to the November election , do you intend to endorse the Democratic candidate ? Who does ? And then go ahead.
S2: Oh , yes , I will help make sure that this seat is Democratic. You know , we all need to work together in 2024. When I didn't have a competitive re-election on my own dime , I flew to Pennsylvania in Nevada to knock doors for Kamala Harris because I was so worried about this national race. You know , I went up to Palm Springs in the last cycle to knock doors for Will Rawlins because I was hoping he would beat Ken Calvert in that seat. You know , I am a true team player and a true fighter , and I will help whoever gets through.
S1: I've been speaking with San Diego City Council member Marni von Wolpert. She's one of the leading Democratic candidates running for California's 48th district. Thank you so much for being here.
S2: Thank you for having me.
S1: You'll be able to find our full series of candidate interviews for district 48 at KPBS. Republican candidate Jim Desmond did not respond to KPBS request for comment or for an interview. As always , though , you can check out the KPBS Voter Hub to read more about the candidates across all races. You can find that at KPBS. That's our show for today. I'm your host , Jade Hindman. Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.
