A former staffer for San Diego City Council President Myrtle Cole said Tuesday that she plans to run against her ex-boss next year.
Monica Montgomery, now an attorney for the San Diego chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, filed her initial papers with the City Clerk’s office during the summer, and is scheduled to make a formal announcement Thursday. She would become the third opponent to face Cole in the June primary.
She charged that Cole “has failed to successfully engage and empower the community.”
Comments regarding police-community relations and a lack of criticism over the process to select a new police chief demonstrated “a disconnect to the needs, thoughts and sentiments of the people” of her district in Southeast San Diego, according to Montgomery.
Cole said her district tends to attract multiple candidates, even when an incumbent is running for reelection.
“That’s what democracy is all about,” Cole said. “I wish her the best. I’m not going anywhere.”
Montgomery said she worked to reform a citizens panel that oversees the San Diego Police Department and advocated for equitable practices in government, including better employment opportunities for people of color, while a member of Cole’s staff.
A native of the district, she also served on the staffs of interim Mayor Todd Gloria and current Mayor Kevin Faulconer.
With the ACLU, she concentrates on criminal justice reform.
Other potential opponents of Cole are Neal Arthur and Johnathan Michael Bradley.
–City News Service
