To little surprise, Richard Bailey has announced that he’s running for the District 2 seat on the San Diego City Council. All that’s left to do is file the forms.
After sending out campaign-style mailers, announcing a ballot measure to remove trash and parking fees — which has yet to materialize — and relocating to Point Loma, the former mayor of Coronado said on Wednesday that he’s planning to seek the council seat.
In his Instagram announcement, Bailey asked for support for what he described as a “non-partisan, policy-focused, back-to-basics” campaign. As mayor of Coronado he was affiliated with the Republican Party. He has since re-registered as an independent.
Over the last year Bailey has positioned himself to move the needle in San Diego politics through viral Instagram videos which focus on quality-of-life issues that don’t follow stringent party lines.
He has been clear about an aim to influence policy rather than politics. His distinction between the two is that politics has to do with theatrics or “flash.”
In a December interview with Times of San Diego, Bailey was coy about the prospect of running, but quipped, “never say never.”
He’ll be entering a race where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans nearly 2 to 1. The number of people with no party preference is nearly equivalent to the number of registered Republicans.
The race for District 2, represented by Councilmember Jen Campbell since 2018, is becoming crowded. As of Feb. 19, there are 8 people who have filed the necessary campaign disclosures in the race.
Three of those people disclosed contributions for their campaigns. In the last year, Josh Coyne raised $93,000, Nicole Crosby gathered nearly $35,000 and Marissa Havlik has received over $30,000.
Bailey and any others who plan to run for the seat must file by March 5. Eventually the race will narrow down to two candidates, after a jungle, or nonpartisan, primary with everyone, regardless of party affiliation, in the same field.
The District 2 city council seat represents Clairemont, Midway, Mission Beach, Mission Bay Park, Old Town, Ocean Beach and Point Loma.
