Deep divisions among San Diego’s all-Democratic City Council were on full display Monday when Sean Elo-Rivera was narrowly re-elected council president in a 5-4 vote.
The vote could have been a celebration of Elo-Rivera becoming the first person ever elected San Diego council president three times. But it was instead a sometimes-harsh referendum on his leadership over the last two years.
Colleagues who voted against his re-election said he sometimes prevents input from the public, is openly hostile to City Attorney Mara Elliott and acts punitively toward the four council members outside his alliance.
Councilmember Marni von Wilpert said Elo-Rivera interrupts women more than men and damaged the public’s trust last month by implying his colleagues are easily persuaded by lobbyists.
Elo-Rivera, who chose not to defend himself against those criticisms, was praised by colleagues who voted to re-elect him council president.
They said the council had been highly productive the last two years. They also praised Elo-Rivera for focusing on efforts to fight climate change and boost equity for the city’s historically underserved neighborhoods.
The council president sets the council’s agenda, determines key assignments to powerful committees and leads the council in its efforts to govern the city in concert with Mayor Todd Gloria.
The hardening divisions on the council will become more of a concern with Monica Montgomery Steppe, a staunch Elo-Rivera ally, leaving the council after Monday’s session for a seat on the county Board of Supervisors.
Without her, Monday’s council president vote would have been a 4-4 tie. And many future council votes on controversial issues will be vulnerable to 4-4 ties until she is replaced by special election next year.
Montgomery Steppe called Monday’s attack on Elo-Rivera unfortunate and disappointing. She said the council should unite behind his vision of asserting that the council should play a larger role in crafting legislation, including legislation spearheaded by the mayor.
Councilmember Jennifer Campbell began the attack on Elo-Rivera by calling him punitive and reluctant to collaborate with people outside his alliance, shortcomings she said he promised to fix during last year’s council president vote.
“You promised you would be fair and despite your assurance of impartiality and collaboration, you have demonstrated unreliability by penalizing council members,” said Campbell, who served as council president in 2021 before Elo-Rivera ousted her in a surprise 5-4 vote two years ago.
She said Elo-Rivera has used leadership of key council committees and appointments to outside agencies like the County Water Authority as weapons against Campbell and her allies, von Wilpert, Raul Campillo and Stephen Whitburn.
She also criticized him for voting against a new streetlight surveillance program and against the city’s crackdown on homeless people who camp on city streets.
“Both my district and the city at-large deserve leadership that prioritizes fairness, collaboration and the well-being of all our residents,” she said.
Whitburn criticized Elo-Rivera for saying during a debate on a package of housing reforms last month that he had waited until the last minute to introduce amendments because he didn’t want to give lobbyists a chance to sway his colleagues.
“I want to hear from all points of view on an issue, and I believe a council president should facilitate that dialogue, not thwart the input of stakeholders he disagrees with,” Whitburn said.
Campillo said Elo-Rivera failed to understand he was also cutting many thousands of citizens out of the debate.
“While you acknowledge that you shut out industry and lobbyists, you failed to acknowledge that you also shut out every one of our constituents,” Campillo said.
He also accused Elo-Rivera of manipulating council agendas and neglecting people living in the council districts of colleagues not in his alliance.
“My district and constituents are often left out of conversations,” Campillo said. “Colleagues and members of the public with whom you disagree are silenced when you cut them off at the microphone.”
Von Wilpert said the council is bordering on dysfunctional under Elo-Rivera.
“I feel this council has become more and more divided in the past two years under this council president’s leadership,” she said. “It’s important to me that a council president’s administrative office have a good working relationship with other council members. I’ve been trying, and it’s been nearly impossible.”
She also harshly criticized Elo-Rivera’s comments about lobbyists during last month’s housing debate.
“It was really offensive and hurtful,” she said. “I believe it’s not in the best interests of the city to have a leader who says that, because it makes people not believe in our government.”
Von Wilpert, a former deputy city attorney, also expressed frustration about animosity between Elo-Rivera and City Attorney Mara Elliott over a proposal to divide her job among two people after she leaves office.
“In the last two years, I’ve seen this council president’s office become actively hostile to the city attorney’s office,” von Wilpert said. “I think the council president needs to have a good working relationship with other government bodies, including the city attorney.”
Von Wilpert also accused Elo-Rivera of sexism.
“I have been interrupted multiple times in my testimony — aggressively — and I see that as not being treated the same as the men on this council,” she said.
She also said it was simply time for a change. Since the council president was created in 2006 when San Diego switched to a strong mayor form of government, the eight people to have held the job have all served for either one year or two.
“The council presidency was not meant to be hoarded by one person,” von Wilpert said.
Joe LaCava, an Elo-Rivera ally, said the council has been remarkably productive despite some dissension.
“At the end of the day, the question is, are we getting work done?” LaCava said. “I think we’ve made remarkable progress.”
LaCava blamed some of the council’s contentious debates on the state’s open meetings law, which forces lively debate during public hearings by prohibiting council members from conferring beforehand.
LaCava also said long debates have been relatively rare.
“The number of times there have been extended painful conversations has been few and far between,” he said.
Vivian Moreno, another Elo-Rivera ally, praised him for prioritizing equity and climate change efforts.
Montgomery Steppe said she thinks the council is divided because Elo-Rivera and his alliance want to assert the enormous power the council has under the city charter while his opponents think that would be disrespectful.
“I’ve pushed this council to actually own its authority,” she said. “The foundation of these issues is: We have some council members who are willing to do that, and we have some who are not. We are the policymakers.”
Kent Lee, who also voted for Elo-Rivera’s re-election, did not speak during the debate.
Elo-Rivera, 41, lives in Kensington and represents mid-city District 9. He was first elected to the council in 2020.
