The editorial board operates independently from the U-T newsroom but holds itself to similar ethical standards. We base our editorials and endorsements on reporting, interviews and rigorous debate, and strive for accuracy, fairness and civility in our section. What do you think? Let us know.
The number of San Diegans who have had a huge positive local impact are many. But when it comes to private citizens who manage to accomplish so much simultaneously on two separate fronts, the list is much shorter. With Tuesday’s death of Peter Seidler, 63, after an undisclosed illness, that list may have just gone from one name to zero.
Seidler, the founder of a private equity firm worth billions, first came to prominence locally as part of the ownership group that acquired the San Diego Padres in 2012. But in recent years, starting even before he became the team’s lead owner in November 2020, the energetic, hard-charging Seidler was arguably most responsible for the brash changes in a franchise that has been little more than a footnote in the sports world for most of its 50-plus years. Long overshadowed by the Los Angeles Dodgers — their mega-wealthy National League West division rival, which has made history with its staggering regular season success over the past decade — the Padres under Seidler showed an unprecedented readiness to commit to spending hundreds of millions of dollars to acquire star players.
The resulting joy among local fans built for years before peaking in October 2022, when the Padres vanquished the Dodgers in the NL Divisional Series three games to one. A disappointing loss to Philadelphia in the NL Championship series was, alas, followed by an even more disappointing 2023 regular season. A team with a once-unfathomable opening-day payroll of $258 million — the third-highest in the majors — didn’t make the playoffs despite having what ESPN called four superstars (Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr., Juan Soto and Xander Bogaerts) and an elite pitcher (Blake Snell).
Nevertheless, the Padres’ future still feels bright, and oddsmakers believe the team is likely to return to the playoffs in 2024. While many people deserve credit for the Padres’ ascension, Seidler tops the list. “He was everything a sports franchise owner should be, the stuff fans dream of,” Ryan Phillips wrote Tuesday in The Big Lead.
But in another field — Seidler’s attempts to help San Diego address its long-running, endlessly frustrating struggle with homelessness — he may have been even more remarkable. Born into privilege in a Los Angeles suburb, Seidler — the grandson of Dodgers owner Walter O’Malley — nonetheless had an innate empathy for the down-and-out that helped him forge bonds with many during his habitual late-night walks in beach communities. He played a central role in the Tuesday Group of business and civic leaders who regularly strategize on how to work with City Hall and the Lucky Duck Foundation to address homelessness. This translated into humanitarian efforts to provide bridge tent shelters, job training, work experience, meals, water, protective clothing and personal hygiene necessities to many hundreds of homeless individuals.
Seidler’s upbeat, can-do approach to life was captured in a memorable 2017 Union-Tribune profile in which he rejected fatigue over homelessness. “I’ve banned, in my conversations anyway, calling this a complex or overwhelming problem,” he told reporter Bryce Miller. “It’s a big problem, but the scientists at research institutions trying to break the genomic code, that’s a complex problem. This just has a lot of components to it. It takes diligence and focus and execution.”
Six years later, such resolve is as urgently needed as ever. The impulse to hide homelessness instead of directly tackling it is growing among politicians and their constituents alike. But San Diego’s need for energetic, determined leadership on this issue and many others remains. May Peter Seidler’s example inspire others to follow in his footsteps.
