Henry Foster III served as chief of staff to the district’s most recent representative on the City Council, Monica Montgomery Steppe, until she left to become a county supervisor. Now he’s seeking her old job.
To help inform voters, the San Diego Union-Tribune asked all the candidates a series of the same questions about their priorities, positions and campaigns. Their emailed answers have been lightly edited for clarity.
Why are you running, and what makes you the best candidate?
I am running to keep putting people first at City Hall and build the stronger, more sustainable, thriving District 4 community we deserve. I was born and raised in the district and have witnessed the disinvestment of our communities over the years firsthand. The devastation caused by the recent storm has really exposed the flaws in our systems, especially within the most neglected communities. I am fully committed to improving these quality-of-life issues in our historically under-resourced neighborhoods and promoting equity throughout our district.
For the past five years, I have been honored to serve Council District 4 as chief of staff to the then-Council President pro Tem Monica Montgomery Steppe. As the most experienced candidate in this race, I know what our community needs, and I have the experience to make it happen. I am the most qualified to provide the leadership our district needs right now.
What are the top 3 issues facing this district and the city generally?
Our top three issues are economic development, quality of life concerns and public safety. While the previous administration made significant progress in these areas, the city still has work to do.
To strengthen our communities and local economy, we need to create a lasting pipeline to boost city hiring long-term, increase access to apprenticeships, training and other job opportunities and invest more in our small businesses.
To improve our quality of life, the city must increase investment in District 4’s commercial zones, provide affordable housing and homelessness solutions and invest in neighborhood services and assets such as parks, libraries, recreational, facilities, cleanups and road repairs.
Finally, to keep our neighborhoods safe, we must expand programs to reduce gang violence, prioritize public safety through environmental improvements such as streetlight repairs and graffiti abatement and improve community relations with our first responders.
What are the first 3 things you would do in office if elected?
If elected, my first three tasks would be:
1. Storm recovery: This is our district’s most pressing issue right now. Many San Diegans are still rebuilding their homes and lives, and I will proactively seek out more support to get us all through this difficult time.
2. Economic development: One of my top priorities would be to continue to push for economic opportunities in District 4. Our district has received a lack of investment for years. I will continue the work of bringing more retail, finishing projects that will secure more jobs and continuing to build out the San Diego Black Arts and Cultural District.
3. Citywide vacancies: I would continue to advocate for and build consensus to ensure we have competitive compensation for our employees and increase recruitment efforts to include local residents from communities of concern, specifically District 4. We must fill our vacancies so the city can provide better core services.
Do you support a 1-cent city sales tax increase? Why or why not?
Yes, provided that funding is distributed through an equitable lens and prioritized accordingly. I would also insist on holding the city accountable for spending taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars wisely. City employee compensation should be one of the top spending priorities.
What should the city do to combat its housing crisis? Do you support the city’s controversial Complete Communities developer incentive program?
Complete Communities is a waiver program that allows developers to build faster. While the program provides incentives, it doesn’t address mitigating the concentration of poverty in communities of concern or barriers to creating more housing.
We must ensure balanced long-term sustainable growth for District 4. One way to create more housing is to directly impact the market by driving down the cost of land and the materials used to create units. If we can assist in reducing the cost of housing production, we will be able to better mitigate rising costs and get more housing units to the market faster.
How should public safety and civil liberties be balanced when it comes to homelessness enforcement, behavioral health policy and police surveillance?
All residents deserve the opportunity to live healthy and dignified lives. It’s the city’s duty to uphold and respect residents’ right to privacy and build public trust. To achieve this, the city must focus on neighborhood investment, with well-balanced enforcement.
I support holistic cross-government homelessness and behavioral health solutions such as permanent supportive housing, wraparound services and behavioral health worker recruitment programs.
Finally, all surveillance technology use should be reviewed in accordance with the surveillance ordinance and by the city’s Privacy Advisory Board. We must ensure that departments are being fiscally responsible with expenditures and the use of surveillance technologies.
Recent flooding has brought new attention to failures of city infrastructure, and how the effects of climate change can disproportionately impact poorer neighborhoods and communities of color. How should the city combat this? And do you support raising the city’s stormwater fee or a similar tax?
We need to pursue all funding options at this time prior to raising taxes, as there is a potential to burden families that just lost everything. In addition, we need to immediately invest in the clearing of Chollas Creek and channels that run through southeastern San Diego.
The city must do better at identifying additional sources of funding and support, such as federal and state grants. We must also expedite the designation of Chollas Creek as a regional park and update of the master plan to further assist in funding opportunities and addressing deficiencies.
The city faces a big budget crunch, along with a nearly $5 billion infrastructure funding shortfall. What services should be cut, where should more revenue be sought, and what else should the city do?
With over five years of experience working on our city’s budgets, I have the experience and knowledge regarding the budget process and needs of District 4.
The city needs to carefully review the budget and mitigate broad cuts across departments. We must protect our core services to ensure our residents have access to services at parks and libraries. Preserving a true living wage for our employees should be a top priority as well.
I am open to reducing spending on outside contracts and prioritizing our employees by bringing more services in-house, ensuring we are maximizing efficiencies and reducing costs.
