Dear Neighbor, 

California and San Diego have been experiencing a mental and behavioral health crisis for decades. It stems from the State’s original decision to close its mental health hospitals in the 1960s. This left countless people suffering from mental illness without adequate support systems or a place to turn.

The bottom line is this: We must do more on mental health. We see the need for this evidenced every day in our communities. 

That's why I worked hard as your Mayor to pass Senate Bill 43. It is the first major update to the State’s conservatorship laws in decades and extends this life-saving intervention to people with severe substance use disorders and those who cannot provide for their own basic personal safety or medical needs.

I am strongly urging the County of San Diego Board of Supervisors to implement the conservatorship reform codified by Senate Bill 43 on January 1, 2024, instead of delaying these life-saving reforms for an entire year as has been proposed. 

We know there are people in this County who need this intervention now and cannot afford the yearlong delay that the Board of Supervisors is proposing.

This legislation exists and was approved because it helps counties deliver critical public safety and public health services to the most vulnerable people in our communities, promotes safer neighborhoods, and is necessary to connect those with severe behavioral health challenges to treatment.

Putting off SB 43 implementation will leave people with the most severe needs out on the street and ultimately cost people their lives. The proposed delay is an abdication of the County’s responsibility to provide the critical mental health services to the most vulnerable in our communities.

As always, it’s an honor to serve as your Mayor. 

State’s Encampment Resolution Funding is Helping City Move People into Housing

Thanks to the State of California’s Encampment Resolution Funding program, California has cleared 5,679 encampments from the state right-of-way since July 1, 2021. This has moved people experiencing homelessness into housing.  

Here in San Diego, we’ve successfully secured three Encampment Resolution Funding grants, which we’ve put to work to help get people out of unsanitary encampments and into permanent housing. 

In 2022, the State awarded $2.45 million to the City of San Diego to help unsheltered residents in the East Village neighborhood move from homelessness to safe and stable housing. This year, we secured two more Encampment Resolution Funding grants, one for approximately $3.1 million to address encampments in City Heights and other Council District 9 communities, and another grant, in partnership with the County of San Diego and the City of Santee for $17 million, that will help us to clear an encampment located along the San Diego County riverbed corridor.  

Now, the State is making nearly $300 million available in another round of Encampment Resolution Funding to help cities continue to relocate even more people from encampments into housing.  

My administration will apply for this and other funding opportunities so we can continue to be highly focused on addressing encampments that are unsanitary and unsafe for both the people living in them and the communities around them. 

City of San Diego receives an “A” Rating on Climate Action 

The City of San Diego has received global recognition for its ongoing climate action and sustainability efforts.

The nonprofit Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) reviewed input from 939 cities across the world this year and granted A-list status to 119. This includes San Diego!

This is the City’s third time making the list, but the first time we have achieved an A rating.

To score an A rating, cities must, among other things, fill out an extensive questionnaire, have a citywide emissions inventory, and a published climate action plan. This year’s improved score – up from an A- the past two years – was made possible by a citywide approach to implementation of the City’s Climate Action Plan, adopted in 2022. 

The plan establishes a goal of net-zero emissions by 2035, committing San Diego to an accelerated trajectory for greenhouse gas reductions. Achieving net-zero emissions will improve the air we breathe, the communities we live in and our overall quality of life. 

San Diego K-12 Students Invited to Submit Essay for Annual ‘Mayor for a Day’ Contest

My annual “Mayor for a Day” contest for City of San Diego K-12 students is now live!

The winner will shadow me and other City leaders for a day, plus have a special role at the State of the City address in January of 2024. 

Students are invited to write an essay or submit a video about how they would make San Diego a better place to live if they were Mayor. The selected winner will be invited to City Hall and given the opportunity to attend meetings and events with the me. They will also learn about other city departments and lead the Pledge of Allegiance at the State of the City address in January. 

The “Mayor for a Day” contest aims to foster and encourage leadership in young people living in San Diego. At age 10, I was runner-up in a "Mayor for a Day" contest at the City of San Diego. Thirty-two years later, I was sworn in as San Diego’s 37th Mayor. 

My hope is that the experience will help get kids interested in a career in public service.

I launched the “Mayor for a Day” contest in 2022. The winner in 2022 was Aiella Niles, a third-grade student from Mira Mesa who wrote an essay about the importance of picking up litter and keeping San Diego clean. The winner in 2023 was Emma Smith, a fifth-grade student from Tierrasanta who wrote an essay about how she wanted to learn how to help her neighbors in need, repair San Diego’s streets and clean up parks and beaches. 

The deadline to submit applications is midnight Dec. 15. Students can apply online here.