San Diego, CA.- District 2 City Council candidate Dr. Jen Campbell finished second to incumbent Lorie Zapf in the June primary.
Campbell received 21% of the vote, Zapf had 43%.
It was an impressive finish for Campbell as she had never run for public office.
A Democrat, Dr. Campbell retired from the medical profession after 37 years of treating patients and teaching medicine. It was a medical issue, the Hepatitis A crisis in San Diego, that she says caused her to run for public office.
Campbell sat down with me on Beyond The Headlines to discuss solving homelessness, the Airbnb battle, why she's a better fit to represent District 2 than the incumbent Lorie Zapf, and the interesting story of how her mother gave political advice to JFK.
Dr. Campbell On Why She's a Better Fit For District 2
"Lorie Zapf is a Trump Republican. District 2 voted 30% for Trump, 70% for Hillary, so she doesn't fit the district politically. I'm a better fit, I represent the views of our residents. She has been neglectful to answer residents phone calls, emails, letters, complaints have not been taken care of. She does not put residents first.
To me, the City Council is a public service agency we are the service center for our residents, and if they have a problem we need to be in touch with them and help them."
Mother Gave JFK Political Advice
"I come from a very politically active family. My mom was active in the Democratic party, grassroots level up to the national level. John Kennedy used to call her for advice, I got to talk to him on the phone when I was a kid. So she trained all of her children about the importance of being active in society and taking our part in Democracy."
On Solving Homelessness
"This is a solvable problem. Many cities in our country have tackled this problem and they've had 90% success in keeping previously homeless people permanently housed and becoming valued members of society again.
It is solvable we just have to have the will and the way. We have 5 criteria that have been used in other cities and those criteria are: Collaboration, Outreach, buildings available for housing, wrap around services, observe and monitor. It's must less expensive to house and rehabilitate than it is to pay for them on the street, costs about 1/3 less. We need more leadership for the city to step up and take care of this problem, because it is solvable."
Airbnb For District 2
"I think the council came up with a good compromise and I don't like the effort to undo that action with the signature drive. The compromise is that people who have a home and they want to rent a room they should be able to do it. It will be regulated, followed, taxed and properly controlled by the city. That way we aren't losing our neighborhoods but people who need help with their income level they've got another way to do it."