There are four candidates on the June 7 ballot for the newly drawn state Assembly District 80, which includes south San Diego, National City, Chula Vista and Imperial Beach. They are small business owner David Alvarez and environmental advocate/businesswoman Georgette Gomez, both Democrats, and retired contractor Lincoln Pickard and technology manager John Vogel Garcia, both Republicans. The top two vote-getters will advance to a Nov. 8 runoff election. Alvarez and Gomez are also on the June 7 ballot in a separate election to complete the term of the previous assemblymember.
The San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board sent each a 13-question survey and is publishing their responses here.
If you have comments or questions about the election or any of the candidates after reading this interview, please email Editorial and Opinion Director Matthew T. Hall at [email protected].
Below are Georgette Gomez’s responses and a link to other responses.
Q: From wildfires to sea level rise, the climate emergency is increasingly affecting California. What immediate steps should California lawmakers be taking to address it?
A: California must take every step necessary to rid our dependence on fossil fuels to reduce the existential threat of climate change. We need to put the brakes on this speeding freight train, but we won’t be able to do that if Big Oil is calling the shots.
And that’s a basic choice in this election. My opponent is funded and supported by Big Oil. But I believe Big Oil and other greenhouse gas profiteers have too much influence in politics — and they can’t buy me off.
If you want to hold the big oil companies accountable for the toxic pollution they’re causing and global warming they’re worsening, then stand with me and fight for a clean energy future and real action on the climate crisis.
I’ve spent my whole life fighting for our environment — as a community organizer tackling industrial pollution in South County and as City Council president pushing to get San Diego to 100 percent renewable energy as fast as possible. I’ll keep up the fight in the state Assembly.
Q: The governor’s pleas to reduce water use have been widely met with indifference. What, if anything, should state lawmakers be doing to address drought conditions?
A: I am proud of the work we did while I was City Council president to advance the Pure Water San Diego recycled water project. It’s an investment that will provide 40 percent of San Diego’s water supply locally by the end of 2035 without new imported water from the Colorado River, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California or the Delta. Every corner of our state is in a pinch with its water reliability, and it’s so important that more regions learn from our Pure Water investment in recycled water infrastructure so they can come more independent, too. I will be pushing for farther-reaching implementation of recycled water throughout California when I am elected. There’s no excuse.
Q: What would you do to address the surging gas prices in California?
A: Voters should know Big Oil is supporting my opponent David Alvarez and opposing me fiercely. Oil companies have pumped tens of thousands of dollars into Alvarez’s campaign because they know I’ll stand up to them and fight for working families and clean air. In a very real sense, the oil companies are taking the record profits from the sky-high prices they’re charging motorists and using it to try and buy a seat for their candidate. It’s wrong.
I support a gas tax relief rebate of up to $800 per family — 30 percent more than what they pay in gas taxes every year. The rebate will deliver $9 billion in direct payments back to millions of Californians, including an estimated $112 million back to the people of Assembly District 80.
But beyond that immediate relief to families, we need to cut our dependence on oil. It’s the monopoly energy source for so many families right now because they either can’t afford the electric vehicles or the charging infrastructure that is needed to make it a reliable option for them, or they can’t depend on public transit that is limited in its routes. I’ve been working to implement a plan here to reduce our dependence on oil through our local transportation resources, but we need a statewide plan to move people and goods without being so beholden to the oil companies.
Q: How do you strike a balance between reducing the state’s dependency on fossil fuels and addressing energy affordability issues, including the high cost of gasoline?
A: First, elected leaders need to cut the political ties to Big Oil because they become beholden to them.
I won’t take a dime from Big Oil, but those same oil companies have their claws in on my opponent David Alvarez with tens of thousands of their corporate money fueling his campaign. That’s unacceptable to me.
Big Oil is really sticking it to working families at a time when they’re being crushed by out-of-control housing prices and rent, grocery prices that are higher than ever, and soaring health care costs.
I won’t sit idly by while working people suffer. We need more transparency in oil prices and an all-of-the-above approach to renewable energy by advancing solar, wind, geothermal and every kind of clean energy source that reduce emissions and reduce costs for working families.
Let’s be clear: The oil companies have been using the war in Ukraine as an excuse for jacking up gas prices when in reality the higher gas prices are a result of them seeking record profits.
Exxon Mobil made $23 billion in profit this past year. For Chevron, it was $15.6 billion. Shell and BP raked in profits of $19.3 billion and $12.9 billion, respectively.
It isn’t right that the oil companies are reaping in billions while charging my neighbors near and over $6 a gallon at the pump.
Q: How would you bring down the high cost of housing, both for homeowners and renters?
A: With the cost of housing crushing working families, I’ve been leading the fight to act for more affordable housing.
As City Council president, I wrote the law to require developers to build more housing that’s affordable for working families, not just the rich.
And I passed the emergency legislation that made San Diego among the first cities in California to halt evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the state Assembly, I’m ready to do even more.
We need to build more housing along transit lines and make sure that housing is affordable for the working class, not just the wealthy.
State government must establish a permanent, ongoing source of affordable housing funds — it’s a must.
And we need one simple permit process that housing developers can follow to get their projects built fast — especially for affordable housing.
But we also need to do more to help first-time homebuyers, as the government did for previous generations, and explore how to expand community land trusts to help working-class families afford homes and build wealth.
We need to stop out-of-state land speculators from gobbling up rental units and displacing existing tenants.
I’m a pro-housing, pro-working family candidate, and I won’t let Sacramento special interests stand in the way of the progress we need.
Q: Homelessness is growing dramatically across the state. How would you address it?
A: We need more drug treatment, mental health services and housing to address rising homelessness, which we all know has many causes. I’ve been working for years to expand mental health and substance abuse treatment options for homeless San Diegans — because we know it works.
This is a big difference between my opponent and me. When he had the chance, David Alvarez worked to torpedo a supportive housing complex that would have served chronic homelessness. That’s wrong. I voted to advance it and thank goodness because that facility provided essential shelter to very vulnerable San Diegans during the COVID-19 crisis.
In the state Assembly, I’ll work to ensure San Diego gets its fair share of state homelessness funds and work to get state support for innovative new local programs that are showing great promise, like the county’s new substance abuse counselor initiative that recruits in low-income communities and hires people who have overcome addiction to provide firsthand knowledge and guidance to help others do the same.
Q: What, if anything, should the state do to make mass transit a viable option for commuters?
A: Working families who rely on public transit deserve better, more reliable options. And many of our seniors depend on transit and paratransit to get to the doctor or buy groceries. It’s easy for politicians to call for more road funding — and we need that, too — but I’ll fight for all our families and for a future with less cars on the road, less traffic and smog polluting our air, and where more people choose to take the trolley simply because it’s faster and easier.
One critical transportation project I pushed for as chair of San Diego’s trolley system is the Blue Line Express in South County, the busiest transit route in all of San Diego. By adding a third line of track, we can make rush-hour trains go faster and stop less frequently from San Ysidro all the way to University City. It will reduce commute times considerably and encourage more South County drivers to take the trolley for convenience. I’ll fight for state funding to make this long-promised project a reality and extend the blue line directly to Tijuana to once and for all connect our beautiful cross-border region via transit.
State government can also encourage more progress by incentivizing streamlined housing and commercial development to take place around transit lines. Investing in public transportation must remain a priority to meet the climate goals we have set for ourselves, to meet the demands of our growing population, and to keep San Diego healthy, liveable and thriving for years to come.
Q: How will you balance public health with economic and educational concerns going forward in this pandemic or the next one? What specific steps and strategies, from lockdowns to mask mandates, would you recommend or rule out if there is a new surge in deaths and hospitalizations?
A: As the City Council president when the COVID-19 pandemic began, I moved swiftly to enact public safety protections that we know saved lives. Masking. Social distancing. Personal protective equipment for our first responders. Testing.
And I passed an emergency declaration to halt evictions, stopped utility shut-offs and worked to deliver economic relief to families and small businesses alike. We saved livelihoods, although the economic damage was severe, especially for working people in South County who didn’t enjoy the luxury of Zooming into work for months.
The COVID-19 pandemic made crystal-clear how our social safety net is simply insufficient to protect working families during an economic crisis. We need real change so our economy is fairer and puts working people first, not big corporations and special interests.
That means corporations paying their fair share for unemployment and paid family leave. That means safer, more supportive workplaces for essential workers and first responders who put their lives on the line to keep us safe. It means affordable health care that’s universal for all and fully funded public schools that can meet the moment for our students at a moment’s notice. That’s the California I believe in and that I’m running for Assembly to fight for.
Q: California has the strictest gun laws in the nation yet has had some of the nation’s worst mass shootings this year. What more, if anything, should be done to reduce gun violence in California?
A: San Diego has recently taken additional measures to address gun violence by banning ghost guns that could be harmful in the wrong hands and expanding its use of red flag gun laws to remove firearms from people who pose threats.
I am 100 percent supportive of measures like these to help reduce senseless gun violence, but I also want to see increases in school counselors, therapists, social workers and crime prevention programs so we address the trauma caused by violence and work to prevent tragic shootings from happening in the first place.
Moreover, I’m interested in holding the gun manufacturers and retailers liable for the dangerous products they make and market to our people. The crisis of gun violence is a responsibility that the gun lobby must bear before real progress is made.
Q: California has adopted a number of criminal justice reforms in recent years. What would you change and why to ensure justice is equitable and effective?
A: The state has recently taken good measures to improve our criminal justice system and thanks to the efforts of people of color impacted by overpolicing we are moving in the right direction. Thanks to the efforts of Dr. Shirley Weber, Assembly Bill 392 was signed into law in 2019, which prevents an officer from using deadly force unless absolutely necessary. As City Council president, I ensured swift placement on the ballot of the measure to create an independent police oversight commission for San Diego — and we won.
Policies like these are steps in changing a system that focuses on punitive measures, but we need to do more for our communities. We need to invest in more community-led solutions to overpolicing, such as having mental health professionals respond to psychiatric calls and having social workers help with outreach to our unsheltered population.
Ultimately, communities that are safe have support in so many ways — good schools, good health care, good jobs and more. If we want all our communities to be truly safe, we need to make the economy fairer and ensure government funding is shared equitably with all our neighborhoods.
Q: What single change would you make to improve California’s K-12 public school systems?
A: The single change I would do to improve K-12 is to increase funding for students, educators and schools, and distribute it equitably. Students’ ZIP codes or social status should not determine their success, yet the education system continues to perpetuate inequality that has kept underserved communities from accessing the resources it needs. Poor and minority students continue to be concentrated in the least well-funded schools, and educators continue to pay for school resources out of their own pockets. Investing in our schools has only been an investment in education. It’s a way to invest in California’s future in all economic sectors.
Q: Should taxes in California be increased? If so, which ones?
A: Big corporations in California need to pay their fair share, just like ordinary working people, to fund our schools, street repairs and social safety nets. I support eliminating wasteful corporate tax loopholes in state law and reforming the tax code so corporations can’t get tax breaks that ordinary people don’t.
Q: What is the most important issue we have not raised and why?
A: There’s an old Mexican proverb — tell me who you walk with and I’ll tell you who you are. In this campaign, I’m standing with San Diego’s nurses, firefighters, teachers, unions, Democrats, Planned Parenthood and the Sierra Club. That’s who I am. I’m the daughter of Mexican immigrants who has never forgotten where she came from. I’m an environmental justice community organizer who always fights for our planet. I’m the former council president who’s always fought for what’s right for working people who deserve a fair shake in the economy and a fair shot at the California dream. I’d be honored to earn your vote.