SAN DIEGO — Tackling homelessness, fixing dilapidated streets, flood recovery and equity are some of the top priorities for community members in San Diego's District 4. It's what they want to see their new council elect Henry Foster III prioritize as well.
Neighbors CBS 8 spoke with say the problems facing this area started way before the January storms.
Lanell Hands lives in District 4 and is helping clean out homes damaged in the January 22 storm.
"This flood could have been prevented had all of that stuff been cleared out like it was supposed to," Hands says. "For it to happen to just this neighborhood, I'm scratching my head about that."
He says District 4 has been underserved by the City of San Diego for decades.
"We need what they got in Rancho Penasquitos," he says. "We need what they got in Carlsbad too. We want to live like that too. We cherish our neighborhoods just as much as they do theirs. And we need to reflect that through the city."
That's why Foster, who grew up in District 4 and lives in Valencia Park says he's ready to get to work. Foster says the biggest task in front of him is helping neighbors in District 4 recover from the January 22 storms.
But he says he's multitasking to address streets, housing and parks.
Foster says Mayor Todd Gloria’s budget for the City of San Diego is coming in the next few weeks and he already has ideas for how money should be spent.
"Equity is not equal. Communities such as districts 4, 8 and 9 need to be at the forefront of that budget," Foster said. "There's this broad brush painted on our community where this is where crime happens. This is where bad things happen. But when you go thru the statistics, it's the opposite. We aren't even in the top 20 in most of our locations. We are a safe, family-oriented community."
CBS 8 reviewed crimes against persons across the City of San Diego throughout 2023. The data shows that for District 4 neighborhoods, recorded crimes against persons were higher in other parts of the San Diego.
- Mountain View: 227
- Encanto: 104
- Lincoln Park: 168
- Skyline: 67
- Alta Vista: 13
- Pacific Beach: 459
- Mira Mesa: 337
- Ocean Beach: 265
- Gaslamp: 369
- La Jolla: 137
Foster said he believes we should have a strong city council - strong mayor balance of power at city hall and he's coming to fight for it.
"I think the council really needs to come into it's own and understand what it means if you have a strong mayor system, then you have a strong council," he said. "You will see my passion. I'm not going to hide it. I'm going to embrace it. And we're going to have those uncomfortable conversations."
Foster surveyed the storm damage and ongoing clean up and rebuilding effort that’s underway on 42nd Street off Oceanview Blvd. He said he hopes lessons have been learned both regionally and nationally to prevent this tragedy from happening again.
"We dropped the ball. What are the people who live here supposed to do," he questioned. "How do they rebuild? They have their day jobs. Are they supposed to work until midnight repairing their homes? This is not a fault of theirs. This is the fault of negligence. This work is not done. And there needs to be a lot more done. What has the mayor done? What has he done?”
Foster said he appreciates the city bringing dumpsters to neighbors cleaning after the devastating floods, but talk needs to turn into action.
Mayor Todd Gloria’s office shared with CBS 8 that Gloria has always viewed San Diego's form of government as Strong Mayor-Strong Council, adding it was his mantra when he was on the City Council.
A spokesperson with Gloria's office also says administration has put into place a number of policies to ensure equity in investment and services across our city and to address the long-time underinvestment in communities in District 4.
"The Mayor greatly looks forward to working with Council-member elect Foster to find new ways to invest in and deliver for the people of District 4," a spokesperson for Gloria said.
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