SAN DIEGO — I take it as a maxim that no political party should take Jewish voters for granted, nor should any political party write Jewish voters off.
Overwhelmingly, Jewish voters have preferred Democratic candidates because they more closely align with Judaism’s teaching of tikkun olam — repair of the world — than many Republican candidates do. The danger in this is that Democratic politicians, thinking Jews have no where else to go, might rate Jewish concerns–such as support for Israel–as unimportant.
We’ve seen evidence of this right here in San Diego County where the Democratic Central Committee, in the face of anti-Israel rhetoric by some of its members, was unable to agree on the definition of anti-Semitism, so put off the question until after the election.
While we don’t want to be taken for granted by the Democrats, neither do we want to be written off by the Republicans. We don’t want them to think, “Oh well, they’re going to vote for Democrats anyway, why bother with them?” Why vote for their issues? Were it not for the fact that Christian Evangelical voters also are supportive of Israel, there might be less Republican support for Israel than there is today in the Congress.
I try to apply the maxim that it’s important to support candidates of both parties not only at the federal level of government, but also at the state and local levels of government. It’s noteworthy that candidates often climb the political ladder, advancing from local offices to state and federal positions.
In analyzing the races for Mayor and the 9-member San Diego City Council, we see that Democrats are guaranteed to win the mayor’s chair, and at a minimum will have six of the nine seats on the council following the Nov. 3 election.
In the mayor’s race, opponents Barbara Bry and Todd Gloria are both Democrats, so no matter who wins, a Democrat will be in the mayor’s office.
The same situation applies in the races for the City Council in Districts 1 (Joe Lacava vs Will Moore); District 3 (Toni Duran vs. Stephen Whitburn), and District 9 (Sean Elo-Rivera vs. Kelvin Barrios.)
All these candidates are Democrats.
Councilmembers serving even-numbered districts are in the middle of their four-year terms. Three of them are Democrats: Dr. Jen Campbell (District 2); Monica Montgomery (District 4) and Vivian Moreno (District 8). So with three hold-over Democrats and three newly elected Democrats, the City Council will have six votes, enough to support a Democratic mayor’s program, or to override his or her veto, should that seem necessary.
One Republican, Chris Cate (District 6) is in the middle of his term, while two other seats (Districts 5 and 7) currently feature contests between Democratic and Republican candidates, respectively Joe Leventhal (R) vs. Marni von Wilpert (D) in the 5th District, and Noli Zosa (R) vs. Raul Campillo (D) in the 7th District. From what I know and have read about all of them, they all are nice, honorable people, well qualified to serve in the positions.
However, I think it is simultaneously in the best interest of the Jewish community and the city population at large to elect the Republicans Leventhal and Zosa so that the minority party’s representation will be large enough to offer contrary perspectives to what otherwise might become “group think.”
Their input during City Council hearings may lead to intelligent debate and compromises on such important issues facing San Diego as responses to the coronavirus pandemic; providing affordable housing both for low income and middle income families; finding workable, humane solutions to homelessness in San Diego; and dealing with a myriad of racial justice issues facing our city, all the while assuring the smooth ongoing functioning of police, fire, lifeguards, city streets, zoning, planning, parks and recreation, and other departments of the city government.
For Jewish voters, it’s a bonus that private attorney Leventhal is a member of our community and will be sensitive to our concerns, especially about the growth of anti-Semitism. Likewise, the fact that Zosa is a member of the Filipino community and a successful small businessman should help the city better appreciate and deal with issues affecting his community and those of other Asian-Americans.
For these reasons, San Diego Jewish World endorses Joe Leventhal and Noli Zosa in their respective races. We have previously endorsed Democrats Sean Elo-Rivera in the 9th district, and Barbara Bry for mayor.
*
Donald H. Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com