A Note From Stephen ...

Welcome to the District 3 Newsletter!

It has been just over a year since I began serving as your city council representative, and I have spent some time reflecting on the work we have done and what we have yet to accomplish. Since being sworn in on Dec. 10, 2020, alongside a new mayor and 4 other new city council members, we found ourselves in a good place to work on the many challenges before us — some inherited, some new.

Helping our communities begin the recovery process from the COVID-19 shutdowns was one of the first things our new council and mayor tackled. We implemented a number of measures like capping the amount third-party delivery services could charge restaurants they service, provided rent relief to struggling San Diegans, and worked hard to house our unsheltered population.

Homelessness has been a long-time problem in San Diego, and the problem is like I have never seen it before. Over the past year, working together with the mayor, council, and even our counterparts at the County of San Diego and the State of California, we have significantly added outreach, services, shelter, and housing. No one should have to live on the streets, and while this is not a problem that we will solve overnight, we are taking the right steps to address it.

There are so many other issues we have to tackle throughout District 3 and our great city, and I look forward to continuing to work on our City’s biggest needs over the years to come. With a year in office behind me, it’s exciting to envision what we can do together over the next several years to make District 3 and San Diego an even better place to live, work, and play.

We are here to serve you, our constituents and neighbors, and my team remains committed to providing the highest quality of service to you. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to our office at any time for assistance with any City services, or if you have ideas or thoughts on upcoming City Council legislation or other issues. You can find a list of my staff and the communities they serve here.

I hope you enjoy the rest of this newsletter and find it informative. Reach out to Benny Cartwright in my office at bcartwright@sandiego.gov if you have ideas or feedback on things you would like us to share about in future editions.

PS. Be sure to check out our "Year In Review" at the end of this newsletter to see many of the great projects we got to participate in and community members we got to meet over the past year.

Get It Done

The City of San Diego’s award-winning Get It Done app is the best way to report non-emergency issues you see in your community.

Some of the most common Get It Done reports include:

Potholes
Graffiti
Trash Collection
Street lights
Sidewalk issues
Homeless outreach
Passport services
and so much more!

Reports placed on the Get It Done app are sent to directly to the City's workflow process or referred to the appropriate agency. While our office is always here to assist our constituents with City issues, in most cases Get It Done is the first step. If your issue is not resolved to your satisfaction after making a report, please don't hesitate to reach out to our office with your Get It Done report number and we will research the issue for you.

Click here to learn more about Get It Done services and how to download the smartphone app.

North Park Mini Park

Councilmember Whitburn was proud to help cut the ribbon to open the brand new North Park Mini Park on Sunday, January 16. After over 20 years of discussions and planning, this vision of many North Park community members finally came to reality.

Features of the park include:

A children's play area
Performance stage
Seating areas with tables, chairs, and benches
Enhanced lighting
Wayfinding pylons
A drinking fountain
Improved landscaping and irrigation

The park will be a great place for community events, festivals, the Farmers Market, and so much more! Be sure to visit next time you're in the area - it's located along North Park Way, between 29th Street and Granada Way, just behind The Observatory North Park.

University Heights Interim Dog Park

University Heights neighbors love their dogs and for years have had limited space to let them get out and play. While the neighborhood’s existing parks - Trolley Barn and Birney Joint Use Field - are great places, they are not designated for off-leash dog use. After hearing concerns from many residents about the need for an off-leash dog park in the area we were able to get funding in the City’s FY22 budget for an interim park at the San Diego Unified School District headquarters site, located where El Cajon Blvd., Normal Street, and Park Blvd. intersect.

While this park will be an interim solution, we hope this amenity serves the community while we come up with a permanent location. Construction on the interim off-leash dog park for University Heights should begin this year.

FY23 Budget Priorities

Our office is grateful to all of the community members who completed our FY23 Budget Survey in December and early January.

Here are the top 4 priorities of the District 3 constituents who participated in the survey:

Homelessness solutions
Pedestrian and mobility safety
Infrastructure: streets, sidewalks, and stormwater
Crime and police response times

Based on the issues we identified, we were able to include a number of community projects and funding priorities for District 3 that are included in our Budget Memo here.

The next steps in the process include a review of all council offices' suggested priorities by the IBA’s office, the Mayor’s draft budget, and then the final council approval of the City of San Diego’s FY23 Budget in June.

Meet Our Team

Our team is here to serve you! Each month, we will feature one of our District 3 staffers so you can get to know our team members better. This month, we will start with Benny Cartwright, who works on communications for the office (including developing this newsletter!) and represents the Hillcrest neighborhood.

Benny joined our team on Dec. 10, 2020 when we first took office. Prior to coming to City Hall, Benny worked for a variety of non-profit and media organizations, primarily within the LGBTQ community. He previously worked at the San Diego LGBT Community Center, Being Alive San Diego HIV/AIDS Services, the Associated Students of San Diego State University, San Diego LGBT News, and was the first executive director of the San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus. He earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from San Diego State University, and master’s degree in Non Profit Leadership & Management from the University of San Diego. A lifelong San Diegan, Benny has volunteered in a variety of capacities in the LGBTQ and Hillcrest communities, and is always willing to lend a hand. Benny currently is on the board of directors of Casa de Luz, a nonprofit organization that supports LGBTQ asylum seekers in Tijuana, and he also loves organizing neighborhood cleanups in Hillcrest.

See our full staff listing here.

A Year In Review ...

It has been quite a year, and Councilmember Whitburn and the entire District 3 team have enjoyed getting out in the community, working with our constituents, and tackling some of our City's biggest challenges. Check out these photo highlights from our first year in office!

Photos above, from left to right: Team Whitburn participating in a University Heights neighborhood cleanup day; walking in the Women's March San Diego; launch of the Mayor's Veterans and Military Families Advisory Council; Korea Day Celebration in Balboa Park; celebrating the retirement of former Independent Budget Analyst Andrea Tevlin; supporting AIDS Walk & Run San Diego; St. Paul's Senior Services Halloween Carnival; Hillcrest Business Association's 100th Anniversary Gala; and Amazon Prime Shop Small event.

Photos above, from left to right: San Diego Restaurant Week; Mexican Consulate awards celebration; celebrating 40 years of MTS; meeting with homeless outreach professionals; stopping by Hillcrest's Assistance League thrift store; Movies in the Park in North Park; grand opening of new international cottages in Balboa Park; grand re-opening of the Mingei International Museum; promoting economic development with County leaders.

Photos above, from left to right: Dia de los Muertos remembrance at The Center; Taste of Hillcrest; Children's Easter Basket Drive with San Diego Firefighters; ribbon cutting for the Mid-Coast Trolley expansion; San Diego Pride Rally; grand opening of Ace Hardware Hillcrest's new Grilling Store; San Diego Pride march; ground breaking for Children's Park; speaking with neighbors in North Park.

Photos above, from left to right: Neighborhood cleanup day in Hillcrest; honoring local youth at PATH; SoNo Fest Chili Cook-Off judging; Mama's Kitchen's World AIDS Day Tree of Life ceremony; The Center's Dining Out For Life with Team D3; Small Business Saturday; Councilmember Whitburn's Inaugural Holiday Stuffed Animal Drive; ribbon cutting for the North Park Mini Park; groundbreaking for UC San Diego Health Hillcrest campus revitalization.

Photos above, from left to right: Honoring Norma Chavez-Peterson; supply delivery to migrant youth at the Convention Center; meeting with Downtown residents; El Cajon Blvd. holiday bridge lighting; supporting small businesses; Trans Day of Empowerment; Festival of Trees in Hillcrest; Come Home for the Holidays at The Center; Holiday Bowl Parade.