While walking through the neighborhoods constituting District 3, look up and you can see skyscrapers and high-rises. Look down in many areas, though, and you see people sleeping on the sidewalk. The district puts the stark contrast between wealth and destitution in downtown San Diego on full display. It is home to luxury condos and the Safe Sleeping Site in Balboa Park.
Stephen Whitburn currently represents the district on the San Diego City Council and is hoping to cinch another four years in office. His opponent is Coleen Cusack, a political newcomer with a background in law and homeless advocacy. Whitburn won the March primary by a wide margin. Cusack came in second, edging out two other challengers.
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Henry Moreal runs a business in District 3. The Hillcrest hair salon owner said homelessness is the biggest issue in this race.
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“I feel the homeless situation is definitely impeding the growth of the city, to be quite honest with you," Moreal said. "I do feel sorry for the homeless people. I mean, it's not their fault, but at the same time, it does affect, you know, small businesses like ours and it affects the community."
The candidates agree on the issue at the center of their race: homelessness. However, they have divergent views about how to handle the crisis.
"We are seeing people go into safe sleeping sites, into shelters, into permanent housing,” said Whitburn. “That is what we have done, and that is what we need to keep doing. We are building more housing and affordable housing in San Diego and in my district today than ever before in the city's history.”
Cusack said she was motivated to run for this seat because 80% of voters indicated that housing and homelessness is their chief concern.
"We have a wealth of wisdom in this community," Cusack said. "We need to be more responsive to the community members. We have 7,000 short-term vacation rentals ... and we have 6,500 folks who are experiencing homelessness.”
Whitburn championed the city's Unsafe Camping Ordinance, which he ardently defends, with the caveat that the city urgently needs more shelter beds.
“If we have a safer and healthier place for you to go, if we have a shelter bed, a safe sleeping site, a permanent home, then you cannot make it a choice to just stay in an encampment on the sidewalk,” Whitburn said.
Cusack is a vocal opponent of the camping ban, and has called any criminalization of unhoused people "futile" and "inhumane."
“San Diego is doing mostly all the wrong things making the crisis worse not better," Cusack said. "We're wasting money and we are treating people horribly."
Voice of San Diego editor-in-chief Scott Lewis told NBC 7 that the District 3 race is one to watch, given the candidates' stances on homelessness.
“This big debate about how we handle homelessness could not be more interesting than it is in District 3,” Lewis said. “It’s going to be a really interesting discussion, if only to see that sort of dual sides of the city be personified by the candidates.”
