Congressional hopefuls, Scott Peters and Carl De Maio came to Little Italy to present their respective positions regarding their upcoming race for California’s 52nd congressional District based in San Diego.
“It’s no trouble at all to be here; I love Little Italy it’s one of my favorite neighborhoods,” said Peters beginning his informal meeting with members of the Little Italy community in San Diego. He was invited by Little Italy Residents Association’s President, Annie MacMillan Eichman, who with other members of the community, were eager to hear what both candidates had to say regarding their plans for the Italian community and its environs.
Citing some of his prior endeavors, Peters related that he had served as District representative on the City Council 1, which represents La Jolla and Penasquitos. He also mentioned that he “worked hard on our ballpark district and the downtown area.” As a gesture of his keen interest in improving some of the city, county and state’s problems, Peters cited his cut in pay by 8% which would be donated to charity.
“I donated my city pension to help fund the new downtown library,” said Peters, adding “we’ve invested in 24 major park investments; I love doing that kind of thing.” Peters also stated that as Tourism, San Diego’s Military presence and biotechnology are big issues for San Diego, he would be focusing on improvements made in these areas.
“We have the 3rd largest population of veterans here in San Diego, as well as the largest population of homeless, explained Peters. “I’ve got a bill to shelter homeless veterans,” he said, adding that he has another to shelter elderly, homeless veterans and to “offer a tax credit to business that hire vets and keep them on the payroll.” The Congressional Candidate ended with, “Little Italy is a fantastic community and I’m willing to be a voice with you, in local government. If you think we’re messing up anything, don’t yell at the TV; call me and yell at me.”
DeMaio Takes the Floor
DeMaio welcome those gathered in Little Italy’s Fire Station Museum by stating, “I actually want to hear from you and your thoughts.” Dressed sartorially correct in a blue suit, white shirt and red striped tie, he warmed up to the audience by discussing the 4-year budget which, “we could not fix,” he stated. “I’m very proud that we did. I don’t look at republicans or democrats; I look at the people that can get the job done,” he said.
DeMaio reckoned that there are only “fundamental challenges between San Diego and Washington;” and that other than the billions, in the case of San Diego, and the trillions, in the case of Washington, things are “pretty much the same” as far as getting things done. He listed several of his beliefs stating that one should not be a party of “no.” Next, he stated that “we need to reach out to all communities.”
“San Diego is a city with so much diversification, but we need to treat each other with respect,” said DeMaio, adding “My hope is to bring the community together. We can create jobs and make sure our children can get these jobs, by reaching out to all communities.”
DeMaio concluded his presentation stating that he advocates a “single subject rule,” where each bill should have a single, notable subject on which voters can focus and vote. He cited San Diego’s problems with immigration as being confusing and containing “poison pills” of too many issues.
“The super majority agree that we should secure the border,” he pointed out, adding “We should vote on this single issue, not throw in other issues.”
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