Politifest 2019 Hosted by Voice of San Diego @ USD Oct. 26th

Politifest 2019 Hosted by Voice of San Diego @ USD Oct. 26th

Right now, San Diego is engaged in several great debates: Where should homes be built? How many? What neighborhoods or open spaces should be preserved? Should we invest in transit or roads or both? Can a Western-style city like San Diego be reformatted for transit or more dense, walkable living? What can we do about the throngs of homeless living on the streets?

How we resolve these debates will define San Diego for decades to come. Join Voice of San Diego, in partnership with the University of San Diego, Saturday for Politifest, a housing and transportation summit.

Speakers include: Sen. Scott Weiner, SANDAG Executive Director Hasan Ikhrata, Climate Action Campaign Executive Director Nicole Capretz, City Council President Georgette Gómez, Councilman Chris Ward, Supervisor Nathan Fletcher, Sen. Ben Hueso, Deacon Jim Vargas and many more.

“This year we decided to focus Politifest, the now-annual summit on San Diego public affairs, on housing and transportation. The response has proven it to be a good decision,” said Scott Lewis, CEO and editor-in-chief of Voice of San Diego. “If we love this region and want it to be the best it can be, we all have to learn more about it and be willing to argue — sometimes fiercely — about what we should do with it.”

We will end the day with a debate among the San Diego mayoral candidates. The debate will focus exclusively on housing, transportation and homelessness.

Where: University of San Diego, Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice -- 5998 Alcala Park, San Diego, CA 92110

When: Saturday, Oct. 26; 11 a.m. - 6:30 p.m.; Registration begins at 10 a.m.

Who: Click here for a copy of the schedule and sessions. One panel will be conducted in Spanish with English translation. Three panels will include Spanish translation.

Featured Sessions:

California’s Housing Supply

Elyse Lowe, City of San Diego
Ray Major, SANDAG
Maya Rosas, Circulate San Diego
Sen. Scott Weiner, State of CA

Transit in the West

Mayor Richard Bailey, Coronado
Council President Georgette Gómez, City of San Diego
Hasan Ikhrata, SANDAG

What’s San Diego’s Plan to Tackle Homelessness, and Will it Work?

Keely Halsey, City of San Diego
Tamera Kohler, Regional Taskforce on the Homeless
Ann Oliva, Corporation for Supportive Housing
Peter Seidler, Seidler Equity Partners/San Diego Padres

VOSD Podcast: San Diego Mayoral Debate

Councilwoman Barbara Bry
Assemblyman Todd Gloria
Tasha Williamson

About Voice of San Diego

Launched in 2005, Voice of San Diego was the first digital, nonprofit news organization in the country to serve a local community. Its founders, longtime columnist and editor Neil Morgan and entrepreneur Buzz Woolley, felt the region desperately needed more reporting, analysis and journalistic competition. Our mission is to consistently deliver ground-breaking investigative journalism for the San Diego region and to increase civic participation by giving residents the knowledge and in-depth analysis necessary to become advocates for good government and social progress. We are cultivating a community of educated San Diegans who ask tough questions and demand answers