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Mayor Todd Gloria – San Diego, CA
Todd Gloria was elected as San Diego’s 37th Mayor in 2020, becoming the first person of color and the first openly gay man to lead California’s second-largest city. A third-generation San Diegan, Mayor Gloria has dedicated his entire professional life to public service, guided by the lesson his parents instilled in him early on: if you care about something, you should leave it better than you found it. In 2024, he earned a second term to continue delivering results for San Diego.
Mayor Gloria began his career at the County of San Diego’s Health and Human Services Agency before serving as District Director to Congresswoman Susan A. Davis, whom he credits as a mentor. In 2008, he was elected to represent San Diego’s Third District on the City Council, where he earned the trust of his colleagues and was chosen as Council President in 2012. Following the resignation of Mayor Bob Filner in 2013, Gloria stepped in as Interim Mayor, where he was widely credited with restoring integrity and public confidence in City Hall. He later served in the California State Assembly from 2016 to 2020, quickly rising to leadership as Majority Whip, where he authored and advanced legislation on affordable housing, gun violence prevention, climate action, and homelessness.
Since taking office as Mayor, Gloria has focused on San Diego’s most urgent challenges—homelessness, housing, infrastructure, and public safety—while steering the city toward a more sustainable and equitable future. Under his leadership, San Diego has more than doubled its shelter capacity, placed over 3,600 people experiencing homelessness into permanent housing, and launched innovative programs like Safe Sleeping and expanded Safe Parking sites. His administration has also driven an unprecedented push on housing, cutting permitting timelines for 100% affordable housing projects, issuing nearly 8,000 new housing permits in 2023 alone, and investing $63 million through the Bridge to Home initiative to create more than 1,300 affordable apartments.
Mayor Gloria has also prioritized rebuilding San Diego’s aging infrastructure. In just three years, the city repaired or resurfaced over 1,000 miles of roadways, filled more than 60,000 potholes annually, and expanded the “Sexy Streets” program to improve the city’s busiest corridors. His administration has delivered 19 new parks, upgraded more than 30 existing ones, and modernized the city’s long-outdated Parks Master Plan.
On public safety, Mayor Gloria has supported recruitment and retention efforts that reversed long-standing staffing shortages in the police and fire departments. He secured pay increases for officers, opened a first-of-its-kind childcare facility for first responders, and oversaw a citywide drop in major violent crimes in 2023, including double-digit decreases in murder, rape, robbery, and burglary.