Raul Roundup subscribers,

In light of our recent election, in which I was so proud to win re-election to serve you for another four years, I’d like to take this moment to share some heartfelt thoughts with you. For what it’s worth, I am personally writing this – not a member of my staff.

First and foremost: I know that while I do my best to make decisions that are for the short- and long-term benefit of every citizen in our neighborhoods, we’re not always going to agree on every single position, policy, or vote at Council. That means we have a healthy democracy. I also acknowledge that some decisions are mistakes, plain and simple. I’m human, like everyone else, after all.

It might not always be immediately apparent, but I try to listen and change my mind based on evidence you all send me. Believe me when I tell you this: I have often adjusted my votes at council, or offered amendments to ordinances and resolutions, based on your requests and suggestions, both at council and by messages you send before items come to council. Occasionally, I am the only “No” vote on things, and I’m willing to be the lone opponent to something I think does not benefit my constituents and our district. I’ve been that person on small items and big items.

My message is this: we won’t always agree, but I will always listen and consider. That is one of my core duties, and I take it seriously. And no matter who you are, if you have something broken in the neighborhood that the city can fix, I will go to the mat to fix it as quickly as possible because I also know that you don’t just ask for things for yourself, but also for all your neighbors.

What I want to encourage you all to do is take advantage of the mechanisms my office has in place to communicate how we are serving you: joining my email newsletter lists and following me on social media. I notice that many many many of you don’t hear about services like Free Bulk Trash Days, or Community Coffees, or any number of big and small things we do for folks.

I cannot promise that every service or event will be useful to you, but I do promise that I am trying my best, my hardest, to get the messages out to you so you can choose how to engage with my office. Some folks just read and keep scrolling; some folks reply back; some folks say thanks; some folks criticize. I appreciate whatever it is you want to say so my office, my staff, and myself personally can help you and make the city government work better for you.

And bottom line: I respect you because whenever I finish my career as an elected official, I become a neighbor who will push the next City Council to do good by us all, just like you.

So, please click here to go my Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cmraulcampillo/

And my Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CMRaulCampillo/

And my website: https://www.sandiego.gov/citycouncil/cd7

I assure you that there is SOMETHING you and I agree upon, and I will find commonality before I ever find difference, and if we fix things in this way, we will improve things in significant ways.

Thank you for your consideration and if you see me in public, in the neighborhood, at a park, at the grocery store, please, just say hi. I’d love to meet you.

Your Councilmember,

Raul Armando Campillo

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be recognizing a few folks that have gone above and beyond in their work to make quality childcare more affordable and accessible to San Diegan families. As a working young father myself and a former 5th grade teacher, I know firsthand both how important it is that children get quality attention early and how high the cost of childcare is for folks these days.

The first person I’m naming ‘Childcare Champion of the Week’ is Courtney Baltiyskyy. Courtney is the Vice President of Policy and Advocacy with the YMCA of San Diego, and she’s an active leader in the childcare space in San Diego. She’s a mother, a girl scout troop leader, and an advocate, and she’s dedicated her career to bringing joy to coalition building for changemaking.

The cost of housing is simply far too high for so many working folks in San Diego. We feel it in the rent payments many of us pay each month; our mortgage bills; the number of unhoused folks on our streets; and many other ways.

Over my first term, I’ve worked to address our housing crunch by leaning into projects that take our neighborhoods forward, like some of the new transit-oriented developments in Grantville and Mission Valley, and implementing common-sense changes like expediting the housing permitting process.

At the same time, I’ve earned myself a reputation on the City Council for always looking at real estate transactions and housing developments with scrutiny – because the last thing that San Diego needs is to be bait-and-switched. While it’s critical that we build more housing to relieve the pressure on working and middle class families, we have to be sure that each project is a net positive for our neighborhoods, rather than taking us back.

I took a few minutes to sit down in front of the camera and record my thoughts about housing, including the specific ways that I’ve gone about addressing our high costs. You can watch that video here.

If you’ve never gotten to know the Kiwanis folks in our neighborhoods, you should. We all benefit from the ways that they volunteer their time to improve our community. The Grantville-Allied Gardens Kiwanis Club is currently looking for volunteers, so if you’re interested, join them for their upcoming meeting this Thursday, Nov 21 at 7:30am at Palisades Church on Birchwood Street. They’ll even have a free meal for you!

You can find more info here.

One last reminder that I’ll be hosting a free child car seat inspection event tomorrow. This is a great opportunity to make sure that your child seat is properly installed so that your child is safe and secure. If you plan to go, please RSVP here and we’ll send you the location.