Just a year ago, Councilman David Alvarez was a relative unknown.
The soft-spoken San Diego native regularly showed up at events and press conferences without staffers, and usually left without facing a single reporter.
As a councilman, he struggled to push forward even a modest ordinance to create a foreclosure registry amid a tense relationship with former Mayor Jerry Sanders. (It ultimately prevailed.)
But the mayoral race, where he was buoyed by his own compelling personal narrative and millions of dollars from labor groups, has catapulted him to a contender getting attention from the New York Times and President Barack Obama.
Neither was enough to propel him into the mayor’s office. Republican challenger Kevin Faulconer decisively defeated Alvarez Tuesday.
But the groundswell that emerged to support his candidacy – high-profile national Democrats parachuted in for campaign appearances, and more than 600 volunteers gathered the Saturday before the election walking door to door to rally voters on his behalf – marks a sudden transformation in Alvarez’s nascent political career.
It’s a reality even Alvarez himself likely couldn’t have imagined just months ago.
City officials broke ground Friday on a library in San Ysidro, following more than two decades of discussion and planning. Councilman David Alvarez, who represents San Ysidro, spearheaded fundraising efforts for the library, which is expected to open in 2019, the mayor said. Alvarez said building a new library was one of his top priorities upon being elected.
Read MoreIn an effort to address the retention problem San Diego police departments are facing, Councilman David Alvarez proposed further pay increases and better training programs for officers. The city has spent or committed $140 million over four years, only to see more officers leave the police department, Alvarez, who represents San Diego’s District 8, said.
Read MoreThe San Diego City Council Tuesday unanimously approved a 20-year lease that will pave the way for a museum and community center at a city-owned property adjacent to Chicano Park. “I want to thank you for saying ‘yes’ to the community this time because this community has heard ‘no’ a lot more than it has heard ‘yes’ over the years,” he told his colleagues. “Chicano Park is what it is today because of the community… The museum and cultural center will be successful because of the community.”
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