From the moment Mayor Todd Gloria proposed closing public restrooms at Mission Bay Park as part of this year’s budget cuts, I opposed the idea. San Diego faced a difficult budget year. I ultimately voted for the city’s balanced budget, but I made clear during the budget process, twice, that I did not support closing Mission Bay restrooms.
Cities have to get the basics right: clean streets, safe neighborhoods, smooth roads and parks people can actually use — which means open public restrooms. A restroom is not a luxury in a public park. For families with young children, seniors, people with disabilities, pregnant women, workers and tourists, access to a restroom can determine whether they comfortably and safely use that park at all.
Mission Bay receives an estimated 15 million visitors each year. Closing 13 out of its 28 public restrooms was a dramatic service reduction at a beloved public space and one of our economy’s most important tourist attractions.
That is why, on July 15, I sent Gloria a memorandum identifying $1.8 million that had been recently freed up. I proposed using less than a third to reopen and maintain the Mission Bay restrooms.
On July 24, the mayor rejected my proposal. He emphasized that the $1.8 million consisted of one-time resources and argued that the city lacked sufficient ongoing funding to sustain existing service levels.
I disagreed. When a million residents and visitors could be searching for an open restroom, the need is so urgent, we must act right away. Sanitation and basic hygiene are matters of public health and safety, after all.
Fortunately, the public spoke up. Medical professionals raised concerns. The media covered this problem repeatedly. My office kept pressing the issue and organized a public event to demand action. The mayor’s solution was announced almost immediately after.
I am glad Gloria took action, though after rejecting my proposal in part because he claimed it relied on one-time resources, the mayor ultimately adopted another temporary solution based on one-time resources to reopen the restrooms until Dec. 31, while leaving the permanent question for later.
San Diegans should not have had to hold it for nearly a month for City Hall to conclude that temporary funding could solve an immediate problem while a permanent solution was developed. Meanwhile, residents, tourists and city lifeguards dealt with the stench.
And let’s be real: the excuse that my proposal lacked fiscal sustainability never made sense, especially when the fiscal implication of inaction was truly worse: sick people, lost tourism, tarnished reputation, trust squandered. Those 45 days of closure saved the city less than $70,000, but cost us so much more.
The story cannot end on Dec. 31. Public restrooms are an ongoing service, and ongoing services require sustainable funding. On that point, I agree with the mayor. The city has said it will reevaluate funding at its midyear budget review. I cannot support any budget amendments that don’t include permanently keeping all of those restrooms open, well-maintained and safe.
There is also a broader point about leadership. Mission Bay may not be within the district I represent, but Mission Bay is a citywide asset. Councilmembers are elected from districts, but we govern one city. If each of us only speaks up about problems within our own district’s boundary lines, citywide accountability disappears.
Some have criticized me for “stepping out of my lane.” But my lane is San Diego. My hometown is San Diego. My wife and I are raising our son and daughter in San Diego, and Mission Bay belongs to all San Diegans.
Thousands of my constituents use those bathrooms, and millions of San Diegans and visitors enjoy that park every year. When City Hall makes a decision that harms a citywide public resource, every elected official has a responsibility to speak up, regardless of whose district it sits in.
And there is a larger lesson here. We should not need a political fight to keep bathrooms open and parks usable. These are the minimum people should expect from a functioning city.
So yes, I am glad the bathrooms are reopening. Now keep them open. Keep them clean. And let’s act with urgency, because San Diegans deserve a government that gets the basics right the first time.
City Councilmember Raul Campillo represents District 7, which includes Allied Gardens, Del Cerro, Grantville, Linda Vista, Mission Valley, San Carlos, Serra Mesa and Tierrasanta.
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