Equity continues to be a driving force in the City's Fiscal Year 2026 Draft Budget – and in our daily operations. In order to fulfill our mission of making San Diego work for all of us, our spending decisions must make equity a guiding principle and protect critical programs and investments in the communities that rely on them most. 

In my first term as your Mayor, we initiated the City’s Budget Equity Framework. Through this work, departments integrated equity into their decision-making by participating in Equity-Centered Coaching sessions and submitting Budget Equity Impact Statements to evaluate how proposed changes could affect San Diego’s diverse communities. Progress is being tracked through a new Tactical Equity Plan Dashboard, ensuring transparency and accountability in delivering equitable services across the city. 

Equity is also embedded into how the City selects infrastructure projects, with scoring criteria that prioritize investments in communities historically left behind. This ensures that resources flow toward neighborhoods that have faced decades of disinvestment. 

Further, equity is incorporated into operational plans like the City’s Pavement Management Plan, where street repair decisions now consider neighborhood equity factors—not just pavement condition—helping ensure that communities with equity needs – primarily those that have been historically underserved -- receive the infrastructure investments they deserve. 

In addition to these process improvements, the Draft Budget protects important programs that expand access and opportunity, including: 

By protecting these programs and continuing to reform internal practices and policies, the City remains steadfast in its commitment to ensuring that every San Diegan—regardless of race, income, or neighborhood—has the opportunity to thrive. 

We’re expanding one of San Diego’s most effective homelessness interventions: A new Safe Parking site located at H Barracks near the San Diego International Airport, providing 190 spaces—including accommodations for oversized vehicles like RVs.  

A recent court ruling cleared the way for the project to proceed after a developer attempted to block it. When the site opens this month, it will nearly double the capacity of the City’s successful Safe Parking Program. 

Thanks to unanimous approval from the City Council and a strong partnership with Jewish Family Service of San Diego, this site will offer individuals and families living in their vehicles a secure place to sleep and access to services like housing navigation, job training, and mental health care.

The Safe Parking program is the most successful of City-funded interventions, moving more than 2,000 people in the program to stable housing. 

Recent data shows a 44% increase in the number of San Diegans living in their vehicles. With this expansion, we’re meeting people where they are, intervening early, and connecting them to housing. The H Barracks site is expected to open in the coming weeks and will operate overnight only with onsite security. 

This is real progress—putting underused City property to work and helping San Diegans stay safe and get back on their feet. 

It comes on the heels of two other shelter openings over the past month: the Rachel’s Promise Center for Women and Children, which ultimately will serve up to 210 women and children, and the new Safe Stay shelter that will give 43 Transition Age Youth a safe place to stay. 

Each year, my dog Diego makes a special guest appearance with me at the official kickoff of Comic-Con—and every year, he shows up in costume. From Baby Yoda to Deadpool, Diego’s outfits always reflect what’s trending in pop culture. 

So what should he wear this year? Email AskTheMayor@SanDiego.gov to let us know your pick for Diego's Comic-Con 2025 look! 
 
▪️ Superman (Superman: Legacy) 

▪️ Mr. Fantastic (Fantastic Four) 

▪️ Red Guardian (Thunderbolts)