by Elpidio Estioko
Fellow Filipinos in Hawaii, did you know that San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria is of Filipino descent?
Mayor Gloria comes from a Filipino, Dutch, Puerto Rican, and Native American background. His paternal great-grandfather Melacor Gloria immigrated from Baliuag, Bulacan to Juneau, Alaska in the early 1900s when the Philippines became an American territory.
Mayor Gloria has a busy and tight schedule. His Director of Appointments Chida Warren-Darby and his Communications Director Rachel Laing were very cooperative and they tried to find a slot for me.
Later, however, his Confidential Executive Assistant Jessica “Jess” Albaniel emailed me saying:
“Dear Elpidio. Thank you for your request to meet with Mayor Todd Gloria. While we appreciate your interest and understand the importance of the proposed discussion, the mayor is unfortunately unable to meet due to a heavily impacted schedule and must respectfully decline with regret at this time.”
She, however, mentioned the mayor could answer questions through email, so I sent him questions and was able to get some answers and got his confirmation to use some details.
Thank you, Directors Warren-Darby, Laing, and Confidential Executive Assistant Albaniel for your most valuable assistance and cooperation.
A very modest and down-to-earth individual, Mayor Gloria spent his entire professional life in public service, beginning his career at the County of San Diego’s Health and Human Services Agency up to the present as the current Mayor of San Diego.
His paternal great-grandparent Melacor married a Native American from the tribe Tlingit Haidas in Juneau known for their Totem Pole art. Their son, Louis, the mayor’s grandfather, moved to San Diego to join the military during World War II where he met and married his Puerto Rican grandmother, Margarita, whose father was of Dutch ancestry.
Mayor Gloria was born in San Diego to parents belonging to the working class.
His mother, Linda, worked as a maid in a hotel, and his father, Phil, worked as a gardener around apartment complexes. Mayor Gloria has an older brother Tye and they were taught by their parents to be hardworking, honorable, and responsible.
Reflecting on their early life, Mayor Gloria said:
“My parents taught me from a young age that, if you care about something, leave it better than you found it. That guided me in my career in public service because I do believe that we can and should always strive to make things better. I have served San Diegans in public office since 2008, through some very challenging times such as a global financial crisis and the COVID pandemic. Even in the most difficult times, I am grateful to serve and lead among dedicated public servants who work to not just make it to the other side of a crisis, but emerge better and stronger than ever.”
During the economic crisis in 1987, his parents lost their jobs. So, Todd and his brother Tye were homeschooled in their middle school years. At 14, the young Todd started to volunteer in the campaign of a local official and even volunteered to register people to vote.
When he was in high school, he took a college course in Political science. In class, when he mentioned his ambition for public office to his teacher in a discussion.
His teacher replied, “Gay guys are never going to be elected.” He was not discouraged by that and even ignored his teacher’s comment.
“I did not listen. I will prove him wrong,” he said. At that early age, he was already thinking of going into politics and serving the people.
He completed his college education at the University of San Diego, where he was the student body president. After graduating from college, he went on to serve as a District Director to United States Congresswoman Susan A. Davis who he considered as his mentor.
In 2008, Gloria saw an opportunity when there was a vacancy in the San Diego City Council. He ran for office and was elected and in 2012, after serving his first term, Gloria’s colleagues in the city council elected him as their City Council President.
In 2013, he assumed the reigns of the city as Interim Mayor after the resignation of then-Mayor Bob Filner. During that time, Mayor Gloria was already widely credited with restoring the public’s trust in the city government.
In 2016, Mayor Gloria was elected to the California State Assembly to represent the 78th Assembly District. He immediately rose to a leadership position in the assembly serving first as Assistant Majority Whip and eventually Majority Whip.
During his time in the Assembly, Mayor Gloria passed legislation on many of the major issues in San Diego including building more affordable resources for those experiencing homelessness.
In 2020, he was elected the 337th Mayor of San Diego where he committed to making San Diego a city of opportunity that invests in every neighborhood and every San Diegan.
Mayor Gloria declared in his inaugural address on December 10, 2020:
“Today marks a new chapter in San Diego’s history. It is a place where the son of a hotel maid and a gardener, Native American, Filipino, Puerto Rican, Dutch gay guy has just become your mayor.”
It is indeed historic because Mayor Gloria, who won by a wide margin over his closest opponent, became the city’s first mayor of color, the first openly gay mayor, and the first Filipino American. San Diego has the second largest population in California, after Los Angeles, and the eighth largest city in the USA.
As mayor, his problems at that time were formidable. He inherited a budget deficit of over $150 million; infrastructure was decaying and needed $6 billion to fix and employees’ morale was very low.
Mayor Gloria is running for re-election this November to continue his full service to the people of San Diego.
“My top priorities are making sure San Diegans have an affordable home to live in; that they are safe; and that our roads, bridges, dams, parks, and other public facilities are in good condition,” Mayor Gloria shared.
“These are the issues that have taken the greatest portion of my time and attention, and their high priority is also reflected in the spending decisions I propose for our city’s annual budget.”
He continued:
“We’re making great progress in increasing the number of homes being built to address a shortage that has grown over decades and that has driven prices far too high. San Diego remains one of the safest big cities in America, with low crime and fast and effective response from firefighters and lifeguards to emergencies. We’ve also made record investments in repaving our streets, rebuilding critical infrastructure, and improving our facilities to better serve our communities.”
While Mayor Gloria never had the chance to visit the Philippines, he is looking forward to visiting his great-grandparent’s birthplace in Baliuag, Bulacan someday.
“I have not yet had the opportunity to visit the Philippines, but I’d like to go. I’ve had limited opportunities to travel for leisure, but I’m hoping to do more when I’ve completed two terms as mayor – a job that keeps me extremely busy even over weekends and holidays,” he said.
Mabuhay ka, Mayor Gloria!
ELPIDIO R. ESTIOKO was a veteran journalist in the Philippines and an award-winning journalist here in the US. He just published his book Unlocking the Chain of Poverty: In Pursuit of the American Dream which is now available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Xlibris Publishing. For feedback and comments… please email the author at estiokoelpidio@gmail.com.
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