Sacramento Report: What Mayor Todd Gloria Is Looking for From Newsom’s Last Year

San Diego, the eighth-largest city in the United States, finds itself in the similarly dire position of every major metropolitan area in California: It has a chronic homelessness crisis.

This week, I spoke with Mayor Todd Gloria, a Democrat, to learn more about how he hopes to solve it with help from Sacramento.

The state’s anti-homelessness initiative, the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention program, had allocated $1 billion in 2024 for cities across the state, of which San Diego received $26 million. Lawmakers gutted all $1 billion from the popular program in this year’s budget as part of an effort to reduce a $12 billion state budget deficit.

It is one of the largest state programs dedicated to providing homelessness services and complements other initiatives meant to help people who struggle with addiction, mental health and finding stable housing. Another statewide program is the Community, Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment program, known as CARE Court, that puts people with severe mental illnesses on a treatment plan.

Local officials and advocates have said the reduction in HHAP funding, along with slashed federal funding from the Department of Urban Housing and Development, could affect cities’ ability to address homelessness.

Restoring the funding has become a priority for officials in cities with astronomical housing prices, including Gloria’s.

The number of homeless people in the city and county of San Diego dropped for the first time this year since 2020, according to a county report, but more than 5,800 are still homeless, according to the 2025 homeless count. Some advocates have said the state’s housing program was responsible for the decrease in San Diego and elsewhere, including in Los Angeles.

“I hope Sacramento will rally to restore it again to the full funding,” Gloria told me in a phone interview Wednesday. He expects lawmakers to partially restore some of the money next year, but he said it likely would not be enough to provide services for everyone who needs them. “I struggle to see how we can be effective with half the funding.”

In the run-up to the 2024 mayoral election, Gloria campaigned on an aggressive approach to addressing crime and homelessness. But he was criticized by some advocates after a city anti-homelessness campaign raised only $1.3 million of its $370 million goal. Gloria said that money continues to be used to fund more shelters.

This year, Gov. Gavin Newsom said that he was no longer interested in providing funding for cities that he believes are failing to address the problem and has urged more mayors to ban encampments.

Most homeless encampments are banned in San Diego and the city has cleared others along state highways and freeways this year after entering an agreement with the state.

With support from Gloria and other mayors, Democratic Sen. Catherine Blakespear of Encinitas introduced a proposal to make it easier for more cities to clear encampments that are on state land. It died over the summer before it reached a vote in the second chamber.

Gloria said he’d like the measure to be taken up again when the Legislature reconvenes in January.

“We’ll be working together to try and figure out a way to make this more systemic, more statewide, rather than the ad-hoc basis it currently is and to have an ongoing funding source.”

CARE Court has also performed below expectations in San Diego and other major cities.

The program allows a loved one or medical professional to file a petition to the court for someone with a severe mental illness to help them enter a voluntary treatment plan. It was part of a broader initiative by Newsom two years ago to address homelessness and mental health issues.

The county has created treatment plans for about 130 people in the past two years, less than half projected by local officials, an investigation by CalMatters found.

“I continue to support CARE Court,” Gloria said. “Obviously its scope is somewhat limited, but that was understood by the legislative process. It is an additional tool that is helpful, but I think we need to go further.”

Gloria was a big proponent of the program and has supported the governor’s broader mental health agenda. The mayor has also worked in tandem with Newsom’s push to slash housing construction regulations in an effort to bring down rent, overhauling many of San Diego’s local building rules.

Gloria said he hopes there is more funding from the governor and lawmakers to address mental health issues.

“We continue to have people who decline assistance from homeless outreach workers, from law enforcement and others,” Gloria continued. “I think more action is necessary and I’m hopeful that they’ll continue to make those steps to make CARE Court more impactful.”

And will the governor’s blossoming national profile get in the way of addressing any of these problems? Gloria thinks not.

“This national attention and this impact that he’s had has given him more of an ability to move an agenda,” Gloria said. “I hold out high hopes and expectations.”

What I’m Reading Now

A Poway councilmember is recalled from office after facing bribery charges, KPBS explains.

San Diego International is one of 40 major airports expected to cut flights due to the shutdown, inewsource reports.

And, lastly, former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will not seek reelection, capping off a storied 39-year career in Congress, The Associated Press writes.

Thanks again for reading the Sacramento Report, as always. Please give me a shout if you have any story ideas or news tips: nadia@voiceofsandiego.org.

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