Prominent San Diego Libertarian Richard Rider officially announced his candidacy for mayor May 26 outside the Federal Bankruptcy Court in Downtown San Diego.
The retired stockbroker and financial planner, who is chairman of San Diego Tax Fighters, 59, in a prepared statement issued before his news conference, proclaimed: “I’m the only candidate with the experience, the moxie and the history of going toe to toe with the unions and the big spenders. For too long, there has been a cozy alliance between the city politicians and the labor unions. That must come to an end. If the City Council members start to demonstrate a desire to change that relationship, I’ll be delighted to work with them. If not, I’ll have to work around them.”
Rider is among 29 San Diegans who have taken out papers for the race, including San Diego City Councilwoman Donna Frye, Jerry Sanders, a former San Diego police chief, businessman and chairman of the American Red Cross San Diego/Imperial Counties, and Steve Francis, founder and executive chairman of publicly traded AMN Healthcare in Carmel Valley.
The cutoff date for filing is May 27, and the special election is set for July 26. Mayor Dick Murphy will step down on July 15.
“Frankly, in more ‘normal’ times, I would have little chance of winning such a big election,” said Rider. “But these are hardly normal times. I’m in this race to win, and I’ll be giving it my all.”
Pat Broderick
