San Diego Metropolitan - From The Publisher

“Hey, I’ve got some people in here; they’re going to think I’m gay,” says the mayor.

National City Mayor Nick Inzunza thanks the Filipino businessmen as he ushers them out the door.

“They want to locate 50,000 square feet somewhere and I want to put them in the middle of my Filipino Village,” the mayor explains. “It’s called Goldilocks, a grocery store, better than Henry’s. They have stores all over California and the Philippines, but not San Diego County. They’re owned by a family, a great family, brothers, brothers-in-laws ....”

The mayor knows that would be illegal, technically, but he’s prone to exaggeration.

“They could go to Mira Mesa and a number of places, but I told them my vision of the Filipino Village, and they said, ‘We want to be one of your anchors. They found a site and want to locate and we want to see what we can do to help them.

“They’re going to bring 50 jobs and $50 million in gross revenue over a 10-year period. We get 1 percent of the sale tax, more or less. By the way, sales tax is a huge part of the city’s survival.”

Whoa, $5 million a year in sales; 50 jobs – you know those union checkers make good dough – and a new tax cash flow to City Hall of $50,000 a year. We’re talkin’ some serious chump change.

Not that it will carry National City very far. But the city’s operating budget is only $23 million a year, so every little bit helps. National City’s Community Development Commission will spend another $17 million in a year’s time on capital improvements. This is not a big city – 54,260 people – but it needs a lot of help and has a lot of potential. Huge potential. “We’ve got the infrastructure for 3 million people,” says the mayor. It’s waterfront San Diego Bay real estate, for goshsakes, and it’s so perfectly positioned between Chula Vista and Downtown San Diego, so perfectly easy between Tijuana and Downtown San Diego, that National City has long been a hotbed of international street commerce and small-business finance. And it’s bubbling. It’s the most diverse city in the region — 59 percent Latino, 19 percent Asian and Pacific Islanders, mostly Filipino, 14 percent Anglo, 5 percent black. It’s the entrepreneurial golden triangle for metal parts and lumber, meatpacking and produce, maritime products and services, and plenty of food, lots of food and music that make the cultures mix so smoothly that when Nick Inzunza moves from Spanish to Tagalog the ear almost doesn’t even notice.

Almost entirely ignored by investors who funded 59 million square feet of new office and industrial space throughout San Diego County in the last decade, National City has thrown out the welcome mat. High-rise developers here, for office or residential use, will get fast-tracked and pick up San Diego skyline and bay views. (photo/lambertphoto.com)

Oh, and National City has a seaport, the most deeply dredged channel south of Long Beach. Sure, the Navy has some of the best real estate. OK, a lot, but not everything. Carlsbad ain’t got that. Not Escondido. Pasha Services unloads hundreds of thousands of cars spread all over National City’s embarcadero every year, and provides 160 jobs. That space could be used more intensively, Inzunza muses.

He’ll figure out a way to host a new Chargers football stadium in National City. “You can emphasize that,” he says. He’s talked to a few people, not the Spanos family, yet.

Like his city, Nick Inzunza is bubbling with activity. The new mayor, only 32 years old, can hardly contain his enthusiasm, can barely wipe that smile off his face because he’s so excited with the opportunities before him.

Not that Steve Padilla, the newly elected mayor of neighboring Chula Vista, with three times the population, doesn’t also have some exciting opportunities before him. Both are poster boys for the rise of Latinos in local government. Finally, man, they’re everywhere now, but still with plenty room to grow in numbers and influence.

“Steve Padilla and I have a great relationship,” says the National City mayor. “I think we see each other as colleagues in neighboring sister cities, as one community really. We see each other as South Bay, he from one area, me from another. We pretty much believe in the same thing.”

And that’s a good thing for the larger Latino community, because many of the Latino activists who supported Inzunza’s campaign also supported the unsuccessful election of Mary Salas as mayor of Chula Vista. “I’d say (Latinos) split down the middle” between Padilla and Salas, says Inzunza.

But Inzunza’s got the naaaaame, and he’s got the brothers in politics and government, and he’s got the connections and roots after decades of political and labor organizing that go back to his dad’s days hustling teachers in the Sweetwater Union High School District, while school-boy Nick sat by the printer in the living room cranking out leaflets. Padilla is a former policeman, a heroic profession, but Nick Inzunza has a police record, arrested in the lobby of the former Imperial Bank Building on B Street in Downtown San Diego for blocking access and trespassing during one of those obnoxious Justice for Janitors demonstrations that occasionally punctuate the din. (Guess which background will impress grassroots political organizers in California the most, a police profession or a police record, a sad commentary, for sure. But you have to relate with the disaffected before you can motivate them to join and use the system. Besides, the charges against Inzunza were dropped, he assures.)

Nick Inzunza is not the liberal Democrats’ answer to former-Mayor Pete Wilson. County Supervisor Greg Cox calls Inzunza a “conservative.” In fact, Inzunza seems more like Pete Wilson than Gov. Gray Davis, able to strategize, sweet-talk, compromise and execute, and he talks much more convincingly about the virtues of private enterprise than your average Democratic politician.

“I’ve been impressed by two things about Nick,” says political campaign guru Tom Shepard, who employed Inzunza at Campaign Strategies before Inzunza became an aide to Cox. “Although he is certainly an idealist, in the sense that he wants to see Latinos playing a more active role in government in San Diego and Imperial counties, he’s not an ideologue. He’s pragmatic enough to know that you don’t succeed in politics without building broad-based coalitions, and his ability to do that was instrumental to his success in the mayor’s race.”

Inzunza garnered more votes than the incumbent and a third challenger combined last November. At his swearing-in ceremony Dec. 3, without notes, Inzunza thanked the Filipinos in the hall in their native Tagalog, which he actively is studying. Filipino Press Publisher Ernie Flores served as emcee. Already, Inzunza speaks English, Spanish and Portuguese fluently, helpful in building coalitions in a multicultural world. And he even prodded his well-wishers to bring them a little closer to the mainstream: “If improving National City means we’re going to speak a little Spanish, a little Tagalog, and for some of us, brush up on our English a little bit, it’s what we’re going to do.”

Shepard continues: “Second, while traditional Latino politicians have relied on the L.A. model (partisan Democrats plus labor plus Latino activists), Nick takes a more businesslike approach. He’s trying to make his city more attractive to businesses. He prides himself in personal follow-through and accountability, and he takes an entrepreneurial approach to government. Those are traits that will distinguish him from the pack in the future.

“With regard to his position in the Inzunza family, my sense is that Nick sees himself as an independent. The Inzunzas plus Juan Vargas are obviously on the cutting edge of transforming San Diego politics, and Nick is very much a part of that. But Nick is also very much his own man.”

The deep-dredged National City Marine Terminal in the left foreground is dominated by Pasha Services' imported cars. Little Pepper Park, where the mayor intends to develop an aquatic center, is in the right foreground; dredging for a marina is under way nearby. And to its right is the dirt parcel where National City is welcoming development proposals. Dixieline's lumber yard is just below the tanks that are being removed. Navy piers sprout along the bayfront to the north, with the Coronado Bridge at top left.

Mayor Inzunza opposes any breakup of the Unified Port District, thank you Neil Morgan and Doug Manchester, and bubbles over how well he’s working with Jess Van Deventer, National City’s port commissioner who just happens to be serving as the almighty chairman of the port this year. Van Deventer may look like a holdover from Mayor George Waters’ administration, about as close as you can get to an influential good ol’ boy, and Inzunza gets a kick out of working with the old guys. But, in fact, Van Deventer was his own choice three years ago when Inzunza was a mere member of the City Council. Nick was elected to the council in 1990 when his father, Ralph Inzunza Sr., decided to step off the council after 12 years of service. “I was mentored by my father (on National City affairs) for 12 years,” says the new mayor.

“I had three votes in 1990: myself, Mitch Beauchamp and Rosalie Zarate,” the younger Inzunza recalls. “Mitch was deputy mayor at the time and turned around and looked at me and said, ‘OK, what do we do now? In six months, they elected me vice mayor. No wonder George Waters was so frustrated. My first month on the council, we were discussing who was going to be our port commissioner. Jess was everyone’s preference.”

George Waters, now 74, was first elected to National City’s council in 1970, the year Nick Inzunza was born in Oceanside. Waters served as mayor for 16 years, succeeding the longtime Mayor Kile Morgan. Because National City’s mayors used to rotate among the council members, Inzunza is only the third mayor to enjoy a popular election to lead the city, which was founded in 1887, the second city in the county to incorporate.

With bravado, Inzunza sometimes boasts he’s conducting a “clean sweep” of tired bureaucrats at City Hall, but few have actually left. Seven of 10 department heads, including City Manager Tom McCabe, have indicated their retirements are imminent. He’s definitely keeping Van Deventer, with 22 months left to go on his commission appointment and 10 more months to his chairmanship. “Paul (Desrochers, the longtime community development director) leaves around year-end,” the mayor knows. “Paul is a good man,” by the way.

Sharon Cloward, assistant executive director of the Port Tenants Association, says “the new mayor is like a breath of fresh air. He asked our members about their businesses.”

Richard Cloward, the executive director of the association (and her ex-husband), says, “We were pleasantly surprised to hear his emphasis on creating jobs on the tidelands, a goal that we share. During Mayor Waters’ time, perhaps a blunter instrument was needed for the port, but now Mayor Inzunza recognizes that a finer instrument may be not only necessary but beneficial.”

The new mayor met in late February with the leadership of the Mile of Cars Association, the biggest tax source in National City. He walked in with an agenda, something new for the car dealers.

“I chewed these guys. I said, ‘Gosh darn it (or something stronger). We have to take care of our residential area. Encroaching on neighborhoods, public address systems, unloading of vehicles, employee parking in residential areas, they have to be fixed.’ We talked about those issues, and surprisingly, they were extremely receptive. They were as concerned as I was. I know they’ve never discussed these issues with a mayor before, through no fault of their own.

“The Mile of Cars is made up of responsible business owners. They help everyone in the community, whether a community organization or elected officials. We need to expand that. We need the sales tax. I support them 100 percent, but not at the expense of livability. I don’t want to sit with people and give them lip service. We need to identify the problems quickly so we can deal with them.”

Bob Shoemaker, co-executive director of the Mile of Cars Association, agreed with the mayor’s take in a subsequent interview.

Inzunza continues, “It’s pretty hard to look a 32-year-old mayor in the face and not think he’s arrogant. I think at the end of the meeting we all realized we’re working on the same thing … a better National City.”

At his Dec. 3 ceremony, Mayor-elect Inzunza was sworn in by former Councilman Ralph Inzunza Sr., who spoke not like an important official, but like a triumphant father: “Everything I say, you now have to repeat,” teased Ralph Sr. San Diego Deputy Mayor Ralph Jr., Nick’s older brother, was there, as were Nick’s wife, Olga Inzunza, their baby, Nick Inzunza, younger brother Michael Inzunza, Uncle Nick Inzunza, and so many other Inzunzas you couldn’t count all the Zs. (Zometimez it zeemz the entire family haz been elected or zervez in zome political pozt. Nick’s mother and father had served on the San Ysidro school board in the 1970s when the three boys, Ralph, Nick and Michael, were youngsters. His uncles, Nick and Gil, are veterans of the Tia Juana River Valley water board. Aunt Dolores Arias founded the Chicano Democratic Association more than 30 years ago. Uncle Richard Inzunza co-founded the Chicano Federation. Uncle Ricardo Inzunza, Rick, was appointed by the first President Bush as a No. 2 man in the Department of Justice after serving 30 years in the U.S. Navy. Nick’s step-sister, Claudia Carrillo, recently left Tom Shepard’s office to work as district director for Assemblywoman Shirley Horton.)

Had they been in Hyannis Port at another time, well, there is something Kennedyesque and everything very American about the Inzunzas, who immigrated to the U.S. about 100 years ago.

“I’m as American as you can get,” says the mayor. “I’m all about apple pie and baseball, though sometimes I choose tamales and soccer. I think I embrace my culture, in terms of my parents’ and grandparents’ and great-grandparents’ culture, but when my great-grandfather came to this country, it was his intention to make his children American, and he did a pretty good job. I’m American and more San Diegan than 95 percent of the elected officials in this county.”

He’s also got an aunt and tons of cousins in Tijuana, and his wife Olga is from Tijuana, and that’s the nature of Fronterizos y Fronterizas, the border people, which San Diegans and Tijuanenses are by definition. Some, especially the Latinos, are just better at it than others. The National City mayor estimates about 500 Inzunzas in the San Diego/Tijuana region are related, if not prolific.

The Inzunzas hailed a century ago from a town in Sinaloa, Mocorito, founded in the 17th century when the name used to be spelled Isunza, a Basque name. “I’m not Basque,” says Inzunza. “I am an American of Mexican descent. Or you can call me a Mexican-American. You can call me Hispanic. You can call me a Latino. You can call me Chicano. You can call me Fronterizo.

Unlike the Kennedys, the Inzunzas are not filthy rich. Nick Inzunza, however, has done well for himself. Or should one say his wife, Olga, now eight months pregnant with their second child, is doing well for them.

An accountant schooled at the University of Baja California and SDSU, although she’s not taken the entire CPA exam, Olga Inzunza runs the family’s real estate business, Inner City Redevelopment, from which Nick Inzunza says he’s been operationally separated so he can devote full time to National City. His real estate roots go back to serving as a teenaged handyman for the San Diego Interfaith Housing Foundation. Nine years ago, at age 23, “I’d saved up enough money to buy my first property from a gentleman by the name of Richard Russell, who from that moment on served as a mentor to me. He was selling me properties considered undesirable. He sold to me maybe 20 percent of his portfolio. This guy had a lot of property; lived on Mt. Soledad.

“He taught me about economics, urbanism, about inflation, the cost of housing and how, if I were to work hard and invest in real estate in the inner city, someday it would pay off. Most folks were putting their money into IPOs, but I put my money where my mouth was and invested it back in my community. Through a seven-year period of acquiring property, I was able to make acquisitions totaling $3.2 million. I have since been able to reinvest my cash in these properties to rehabilitate them and create affordable housing in the inner city, keeping in mind when I bought these properties, most were abandoned or vacant housing structures. Today, these properties are valued at $9.4 million, 132 units, no single-family units.

“Ninety-two units in 14 properties are in San Diego city, mostly in Southeastern San Diego, spread over four city council districts. One is in East Village, one in North Park, a few in Charles Lewis’ district, and some in Inzunza’s district. They’re managed by Inner City Redevelopment. We have one minority partner.

“We’re leveraged at about $3.3 million on them. Richard Russell is the (primary) note holder, with maybe two financial institutions and maybe two other individual lenders. The banks would not finance property in the inner city, unless they were double-digit interest rates. In essence, they were not lending in the inner city. You had to go work out a deal with the property owner. That’s the only way you could do it. We rehabilitated them to create affordable housing, but that was done eight years ago in some cases. Most recently, we’ve cleaned our portfolio and put together a financing package where we’re going to reinvest and sell them as affordable housing.

“If you went to our apartments, you’d get the impression they’re maintained. But if you went to a duplex and you’re not used to being in the barrio, you might ask, ‘Why is there is a pit bull in the yard? Why is there a car sitting in the yard?’ They look fine. Cleanliness is tenant oriented. As much as you’d like your property to look cleaner, it’s tough. Every property I worked on, we pulled permits. Water heaters, safety matters, they’re all up to code. I’d like to sell off the duplexes and triplexes as affordable housing and qualify some as Section 8 under the Housing Commission. But you’ve got to work with your tenants for the right tenant base. Not all tenants can qualify for Section 8 housing. So my wife and I are pretty committed to reinvesting in our properties.”

The only property he owns in National City is his Craftsman home on 16th Street, a duplex and former crack house, he says. His half is about 650 square feet. Olga’s cousin lives in the other half.

“I drive the same truck I’ve driven since 1993, and I have won all my political campaigns and rehabilitated all my property with that truck. If you want to build equity, hold onto your cash. You know who taught me that? Mr. Russell. Keep your overhead low.”

Speaking of low overhead, National City has some serious work cut out for it. Of its 15,422 housing units, only 35 percent are owner-occupied. Median household income is barely $30,000, one of the poorest cities in the county, but a giant step above Tijuana. If investors are interested in buying up apartments in National City and converting them to affordable condominiums, the mayor is ready to help, convinced that home ownership is the way to go. “I’d love to see 500 units converted per year,” he says. “We would lower the cost of for-sale housing, and that’s what it’s all about. We want owners in our community. We’re going to make the renters into owners. If we’re at a $260,000 average price of a single-family dwelling, these condos would probably go for $130,000 or $140,000.”

And then there’s the new fire station, squeezing the unpopular nine-hole National City Municipal Golf Course to see if new condos could be built on its edge, and the operation of 10 neighborhood councils to advise the city. Oh, and he’s eager to hear Westfield’s plans to expand Plaza Bonita as soon as Westfield figures it out. The guy’s got a lot on his plate.

Inzunza gives himself four years to get his projects either completed or so far down the road that his re-election is secured, and then, frankly, he’ll look beyond. His ambition is not exactly a secret, but he quickly answers whether he or brother Ralph will run for governor first. “Ralph,” he says, “because I want to be his campaign manager,” the same position he held during Ralph’s first campaign for student body president in the sixth-grade.

Much depends on the ambition of Ralph and Assemblyman Juan Vargas, both of whom Nick got elected. Not that Ralph and Vargas didn’t get themselves elected, but Nick was very helpful. And the aid is mutual. At $10,000, Vargas was Inzunza’s largest mayoral campaign contributor, National City having no limit on campaign donations or spending, the last of the Wild West political cities in San Diego County. Inzunza raised and kept $109,000, a National City record, and raised and returned another $40,000 because he didn’t need it.

So who will be San Diego’s long-overdue first Latino mayor since the middle of the 19th century, Vargas or Ralph Inzunza?

The National City mayor isn’t sure, because Vargas and Ralph Inzunza aren’t sure either, he says. But they’ll figure it out, and you’ll be among the first to know. Nick Inzunza, who already is influencing San Diego politics more than any National City resident ever, says he’s almost certain that neither Ralph nor Vargas will challenge Dick Murphy’s re-election in 2004.

Oh, the crack about the Saints? All three Inzunza brothers attended St. Augustine High School in North Park. Ralph and Michael graduated. Nick was removed to Castle Park High School for beating up a Saints teacher. He, for sure, ain’t no saint, but proved quite the scholar at universities in Mexico City, Brazil, Spain and SDSU. He’s had his nose broken four times in fights, nothing he picked, he assures, just kid’s stuff he had to defend as an adolescent. He’s outgrown that behavior, and seems just the opposite of a hothead. He’s energetic, but gentle. He still trains on weights three nights a week at the San Diego Athletic Club, one floor beneath the lobby where he was arrested for unruly picketing in 1994.

So, just don’t pick on him. Work with him. National City has a funny fighter in its corner.