DeMaio Announces Support for Campaign to Save Maritime Jobs
Organizes Petition Drive to Stop Flawed Regulations Restricting Maritime Investment
San Diego — Two weeks ago, the San Diego City Council passed a flawed plan to impose costly new regulations that would severely restrict investment in San Diego’s vital maritime economy, which today contributes $14 billion annually to the regional economy. Today, Congressional candidate Carl DeMaio announced that he is joining a growing coalition of more than 5,000 residents, shipyard workers, small businesses, and maritime organizations who are waging a referendum campaign on the flawed plan.
“At a time when too many San Diegans are still struggling to make ends meet, this latest batch of bad government regulations will cost San Diego countless jobs,” DeMaio said. “That’s why I’m joining with a broad-based coalition to stop these flawed regulations, while urging city leaders to work with all sides on more reasonable rules to protect jobs and improve our neighborhoods,” DeMaio said.
Leaders of San Diego’s local maritime industry say the flawed regulations threaten more than 46,000 local jobs by adding unnecessary regulations on shipyards suppliers. By gathering 50,000 signatures of San Diego voters by November 1, DeMaio and the maritime coalition can suspend the implementation of the flawed plan, allowing the public to vote on the proposal instead.
Referendum organizers announced yesterday they had already collected more than 10,000 signatures in the first five days. Helping to drive awareness of the campaign and to advocate for local San Diego-area jobs, DeMaio announced the first of several petition drives he will sponsor, one of which will be held this weekend to help drive the petition count over the top to ensure its success.
Petition Drive to Save Maritime Jobs With Carl DeMaio
Saturday, October 12 10:30am-noon
Vons Clairemont Town Center – 4725 Clairemont Drive
The onerous regulations are part of a community plan update adopted by the City Council that severely limits industrial zones next to San Diego’s important shipyards – a move that severely limits the projected growth of San Diego’s naval programs and other shipbuilding endeavors. Worse, the regulations impose costly and time-consuming burdens on existing businesses considering any kind of expansion plans.
“We should be making it easier for businesses to invest and create jobs, not harder,” DeMaio concluded.