Ellis’ name will still be on the ballot, of course. But, he’s conceding to Barbara Bry…
I want to thank you for all of your efforts and support on our campaign. It’s been a pleasure getting to know so many people in District 1.
From the beginning, I have said that I entered this race to have a positive impact on San Diego – that is what I have been doing for years through my volunteer work.
City Council elections are officially non-partisan, as they should be. There is no Republican or Democratic way to address the numerous opportunities and issues facing our City. Most voters, however, have little bandwidth for local elections, and many rely on party affiliation when casting their vote.
We know Republican registration is down in District 1 and Democratic registration is up. That and other factors at the top of the ticket contributed to a 17% swing for Democrats in District 1 compared to the June 2012 primary. Back then, Republicans enjoyed a 4% turnout advantage in District 1. This past June, Democrats enjoyed a 13% advantage.
As we look to November, I believe the toxicity and the divisiveness at the top of ticket will get worse. My values are important to me and I will not support presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Due to these conditions, I do not believe there is a viable path to victory in November’s City Council runoff. Without a viable path, I can’t in good faith ask supporters to finance another effort. After much thought, I have decided my time is better spent getting back to work as a community volunteer.
Although I am withdrawing my candidacy for City Council, I will always work to make San Diego a better place. Gina and I are San Diegans first and foremost. We love it here and we will always do whatever we can to support our City and everyone who calls it home.
I believe I can have the greatest impact on important issues like homelessness, education, foster children and issues in our neighborhoods, with organizations like Neighborhood House Association/Head Start, The Parker Foundation, San Diego Social Venture Partners and my community planning board. Instead of raising funds for my campaign, I urge supporters to consider supporting organizations that Gina and I believe in and support.
I want to thank all of my supporters and my family. I also want to congratulate Ms. Bry and her family on her success. I want to extend any assistance to Ms. Bry that I can offer. I wish her the best of luck moving forward.
Thank you,
Ray
Comments 3
I read the entire rationale and was disgusted. If you had no desire to fight to the end, you shouldn’t have gotten in the race. You need to toughen up. There is NO excuse for quitting.
I understand Ray’s decision not to push forward. I suspect his fundraising problems after the primary delivered the message that he couldn’t win. Been there, done that.
But perhaps a refreshing approach would have been to proactively stop any fundraising (not trying to con people into giving money to a doomed campaign) while continuing to be a candidate — going to the forums and otherwise speaking out about the issues. It’s what I’ve done over the years (I’m a serial loser of elections), and I found my ideas sometimes caught on — not just with the voters but sometimes with my opposing candidates.
A side benefit of this approach would have been to force the unions so spend some money supporting his opponent — union dues that otherwise would be spent on other undesirable candidates and propositions (notably the tax increases). It’s tough to choose to “draw the enemy fire” without hope of victory, but in my mind, that would have been a better decision.
As usual, I agree with Richard Rider. Ray’s departure is a huge disappointment because he is squandering an excellent opportunity to advance a message. His departure sets the GOP back a decade in that District now.