Chris Cate

Chris Cate is an American elected official in San Diego, California. He serves as a member of the San Diego City Council representing City Council District 6. He is a Republican;[3] although city council positions are officially nonpartisan per California state law.[4]

Chris Cate
Member of the
San Diego City Council
for the Sixth District
Assumed office
December 10, 2014
MayorKevin Faulconer
Preceded byLorie Zapf[1]
Personal details
BornChula Vista, California[2]
Political partyRepublican
Alma materUniversity of San Diego
WebsiteCity Council District 6 website

Early life and career

Cate is the son of a California Highway Patrol officer originally from Kawit, Cavite, Philippines.[5] His mother worked for the United States Postal Service. His parents divorced when he was a child; Cate described both parents as "very apolitical".[6] According to the Southern California Community Press, Cate's family is of Spanish/Filipino heritage.[7]

Cate was raised in San Diego.[8] He attended La Costa Canyon High School, graduating in 2000, then went to community college at MiraCosta and Palomar colleges.[9] While in college, Cate and a friend started an auto glass repair business.[2] After graduating from college at the University of San Diego, where he became interested in politics, Cate then interned at Jefferson Government Relations in Washington, D.C.[6] Later he worked for Kevin Faulconer as a policy advisor.[5] By 2011, Cate lived in Carlsbad, but moved to Mira Mesa a year later.[9] Before being elected, Cate traveled to the Philippines for the first time, and later met with the Ambassador of the Philippines to the United States Jose Cuisia.[8]

In January 2016, Cate married Maria Cabuang.[10]

San Diego City Council

Cate ran against three other opponents during the primary;[11] and ran against Carol Kim during the general election.[12] Cate was first elected to office in the 2014 election, the first election to use the new boundaries for this district following 2010 redistricting.[13] District 6 includes the neighborhoods of Clairemont Mesa, Kearny Mesa, Mira Mesa, North Clairemont, and Rancho Peñasquitos.[14] The redistricting effort included an effort by Asian Pacific Islanders to create a district that represented the inclusion of their more diverse population.[15] When Cate took office, he was the first Asian American elected to the city council in several decades.[16] In 2015, at the age of 32, Cate was the youngest serving city councilmember in San Diego.[17] Cate is only the second Asian American to be elected to the San Diego City Council, the first being Tom Hom.[18]

In 2016, Cate received national attention as the Chargers attacked him for his opposition to Measure C, a ballot initiative to provide public funding for a new stadium for the team.[19] The measure failed to achieve the two-thirds needed to pass, receiving less than a majority of the vote; Cate said of the vote "San Diego voters know a bad deal when they see it,".[20] For his willingness to lead the opposition, the Voice of San Diego wrote positively of Cate.[21] After the election, Cate supported an effort to lease the Qualcomm Stadium site for a dollar,[22] but the Chargers instead decided in 2017 to relocate to Los Angeles.[23]

In his first year in office, Cate's district saw a growth of the brewing industry in his district, with part of it being called the "beer belt".[24] In 2016, while other members of the city council were looking to ban vacation rentals, Cate advanced a proposal to allow for regulated vacation rentals.[25] In February 2017, Cate supported tax reform for Internet taxes, in an effort to ensure the city was receiving a proportionate share of the state's internet tax revenue; Cate argues that with increase commerce online, the city is losing out funding for city services.[26]

According to the San Diego Office of the City Clerk, Cate is a member of the following committees and sub-committees:[27][28]

  • Budget and Government Efficiency Committee
    • Budget Review Committee
  • Environment Committee (Vice Chair)
  • Public Safety and Livable Neighborhoods Committee (Chair)
  • Rules Committee
  • Smart Growth and Land Use Committee
  • Select Committee on Homelessness

Controversies

In 2016, Cate was criticized in the San Diego Reader for accepting a five-thousand dollar donation from San Diego Gas & Electric for a charity event, which the paper claimed was an attempt to purchase influence.[29]

2017 SoccerCity Memo Leak

In June 2017, Cate leaked a confidential 16-page memo regarding legal questions related to the SoccerCity initiative to the initiative's funders, FS Investors. San Diego City Attorney Mara Elliott called the leak “an egregious breach of public trust”.[30] In October 2017, facing questions from a related lawsuit, Cate admitted he was the one to leak the memo, and that he would not resign.[30] The California Attorney General was handed the case by the San Diego City Attorney.[31] In December 2017, San Diego's Ethics Commission levied its maximum fine of $5,000 for the leak, which Cate paid.[32] In 2018, Cate was informed that he would not face criminal charges.[33]

Electoral History

2014
San Diego City Council District 6 election, 2014[13]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Chris Cate 10,270 47.17
Democratic Carol Kim 6,880 31.59
Nonpartisan Mitz Lee 2,717 12.48
Nonpartisan Jane L. Glasson 1,012 4.65
Nonpartisan De Le 895 4.11
Total votes 21,774 100
General election
Republican Chris Cate 13,399 54.57
Democratic Carol Kim 11,155 45.43
Total votes 24,554 100

2018
San Diego City Council District 6 election, 2018[34]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Chris Cate 15,316 56.44
Democratic Tommy Hough 4,728 17.42
Democratic Matt Valenti 2,655 9.78
Democratic Fayaz Nawabi 1,838 6.77
Nonpartisan Jeremiah Blattler 1,490 5.49
American Solidarity Kevin Lee Egger 1,111 4.09
Total votes 27,138 100
General election
Republican Chris Cate 25,022 53.78
Democratic Tommy Hough 21,505 46.22
Total votes 46,527 100
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References
  1. Huard, Christine (June 4, 2014). "Lorie Zapf Is Returned to Council, but Cate Faces Runoff With Kim". Times of San Diego. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
  2. Yacovelle, Jess (June 2016). "Getting to Know District 6's Chris Cate". FINE Magazine. Del Mar, California. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  3. Keatts, Andrew (November 5, 2014). "What Chris Cate Means for the City Council (Hint: the Veto-Proof Majority Isn't a Big Deal)". Voice of San Diego. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
  4. "How To Run For Office Details". Office of the City Clerk. City of San Diego. Retrieved March 14, 2017. Each of these offices is non-partisan.
    Zoltan L. Hajnal; Paul G. Lewis; Hugh Louch (2002). "Municipal Elections in California: Turnout, Timing, and Competition" (PDF). Public Policy Institute of California. Retrieved March 14, 2017. Nonpartisan elections—those in which party labels are not included on the official ballot and parties do not have control over nominating procedures—are mandated for local elections statewide and are thus not included as a variable in our analysis.
  5. Oriel, Christina (December 11, 2014). "Fil-Am councilman sworn into office in San Diego". Asian Journal. Southern California. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  6. Trageser, Claire (February 13, 2015). "Newest San Diego Councilman Chris Cate Is Young, But Not Overlooked". KPBS. San Diego. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  7. Regina (June 11, 2014). "Filipino Candidates Primary Election Results: Cate Top 2 For The Runoff For District 6, San Diego City Council On November 7, 2014, General Election". Southern California Community Press. Archived from the original on March 12, 2017. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  8. Angeles, Steve (November 18, 2014). "Meet San Diego's newest Fil-Am Councilmember". ABS-CBN North America News Bureau. Redwood Shores, California. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  9. Garrick, David (December 7, 2014). "New councilman all about expertise". San Diego Union-Tribune.
  10. Wood, Beth (February 15, 2016). "Wedding: Maria Lourdes & Chris Cate". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  11. Mento, Tarryn (May 27, 2014). "The Race For San Diego City Council Districts 2, 6". KPBS. San Diego. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  12. Mento, Tarryn (November 5, 2014). "Cate Defeats Kim For San Diego City Council District 6 Seat; Democrats Lose Supermajority". KPBS. San Diego. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  13. "Election History – Council District 6" (PDF). City of San Diego. Retrieved May 15, 2016.
  14. "Council District 6 Neighborhoods". City of San Diego. Retrieved May 15, 2016.
  15. Julian, Katrina (August 16, 2011). "Fil-Ams, APIs seek voice in San Diego". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Philippines. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
    Nguyen, Alexander (November 1, 2014). "'30 Years in the Making': Volunteers Walk District 6, Urge Asian Vote". Times of San Diego. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  16. Zabala, Liberty (November 5, 2014). "First Asian-American in Decades Elected to SD Council". KNSD. San Diego. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  17. Stetz, Mike (March 25, 2015). "Chris Cate on the Chargers, taxes and his first 100 days". Our City San Diego. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
  18. "New San Diego 6th District Council Member takes office" (PDF). Mira Mesa Town Council. Mire Mesa Town Council. January 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 15, 2017. Retrieved March 14, 2017. Cate becomes the second Asian American to serve on the San Diego City Council. Tom Hom, a Chinese-American leader, served on the City Council in the 1960s.
  19. Schrotenboer, Brent (August 18, 2016). "San Diego Chargers go on the attack in stadium campaign". USA Today. McLean, Virginia. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
    Garrick, David (August 19, 2016). "Chargers attack Cate for stadium opposition". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
    Florio, Mike (August 19, 2016). "Chargers attack politician who is opposed to Ballot Measure C". NBC Sports. Stamford, Connecticut. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  20. Jennewein, Chris (November 8, 2016). "Measure C for Downtown Chargers Stadium Decisively Defeated". Times of San Diego. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  21. Keatts, Andrew (December 21, 2016). "Chris Cate, the Rare Policymaker Who Tried to Lead on Policies". Voice of San Diego. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  22. "Councilmembers propose giving Chargers $1 lease to revive stadium talks". KSWB. San Diego. City News Service. December 13, 2016. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
    "Council members offer Chargers lease deal in stadium saga". ESPN. Bristol, Connecticut. Associated Press. December 12, 2016. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  23. Garrison, Andrew (January 25, 2017). "San Diego leaders, Chargers players and more react to the relocation announcement". KUSI. San Diego. Archived from the original on March 12, 2017. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
    "Chris Cate and Scott Lewis – TKF Pod #77". PodOMatic. January 23, 2017. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  24. Valdez, Jonah (March 14, 2017). "The South Bay's Craft Beer Boom Is Upending Assumptions". Voice of San Diego. Retrieved March 16, 2017. San Diego City Council District 6, which includes northern central neighborhoods like Kearny Mesa and Mira Mesa, is known as the “beer belt.” It’s home to about two-thirds of the city’s craft beer breweries. Since the end of 2015, eight new breweries have opened, said Chris Cate, the Council member for District 6.
  25. McAllister, Toni (October 31, 2016). "Councilman Cate: Don't Completely Ban Short-Term Vacation Rentals". Times of San Diego. City News Service. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
  26. Garrick, David (February 4, 2017). "Online sales surge prompts San Diego to lobby for reform of tax allocations". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
  27. "City Council Committee Meetings". Office of the City Clerk. City of San Diego. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
  28. Service, City News. "San Diego City Council Unanimously Votes To Form Homeless Committee". KPBS Public Media.
  29. Potter, Matt (September 30, 2016). "Cate's Corn Hole stuffed by SDG&E's hard cash". San Diego Reader. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
  30. Showley, Roger (October 3, 2017). "Councilman admits to leaking SoccerCity memo; will not resign". sandiegouniontribune.com. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  31. Stewart, Joshua (October 18, 2017). "District Attorney passes SoccerCity case to the California Attorney General". sandiegouniontribune.com. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  32. Garrick, David (December 14, 2017). "Cate pays fine to San Diego Ethics Commission for leaked SoccerCity memo". San Diego Union0Tribune. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  33. "Councilman Will Not Face Charges for Leaking City Memo to SoccerCity Group". KNSD. San Diego. May 8, 2018. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
    Garrick, David (May 7, 2018). "Criminal probe of Cate over SoccerCity documents ends with no charges". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  34. "Election History - Council District 6" (PDF). City of San Diego. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
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