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Myrtle Cole

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Myrtle Cole
Member of the
San Diego City Council
for the District 4
In office
June 3, 2013 – December 10, 2018
MayorBob Filner
Kevin Faulconer
Preceded byTony Young
Succeeded byMonica Montgomery
President
of the San Diego City Council
In office
December 12, 2016 – December 10, 2018
Preceded bySherri Lightner
Succeeded byGeorgette Gomez
Personal details
Political partyDemocratic
Alma materUniversity of Arizona
National University
WebsiteCity Council District 4 website

Myrtle Cole is an American politician who served as a member of the San Diego City Council from 2013 to 2018, representing District 4. A member of the Democratic Party, Cole was the first African American woman elected to the city council and served as council president from 2017 to 2018. In 2018, Cole lost a bid for re-election, becoming one of the first incumbent council members to lose re-election since 1992.

San Diego City Council

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Myrtle Cole was first elected to office in the 2013 special election to fill the District 4 seat of the city council vacated by Tony Young,.[1] District 4 includes the neighborhoods of Alta Vista, Broadway Heights, Chollas View, Emerald Hills, Encanto, Greater Skyline Hills, Jamacha, Lincoln Park, Lomita Village, North Bay Terrace, Oak Park, O'Farrell, Paradise Hills, Redwood Village, Rolando Park, South Bay Terrace, Valencia Park, and Webster.[2] She won re-election to a four-year term in the June 2014 primary election, drawing 57% of the primary votes. Her second term began in December 2014.[3]

In December 2016, Cole ran against fellow Democrat David Alvarez for the position of council president. The council president is responsible for setting the council's agenda and making committee assignments and chairmanships. Cole was chosen by her colleagues on a 6–3 vote, securing the votes of all four Republicans on the City Council as well as Democrat Barbara Bry. Although both Cole and Alvarez were Democrats, Cole was seen as the more moderate of the two.[4]

In the November 2018 election, Cole lost her reelection bid to civil rights attorney and former staffer Monica Montgomery. This marked the first time that an incumbent had failed to be reelected to the City Council since 1992.[5]

Controversy and other information

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Myrtle Cole received some criticism during her time on the San Diego City Council. For example, in 2016, she said, during a council meeting discussion of racial profiling by police, "There is more black on black shootings in our nation than ever before...That's why when someone says, 'Do you think there is racial profiling?' Yeah, because blacks are shooting blacks."[6] Critics argue that this is what resulted in decreased support in her role in 2018.[7]

In 2018, she was asked to speak at the National University Southern California Commencement as a National University Alumna.[8] In addition to being the keynote speaker, she also received an honorary doctorate.[9]

Electoral history

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San Diego City Council District 4 election, 2014[1]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Myrtle Cole 6,921 57.00
Democratic Bruce Williams 2,378 19.58
Nonpartisan Blanca Lopez Brown 1,832 15.09
Nonpartisan Tony Villafranca 1,011 8.33
Total votes 12,142 100
San Diego City Council District 4 special election, 2013[1][10]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Myrtle Cole 4,304 32.3
Democratic Dwayne Crenshaw 2,025 15.2
Democratic Brian "Barry" Pollard 1,548 11.6
Democratic Ray Smith 1,207 9.1
Democratic Blanca Lopez Brown 1,084 8.1
Republican Sandy Spackman 1,067 8.0
Democratic Bruce Williams 1,059 8.0
Democratic Tony Villafranca 621 4.7
Democratic Monica Montgomery 404 3.0
Total votes 13,319 100
General election
Democratic Myrtle Cole 6,612 54.1
Democratic Dwayne Crenshaw 5,603 45.9
Total votes 12,215 100

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Election History - Council District 4" (PDF). City of San Diego. Retrieved 21 August 2013..
  2. ^ "Council District 4 Communities". City of San Diego. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
  3. ^ "Zapf Wins; Cate, Kim Headed To Runoff In City Council Races". KPBS. June 3, 2014. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
  4. ^ Garrick, David (December 12, 2016). "Cole selected San Diego City Council president". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  5. ^ Garrick, David (November 7, 2018). "Cole, Zapf lose re-election bids in two rare instances of San Diego council incumbents being rejected". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  6. ^ "District 4 Residents Respond To Myrtle Cole's Poor Election Performance". KPBS Public Media. 2018-07-19. Retrieved 2023-11-02.
  7. ^ "District 4 Residents Respond To Myrtle Cole's Poor Election Performance". KPBS Public Media. 2018-07-19. Retrieved 2023-11-02.
  8. ^ University, National (2017-06-01). "San Diego City Council President Myrtle Cole Named Keynote Speaker for National University Southern California Commencement". National University. Retrieved 2023-11-02.
  9. ^ University, National (2017-06-01). "San Diego City Council President Myrtle Cole Named Keynote Speaker for National University Southern California Commencement". National University. Retrieved 2023-11-02.
  10. ^ "City of San Diego Municipal Special Election Results". County of San Diego. Retrieved 28 March 2013.


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