Hello Lydia,

A logo is meant to be an identifying symbol for an organization. Ideally, it is more than just an image associated with an organization — it should capture its essence. In order to do that, an organization needs to know what it wants to be. 

I want the District 9 office to be powered by love. Love for community as a whole, love for the individual members of our community, love for the unique aspects of the community we represent. 

This is important to me because I believe love is the most powerful force in the world. This is true at the micro and macro level. I’ve seen love power my family through times of struggle and I’ve seen love unabashedly embraced by the most powerful positive social movements in history. 

My desire to see us lean into love isn’t simply because it offers comfort during a tough time. Just as important to me is the tenacity that love can produce. The “I-won’t-stop-until-my-people-have-what-they-need” sort of passion that changes lives. That is how I want our team to show up. Doing so requires being prepared and working to improve in our jobs so we can be effective in producing the outcomes our community deserves.  

All of this is why I am so excited for our new District 9 logo. My friend and local artist, Josue Baltezar, created an image that captures some of the unique elements of District 9 “con el corazon” that will power our work.  

On a related note, I am thrilled and honored to have been re-elected by my colleagues to serve as San Diego City Council President. 

A year ago, when I was initially selected by my peers, I committed to making the Council more open and transparent and more effective at doing what the Council is primarily charged with — policy and budgetary decision-making. Since then, we’ve made considerable progress on those fronts. We’ve moved Council meetings back into Chambers while maintaining the opportunity for community members to participate virtually. We adopted procedural practices that have made it easier for each Councilmember to add their touches to important policy changes. We also inserted Council earlier into the City’s budget process so each of our offices and the community can better influence how we invest the community’s resources.  

I’m proud of the work we’ve done and also see how much more there is left to do. The suffering on San Diego streets remains unacceptable, shameful chasms in opportunity persist between various neighborhoods, and our infrastructure is not worthy of a city that desires to be “America’s Finest.” We can and must continue to do more and do better.  

We’ll be getting back to work today — with all of our hearts — to make this a world-class city for all.  

With gratitude,

Sean