All four candidates for Coronado's two open City Council seats back the city's emergency declaration on the Tijuana sewage crisis. They split on how to fund a fix and how hard to push Mexico.

Small business owner Andrew Gade, Navy Reserve pilot Ricky Hoyt, attorney Rebecca King and appointed Councilmember Kelly Purvis laid out their positions in a candidate Q&A published by The Coronado News on Tuesday, Sept. 15. The Nov. 3 election will fill two seats for four-year terms.

Purvis disclosed that she cast the tie-breaking vote on the council's first emergency declaration. "On my first day as your Council member, I cast the deciding vote that broke the 2-2 tie," Purvis wrote. She said the vote produced the council's first emergency declaration on the sewage crisis, and the council has remained united on it since.

Gade offered the most specific funding proposal: earmarking 1% of the San Diego County budget and bonding against that revenue to pay for a permanent sewage solution. He argued Coronado should have declared its own emergency when the county did so in June 2023. He also pushed back on concerns that the declaration hurts tourism, saying polluted water, not the word "emergency," is what damages the local economy.

Hoyt framed the crisis as a military readiness problem. Contaminated coastal waters affect SEAL and other Navy waterborne training in Coronado, he said. The Navy and Department of Defense should have a seat at the table, he added.

Hoyt called for stable, recurring federal funding for the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant (SBIWTP). The plant treats about 35 million gallons per day from one of three Tijuana sewage sources, according to a Sept. 3 Discover Coronado advisory board report. It is being expanded to handle 50 MGD at an estimated cost of $600 million, according to Project Coronado records. Tijuana produces roughly 100 MGD total.

King called the sewage crisis "the number one threat to Coronado's public health." She backed the county's Sept. 1 approval of $5.8 million to design a U.S.-side capture and treatment system, saying the region cannot keep waiting on Washington or Sacramento. That money funds design and engineering work, not construction.

None of the four endorsed broad tariffs, border closures or water restrictions as a first response. Purvis called instead for cooperation with firm, enforceable expectations, including deadlines, transparent reporting, independent monitoring and consequences for unmet commitments. She cited her role as Coronado's representative on the Metro Wastewater Joint Powers Authority as relevant experience.

The council's Sept. 15 agenda included an item to extend the existing emergency declaration, according to city records. The outcome of that vote has not been confirmed.

Coronado residents can vote in the Nov. 3 General Municipal Election. Candidate and polling information is available on the city's election page.