The race for mayor of the City of San Diego took a dramatic turn last week as Councilmember Donna Frye announced her entry into the race as a write-in candidate. The introduction of a Democrat into the non-partisan race, which has traditionally been dominated by Republicans, has caused quite a stir in San Diego, especially among the GLBT community.

Prior to Frye’s entry into the race, both incumbent Mayor Dick Murphy and challenger, Supervisor Ron Roberts, had been courting the gay vote in what has been widely considered a very tight race. Murphy touted his appointments from the GLBT community to boards and commissions. Roberts cited his opposition to the Federal Marriage Amendment and numerous votes favoring GLBT issues on the County Board of Supervisors. Frye however has been 100 percent on GLBT issues since she joined the city council in 2000 and has been recognized by numerous GLBT organizations.

“She brings a true populist, grass-roots energy into this race,” Deputy Mayor Toni Atkins said to the Gay & Lesbian Times. “It is important to note: on the issues important to the LGBT and HIV/AIDS communities, she’s been with us 100 percent of the way. She spoke out eloquently in opposing the Boys Scouts lease extension, she supported us on the clean syringe exchange program and she supported the ID program for medicinal marijuana patients. And these votes haven’t gone unnoticed. Donna was named a ‘Friend of Pride’ by San Diego LGBT Pride and was recently given an award by the Tom Homann Law Association for her contributions to advance the cause of civil rights for members of the LGBT community.”

Frye pulled papers and announced her candidacy in the race on Thursday, Sept. 30, amid a swarm of media attention.

“Today I have taken the first step in pulling papers to announce my candidacy to run for the mayor of the City of San Diego,” Frye said to a crowd of reporters at the City Clerk’s office. “Our message is that we are a candidate of the people, by the people and for the people and when you write in the name Donna Frye, it’s finally someone to vote for.”

Frye followed up with a press conference outside of City Hall where she said that she would draw votes away from both Murphy and Roberts and that she had met with both of them earlier in the week when she was still considering running.

“They told me a lot of things that I wanted to hear,” Frye said. “But I believe, more now, more today, for the best interest of the public and our city, that I would do the best job as the next mayor of the City of San Diego. I believe I am a better candidate and could do a better job. They are both very nice men, but it’s time for someone else.”

When asked about her last minute decision to join the race, with only one month and two days to campaign, Frye said that the decision was one that she had been debating for a long time.

“This has been going on for a while,” Frye said. “It’s hard to explain sometimes what happens, when the public becomes very very frustrated. It’s sort of like a big wave, riding over the ocean and it just keeps building and building momentum. I have had so many phone calls and so many people calling me saying ‘please reconsider’ and ‘please run’… I did seriously consider it.”

In the last year, City Hall has fallen under increased scrutiny and editorials in newspapers like the New York Times calling San Diego “Enron by the sea” because of the financial problems associated with the city, and specifically the under-funding of the employee’s pension plan which now threatens to bankrupt America’s Finest City. The stories have crippled Murphy’s campaign and in his most recent round of cost-cutting measures he has called on a salary freeze for city employees.

“We need to look at a comprehensive way the city does business,” Frye said, commenting on the mayor’s actions to gain control over the financial situation the city now faces. “We can’t pull out one thing and throw it out there and say ‘this will fix it’ or ‘this will take care of it’ you have to look at a comprehensive approach.

“The city’s employees have come forward with some recommendations that they say can save us money by doing things differently. By changing them structurally and fundamentally. I’m not going to stand here and say I have all of the answers because I don’t. But I do have the ability to listen and hear what people are saying and to get people together and bring them together to find a comprehensive solution. You can’t just pick a piece and say ‘there’s the solution’ it might sound good, but I’m telling you that fundamentally the way the city is structured is flawed.”

In order to qualify as an official write-in candidate for the November ballot, Frye needed to obtain 200 signatures endorsing her candidacy and pay a $500 registration fee. Over the weekend, in a grass-roots effort, Frye had volunteers out in each of the eight council districts collecting signatures, including one location in front of the Ralphs grocery store in Hillcrest.

“I didn’t really know much about her, but as soon people found out she was going to run, all of my friends at work and all of the people were so excited that she was going to run,” said James Rose, an engineer who lives in Hillcrest, who signed papers in front of Ralphs on Saturday. “Then they explained to me what they thought of her and everything else and so I signed up. I was actually impressed that so many people were talking about her and everyone is saying the same stuff.”

Rose went on to say that fixing the pension issue was one of the important issues facing the city, and that he agrees with Frye’s stance on environmental issues.

On Monday, Frye turned in over 3,800 signatures, which are now being verified by the county clerk. If 2,200 of them are validated, her $500 registration fee will be waved.

“People were so desperately looking for somebody that offers a contrast and Donna definitely offers a contrast,” said Jess Durfee, the chair of the San Diego Democratic Party. “I’ve worked with her staff and her staff is very good and effective at what they do and I think she’s demonstrated that she knows how to manage her staff, oversee her staff and hire the right people. I also know that she’s worked well with other council members. Toni Atkins is an example of somebody with whom she has worked with and that’s a big part of what the mayor does, is leads the council, in addition to being out and representing the whole city.”

One of the biggest challenges facing Frye now is winning the race as a write-in candidate, however, changes in the ballot this year may work in her favor. Unlike in previous years, San Diego will not be using the traditional punch card method, and because of problems with electronic voting machines in the March primary, the county has decided to move ahead, using optical scan ballots. Each voter will fill out the ballot using a writing utensil. In order to vote for Frye, voters will need to write her name in on the ballot and fill in the bubble on the form next to where they write in her name.

“The biggest challenge will be educating people on how to write in a candidate and how to do that correctly so that all of the votes that are intended for Donna Frye are counted for Donna Frye,” Durfee went on to say. “This is one of those things that can take on a life of its own when people get excited about it. Not that I like the comparison, but the celebrity of Arnold Schwarzenegger was the same sort of phenomena that people get excited about and then everybody jumps on board. I think this is something that people can get excited about and jump on board and take the time to learn how to write in Donna Frye and do it correctly.”

Frye is expected to unveil more detailed plans this weekend about how she will work to resolve the financial problems that are currently facing the city. Until then, both Murphy and Roberts will continue to campaign in an effort to keep her from taking votes from their respective camps. So far no GLBT organizations or politicians have come out and endorsed Frye in her run for the mayor’s office, however, in a statement to the Gay & Lesbian Times, Atkins did say, “She’s been a strong ally of mine on the council when it comes to issues of affordable housing. If she shows over the next week or so that her candidacy is viable and she has a real chance to win as a write-in candidate, I’d be hard pressed to come up with a reason why voters in the LGBT and HIV/AIDS communities shouldn’t support her. She’s clearly earned our votes.”