SAN DIEGO – I’ve had the opportunity to get to know some of the people from our Jewish community who are running for office in the Nov. 8 election, and I would like to recommend positively their candidacies to you. I am registered as a nonpartisan voter.
Congress, 51st District – U.S. Rep. Sara Jacobs, who has been serving on the House Armed Services Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has been a leader in promoting pro-choice legislation in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade. Congresswoman Jacobs, a Democrat, follows in a family tradition of public service and philanthropy. Her grandparents are Qualcomm co-founder Irwin Jacobs and Joan Jacobs, who are major contributors to Jewish and secular institutions in San Diego County. Her parents are Gary and Jerri-Ann Jacobs, who established High-Tech High School and the Jacobs International Teen Leadership Institute (JITLI). Gary has served as president of the Lawrence Family JCC, the Jewish Federation of San Diego County, and the Jewish Community Center Association of North America. Sara has done a fine job in her first term. She will continue to serve San Diegans well in a second term.
Judge, Superior Court Office No. 36 – Peter W. Singer is currently a Superior Court Commissioner, who was honored in 2019 as California Court Commissioner of the Year and who also has served as president of the California Superior Court Commissioners Association. Singer is a former president of the Temple Adat Shalom Men’s Club and is a San Diego board member of the Jewish National Fund. The race is nonpartisan.
San Diego Unified School District Member, Board of Education District B – Shana Hazan, a former school teacher and chief philanthropy officer at Jewish Family Service of San Diego, currently is the managing consultant of the 2023 San Diego Jewish Community study led by the Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego, Jewish Family Service, the Jewish Federation of San Diego County, the Lawrence Family JCC, and the Leichtag Foundation. She is the fourth generation of her family to be active in Jewish community affairs in San Diego. Her great-grandparents, Abe and Anne Ratner, established the Children’s Eye Center at UC San Diego. Anne endowed the Ratner Torah School at Tifereth Israel Synagogue in the name of her husband Abe, who was the longtime owner of the Ratner Clothing Company. After she died at 100, the school was renamed to honor both of them. The couple were financial supporters of Jewish Family Service and San Diego Hebrew Homes, as well as the Salk Institute, the San Diego Symphony, Meals on Wheels, and the Salvation Army. The Ratners’ daughter, Pauline Foster and her husband Stan Foster, were both presidents of the Jewish Federation of San Diego County. Their daughter Marcia Hazan has been a long-time Jewish Family Service Board member. The race is nonpartisan.
San Diego County Assessor/ Recorder/ Clerk – Jordan Marks is the chief deputy assessor under the current County Assessor Ernie Dronenburg. A member of Congregation Beth El, Marks more than 20 years ago founded the Jewish Student Alliance at Mira Costa College, where he was elected as student president. After going on to UCLA for a bachelor’s degree and to State University of New York –Buffalo for a law degree, he returned to California to practice real estate law, eventually turning to government service. He has been active in the Shabbat San Diego organization, which encourages community-wide Shabbat observances every year, and has been an informal liaison between local elected officials and the Jewish community. He was involved with last year’s downtown Chanukah celebration in which San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria participated, and was instrumental in the County of San Diego recognizing Holocaust Survivor Rose Schindler on Holocaust Memorial Day. Additionally he serves as a member of the City’s International Affairs Board. The race is non-partisan.
There are other Jewish candidates running for office in San Diego County, some of whom I know, some of whom I do not know. But the aforementioned four candidates—Sara Jacobs, Peter Singer, Shana Hazan and Jordan Marks—though they may be from different political parties, or different streams of Judaism, are all motivated by the spirit of tikkun olam and will help to build bridges of understanding between our community and those of other religious and ethnic groups. As such, it is my absolute pleasure to endorse these two Jewish women and two Jewish men in their quests for political office.