San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria is facing criticism after a parody music video has gone public, with many wondering who paid for the video and questioning if it was a proper use of city administrators' time.
The video in question features Mayor Todd effectively promoting his mayoral tenure over a revised version of the song "Return of the Mack" by Mark Morrison. The video also features City Council members Jen Campbell, Stephen Whitburn, and Chris Cate, among others. During the course of the two-and-a-half minute video, the song takes jabs at one-time competing mayor candidate Barbara Bry and former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer.
Social media has been abuzz since the video was released this week, with many criticizing whether such a publicity stunt is a proper use of city officials' time and resources. Some critics have also referenced a recently published San Diego Reader article, entitled "Ocean Beach and Pacific Beach - open-air insand asylums," in which it is alleged that homeless individuals were removed from Saratoga Park in Ocean Beach priot to Mayor Gloria and Councilperson Jen Campbell attending the Think Blue and I Love a Clean San Diego beach clean-up event on September 18.
It is believed the video was produced by a local business group for an annual giving event, the 2021 Installation Celebration, featuring the Inaugural ToddTalk. Notable sponsors of the event include COX, San Diego Gas & Electric, and Deloitte, among other big names, likely hoping to garner favor from the mayoral office. We reached out to many members of the team at the Mayor's office by email to request clarification, including Mayor Gloria, but nobody responded to our inquiries by the time of publishing.
Check out the video below:
