By Macy Meinhardt, Voice & Viewpoint Staff Writer
Geneviéve Jones-Wright, a former San Diego public defender and proclaimed advocate for justice and social equality, has officially launched her bid for the 2024 mayoral seat against incumbent Todd Gloria.
With her nomination papers pulled, Wright so far is projected to go against eleven other candidates in the March 2024 mayoral race.
A San Diego native and previous runner up in the San Diego District Attorney race in 2018, Jones-Wright served as a public defender within the county for 13 years.
After her run for District-Attorney, Jones-Wright left the field to become a ‘social entrepreneur,’ which led to her becoming the co-founder of an impact litigation non-profit called Community Advocates for Just and Moral Governance (MoGo).
According to the non-profits mission statement, MoGo is committed to engaging in litigation and various forms of advocacy that will make the government more just and fully accountable to all people, particularly those who have been marginalized from society. Based on the non-profits most recent tax filings, the non-profit has a revenue stream of over $360K and a negative net income of -$16,306. Moreso, in the same year the organization reported the net loss, Jones-Wright’s income as Executive Director’s salary almost doubled, from $37,048 in 2020, to $75,000 in 2021.
As of press time, Jones-Wright has not responded for comment.
In addition, Jones-Wright sits on San Diego’s Commission on Gang Prevention and Intervention, is a volunteer legal reviewer for the California Innocence Project and is the founder of Motivation.In.Action, a motivational speaking firm.
Raised in Southeastern San Diego, Jones-Wright is a graduate from Patrick Henry High School, and holds bachelor’s degree from University of San Francisco, as well as a law degree from Howard University School of Law. In addition she also obtained a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from California Western School of Law.
Referring to her own experiences during the 2018 District Attorney race, and most recently the District 4 Special Election, Jones-Wright has been vocal in recent weeks about how anti-Black tropes and harmful stereotypes are often weaponized when Black Women challenge power structures.
“Make no mistake about it: It is intentional. Law enforcement agencies leveraging racial stereotypes and harmful tropes against Black women who dare to seek office is not only dangerous and misleading but deeply rooted in bigotry and racism,” said Jones-Wright, in a local media op-ed.
Common stereotypes against Black women running in politics according to Jones-Wright include the portrayal of these candidates as “angry,” “radical,” or “divisive,” according to Jones-Wright.
“Such stereotypes are used to discourage voters from supporting Black women and to diminish their voices and influence in the political arena,” Jones-Wright said.
In her campaign against DA Summer Stephan back in 2018, Jones-Wright caught slack from opponents for her campaign being backed by primarily outside spending. According to campaign finance records, the PAC California Justice & Public Safety committee spent roughly $1.3 million in support of getting Jones-Wright elected, backed by New York Billionaire investor and criminal justice reform advocate George Soros.
The full list of candidates running in the 2024 March mayoral race can be found here. For our print readers the list can be accessed by typing in: https://www.sandiego.gov/city-clerk/elections/city/2024elections on your browser.
