City Councilman Chris Cate wants the Trump administration to make recycling a high priority in trade talks with China because the city has too much waste. In the past, San Diego sent most of its recyclables to China. But China recently imposed new restrictions on recycled material coming from abroad. That threatens to increase city waste management expenses and could cause paper, plastics and metals to be thrown into landfills rather than reused.

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Cate outlined his thoughts on Thursday in a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

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President Trump’s protectionist trade policies have previously draw criticism from other politicians in San Diego, which is the largest city in the country with a Republican mayor. Mayor Kevin Faulconer, for instance, has repeatedly talked about the importance of trade with Tijuana.

Councilman Chris Cate of Mira Mesa is proposing the new regulations, which would allow San Diego to join a growing list of cities requiring local permits.

Watch Chris on KUSI talking about his campaign for re-election and success helping rebuild District 6 infrastructure and investments in our public safety.

The bipartisan push by City Council members Barbara Bry and Chris Cate to create a home-buying incentive program to help attract and retain San Diego police officers is a smart idea worth pursuing by a city that has long struggled to meet its goal of employing 2,040 officers. Even after the council approved giant pay raises for the police union in December, the most recent statistics show it has fewer officers — 1,787 — than the 1,820 it had last summer.

Officers could receive as much as $50,000 toward a down payment or closing costs when they buy a home and agree to stay on the San Diego force for a certain number of years.

City Councilmember Chris Cate and the city’s Public Utilities Department director hosted a community forum Thursday to assist residents who claim they were charged incorrectly for water bills.

Thursday’s forum will allow San Diegans to question the Water Department directly, and customer service representatives will be on site with the ability to offer refunds and issue credits to customers.

San Diego District 6 Council Member Chris Cate said since News 8 launched its water investigation last week, his office has been inundated with calls.  “This is just not explainable and we need to know what is happening. We have seen instances where we have seen 400 percent increases in a person’s water usage in one billing period,” said Cate.

On Tuesday, January 23, 2018 at 10:00 a.m., Councilmember Chris Cate will declare the day as “Sophia M. Righthouse Day” in the City of San Diego. Two months ago, Sophia M. Righthouse, a Park Village resident, personally assisted with the evacuation of a condominium complex in Rancho Peñasquitos that was engulfed in flames. At only 14 years of age, Sophia conducted the evacuations in a calm professional manner, attributing her training with the Young Marines.

Kearny Mesa enters a new phase of its development history with a new community plan in the works.

• More office and industrial space would be allowed.

• More housing in mixed-use developments could be built.

• Montgomery Field would remain but autonomous cars might change the nature of the local car business.

The homeless crisis came to a boiling point in 2017. From violence to Hepatitis A spreading across the country, to the success of transitional tents. It seems like the city has a stronger handle on the issue this year than last. So what’s next? KUSI was joined by Councilmember Chris Cate from District 6, who is also the Chair for the Public Safety & Livable Neighborhoods Committee.

It has been nearly 1,000 days, five public hearings, two conflicting city attorney opinions and two proposals submitted by my office since I began working toward a solution to short-term vacation rentals in San Diego.

Councilman Chris Cate bestowed the honor upon the actor, granting the actor the opportunity to unveil a curtain on the street sign that was revealed to say "Honorary Mark Hamill Dr."

San Diego City Councilman Chris Cate officially announced Friday he will run for re-election in District 6 and revealed a record early fundraising total. Cate told supporters gathered at the Mira Mesa Senior Center that his re-election campaign had raised $250,000 as of the June 30 filing deadline — a record this early in a San Diego City Council race.

Aiming to encourage more people to start and expand home-based businesses, San Diego Councilman Chris Cate wants to loosen some city regulations and lower permitting fees to shrink startup costs.

People ostensibly run for office because they care about public affairs and want to change city policy to reflect their priorities. But here, they often pursue not much at all once they’re actually in office.

Not the case for Councilman Chris Cate this year. He stuck his nose into three big fights, even though there wasn’t much upside in it for him.

The industrial area north of Miramar Road is home to 21 breweries and three non-brewing tasting rooms. Thanks to help from the area’s councilmember Chris Cate, when AleSmith relocated, the street name of their current location was changed to AleSmith Court.

Councilman Chris Cate, who has consistently advocated for permitting short-term rentals citywide but with clearer rules for operation and escalating fines for violators, said he was puzzled as to how Elliott arrived at a conclusion so at odds with previous city attorneys.

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“Is her office now going to be going out and enforcing her opinion on those taking part in this activity?” Cate asked. “Also, we’ve been collecting (transient occupancy tax) from all these short-term rentals — $8 million since July 1. So do we have to give it back now because they’re apparently illegal operators? We’re now back to where we were were two years ago, where we’re all confused.”

So how did someone so young become so engrained in this city? Councilman Cate’s origin story can be traced back to being a true native San Diegan. Born in Chula Vista, Cate has lived throughout San Diego, including stints in Oceanside, Vista and even Kearny Mesa for college. Possessing a wide breadth of San Diego knowledge from his mobile background alone, Cate’s college experience further entrenched him in the San Diego community because it was peppered with something most San Diegans don’t experience at such a young age: running his own business. “At twenty years old, I started my own small business and ran it,” Cate confirmed. “I ran an auto glass replacement business with a high school friend. We started it while I was in college in Kearny Mesa, and he still runs it today.” 

There is no doubt when it comes to Chris Cate’s commitment – the city councilmember serves his District 6 constituents with tireless work and unwavering efforts. “Safe neighborhoods, well-paved streets, good-paying jobs, and a high quality of life are my priorities,” Chris shared.

Chris Cate is the first Asian-American elected to the San Diego City Council in over 50 years. He has served as vice president of the San Diego County Taxpayers Association. As a long-time taxpayer advocate, he has championed local and state legislation which ensures that cities and public agencies exercise accountability, efficiency and fiscal discipline on behalf of their taxpayers who fund them. During his tenure he successfully wrote the analysis for Proposition B, a local initiative that will save taxpayers more than $1 billion over 30 years. In his first year on the City Council, Cate has focused on four key areas: public safety, economic development, infrastructure and civic engagement.