Who am I?

I’m Jacob Mitchell, 28, a lifelong resident of San Diego’s District 2, running for City Council because this city is my home and it’s getting harder for people like me to stay here.

I grew up here, graduated from Point Loma Nazarene University with a degree in Chemistry, and I’m currently completing an MBA at CSU San Marcos. I’ve worked hands-on jobs my whole adult life: producing reagents in a GMP lab at Abbott, doing molecular research and business development at GeneGoCell, assisting on construction projects and handyman work at Engage Construction, and running my own small Etsy shop selling custom block prints.

Since I was 21, I’ve paid my own rent, bought groceries, fixed my own cars, thrown bonfires with friends on the beach, volunteering in homeless ministries, and donating bone marrow to give someone a second chance. I’ve dealt with the same frustrations you face, potholes that blow tires and cost a day’s pay, rising prices that force cheaper meals and fewer nights out, and a city that sometimes feels like it’s working against the people who actually live here.

I’m not a career politician. I’m the average worker in this district who’s also unusually analytical: I’m reading and learning constantly, digging into complex systems (energy, economics, technology, policy), and believe in fixing things with data, accountability, and common sense instead of slogans or headlines.

I don’t want fame or power for its own sake. I want to give young people, and everyone trying to build a life here, real hope that things can get better: more affordable, more functional, more fair. I want to protect peoples rights from being shaped by algorithms, restore trust in government by cutting waste, and make District 2 (and San Diego) a place where the next generation can thrive.

That’s who I am. That’s why I’m running.