Tasha Williamson is an American activist, community leader and political candidate. Williamson has spent her career advocating for families affected by gun, gang, and police violence, and for protesting police brutality towards of people of color in the San Diego area. In January of 2019, Williamson announced her candidacy for the 2020 San Diego mayoral election.
Williamson co-founded the San Diego Compassion Project in 2008, after the death of 15-year-old Michael Taylor Jr., 24-year-old Francisco Javier Nava, and 17-year-old Monique Palmer to gang-related violence. The San Diego Compassion Project reaches out to help support families on San Diego residents who lost loved ones to gang or gun violence by directing to them to grief counselling, groceries and other resources. The San Diego Compassion Project has partnered with the Jackie Robinson YMCA in Lincoln Park, San Diego, the Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation, and the San Diego Commission for Gang Intervention and Prevention. In October 2013, Williamson was one of three California activists to receive a California Peace Prize from the California Wellness Foundation. Since founding the San Diego Compassion Project, Williamson has been a prominent voice on issues of gun control and police violence. Williamson was a vocal proponent for police accountability in the deaths of Victor Ortega in 2012 and Alfred Olango in 2016, and reached out to the families of Jeremy Henwood and Christopher Wilson, two SDPD officers killed in the line of duty. As of 2019, Williamson is also a member of Community Advocates for Just and Moral Governance. In February 2018, Williamson was part of a group of activists who called for the resignation of a Lincoln High School teacher after he allegedly made racist and sexually inappropriate comments to students. Later that year, Williamson spoke out against the San Diego Police Department for the arrest and beating of Jonathan Felix outside a bar on November 7, 2018 by four armed, off-duty police officers. Williamson was also a spokesperson for the family of Aleah Jenkins, a young woman who died in police custody on November 27, 2018. In 2018, Williamson launched Building Justice, a non-profit benefiting disadvantaged individuals trying to navigate the educational, criminal justice, and social service systems.
Earl McNeil controversy
Williamson acted as a spokeswoman for the relatives of Earl McNeil, who died in police custody in June 2018. McNeil’s family had filed legal claims alleging that members of the National City Police Department used excessive force in the events leading up to his death. While McNeil’s death was ruled a homicide by the medical examiner who autopsied him, the claims of McNeil’s family were subsequently dismissed by the National City council and no officers were charged. Protestors subsequently staged sit-ins at several National City council meetings, and Williamson was arrested twice during the course of these events. Williamson staged a sit-in with several other activists at a National City council meeting on July 24, 2018 to call for the release of information related to his autopsy as well as the identity of the officers involved in his arrest. At the July 24 protest, Williamson criticized National City police Chief Manuel Rodriguez for refusing to release bodycam footage related to the incident. Williamson later accused Chief Rodriguez of smirking during a prior meeting with McNeil’s family and called for his resignation, refusing to leave the podium after her allotted three minutes of speaking time had elapsed. After refusing to leave, Williamson and several other protestors were placed under arrest. Williamson’s attorney filed a civil rights lawsuit against the National City Police Department in October 2018, based on her testimony and video evidence which indicated that police officers had used excessive force and treated Williamson more harshly than the white protestors who were arrested at the same time.
2020 San Diego mayoral campaign
Williamson announced her campaign for San Diego mayor in 2020 at the Third Annual Women’s March on January 19, 2019. Williamson identified homelessness, police brutality, and gun violence as key issues in her campaign. Williamson has stated that she feels elected officials have not done enough to positively impact black, Latino, impoverished, and disabled city residents. Williamson also supports more affordable housing projects, citing her own experience with homelessness. On August 20, 2019, when the San Diego CountyDemocratic Party had its endorsement election to choose a mayoral candidate to support, Williamson stated that she felt that the San Diego County Democratic Party was in need of reform. Williamson accused the party of being disconnected with the needs of the people and of remaining silent on racism. Williamson did not receive the Democratic endorsement, and received the least support for out of the three candidates present, winning only 3% of the total votes. Todd Gloria won over 70% of the votes, with rival candidate Barbara Bry winning 14% of the votes.
