Editor-at-Large

A National City Councilman and mayoral candidate ignored calls from his opponent and members of the public to resign from office after it was confirmed he claimed to have earned a university degree he did not complete.

Jose Rodriguez, a Councilman first elected in 2020 and re-elected in 2024, is one of three candidates seeking to replace retiring Mayor Ron Morrison. Rodriguez also ran for Mayor in 2022, but lost by 76 votes.

Last week, La Prensa San Diego was the first media outlet to report that Rodriguez submitted an official application to the City seeking appointments to advisory boards in 2016, and later another application to a vacancy on the City Council in 2019, where he claimed he held a degree from San Diego State University he now admits he did not earn.

Both applications were signed by Rodriguez.

After the news story, political consultant Dan Rottenstreich released a statement on behalf of Rodriguez, claiming the Councilman was “one assignment short” of completing his degree, and that Rodriguez had walked in the University’s commencement ceremony.

Rodriguez has not released his university transcript to document his credits or progress toward a degree.

After the news broke, National City Councilman Marcus Bush, who is also running for Mayor, released a statement calling on Rodriguez to resign.

“If a city manager, city attorney, department head, or other city employee lied on their resume or job application, we would hold them accountable,” Bush told La Prensa San Diego in an interview before Tuesday’s Council meeting. “Jose should resign his seat on the City Council and end his campaign for Mayor because he broke the public’s trust.”

During last Tuesday’s Council meeting, several members of the public addressed the Council and demanded Rodriguez resign.

Local high school teacher and San Diego State University graduate Paul Wapnowski called Rodriguez a “liar.”

“Jose Rodriguez is a documented liar. He was willing to lie even when it was unnecessary in order to take the baby step as a career compromised politician,” Wapnowski said to the Council. “He must resign as Councilmember and withdraw his mayoral candidacy.”

Another speaker, Randi Castle-Salgado, called on Rodriguez to resign.

“This isn’t about whether Jose Rodriguez had a college degree,” Castle-Salgado said. “National City didn’t require a bachelor degree from him, residents didn’t require one; we required honesty and Jose has repeatedly asked voters to judge him on his merit, his experience, his qualifications, and his record. Well, when you run on merit and truthfulness the credentials you present become part of that merit,” she added.

Castle-Salgado went further and suggested the City Council should censure Rodriguez for lying on official city documents.

“The City Council should formally censure Councilman Rodriguez for making false representations on official City documents,” Castle-Salgado added. “This Council has used censure before when it believed the conduct of one of its members warranted formal condemnations. If censure means anything, then honesty with the public and honesty on public official City documents should matter.”

Ed Nieto, a longtime accountant and current candidate for City Council, called Rodriguez out for misleading the public.

“Lying is an integrity issue, it’s about deliberately misleading people who depend on your word, it means having competencies, competencies in leading, you don’t have it,” Nieto said directly to Rodriguez during the open public meeting. “This is about ethics and setting examples; maybe Jose is an example of what not to do.”

Rodriguez listened silently to the speakers and did not make any comments addressing the issue during his closing remarks at the end of the meeting.

The controversy comes as National City voters prepare to choose a new mayor on November 3 amid the city’s most serious budget crisis in years. Reserves have fallen sharply, the general fund faces a multi-million-dollar shortfall, and city officials have warned of potential insolvency by 2030 if spending is not brought under control.

Rodriguez, a former labor organizer who has represented District 2 since 2020, is campaigning on protecting working families, increasing city revenue, and expanding services. His main rival, Councilmember Marcus Bush of District 4, has emphasized fiscal accountability, greater transparency in spending, and pragmatic solutions to the deficit. The two have publicly clashed on the dais over how to close the budget gap, including recent debates over council discretionary funds and potential new taxes.

Also on the ballot are environmental activist Jacobb Castrejon. Longtime City Treasurer Mitch Beauchamp dropped out of the race last week and endorsed Bush. Retiring Mayor Ron Morrison has also endorsed Bush.

With mail ballots already out and less than two weeks until Election Day, the degree controversy has added a new dimension to a race already defined by the city’s financial troubles and deep divisions on the current council. 

Rodriguez has not publicly addressed the calls for his resignation or released documentation of his academic record.