Martha Abraham
Candidate for City Council Member, San Diego, District 4
Martha Abraham is a Southeast San Diego nurse, small-business owner, and community advocate who came to San Diego as an infant after her family fled political unrest in East Africa in 1986 and settled in Emerald Hills. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from San Diego State University and a Master's in Nursing from Grand Canyon University, and built her career in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit before founding a homecare agency that provides customized care for aging adults. Abraham became known in District 4 for organizing against 'Footnote 7,' a zone change that allowed development without community input, which was repealed in April 2025.
Positions in brief
Abraham centers her platform on infrastructure investment, tenant protections and attainable housing, and fiscal accountability, drawing on her nursing background to link health outcomes to community investment.
Abraham points to January 2024 flooding that displaced more than 1,000 families as evidence of what she calls years of neglected infrastructure, and calls for proactive maintenance rather than reactive repairs. On housing, she says District 4 needs more attainable housing options for workers, but cautions that developing it without considering health, education, and quality-of-life impacts is a mistake. She also criticizes the city's budget approach, arguing it should not be balanced on residents' backs, and calls for cutting costly middle-management positions while protecting funding for police, fire, parks, and libraries. Other stated priorities include environmental justice, green infrastructure investment, addressing food and retail deserts, and expanding healthcare access.
On the issues
Advocates for proactive infrastructure maintenance rather than reactive responses after flooding.
“years of neglected infrastructure improvements like the rest of the City receive”
Source →Supports more attainable housing but opposes development that ignores community health and quality-of-life impacts.
“developing it without considering the profound impact on our health outcomes, educational attainment, and overall quality of life is a recipe for disaster”
Source →Opposes balancing the budget through cuts that hit residents, and wants core services protected.
“Our budget should NOT be balanced on the backs of residents and visitors.”
Source →Wants to protect funding for police, fire, parks, and libraries even while cutting other budget costs.
“vital community services like police, fire, parks, and libraries”
Source →Prioritizes health, wellness, and dignified living for every community member.
“the health, wellness, and dignified living for every person in our community must come first”
Source →Supports environmental justice and green infrastructure investment, and addressing food and retail deserts.
Source →
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