The only candidate that announced a campaign to replace Campbell, in the recall election, was San Diego public servant and child abuse victim advocate, Loxie Gant.

[10] "Many of the complaints against Campbell are as a result of what critics describe as a too-lenient attitude toward vacation rentals and her support for a ballot measure allowing developers to exceed a long-standing 30-foot height limit in the dilapidated Midway neighborhood that is home to many strip clubs.

"[12] After pledging to protect the long-standing 30-foot height limit, overwhelmingly approved by voters in 1972, Campbell reversed course on her campaign promise by co-sponsoring a memo that would ultimately lead to that law being overturned.

[5][13] According to the San Diego Union Tribune on December 14, 2021, "Judge Katherine Bacal sided with petitioner Save Our Access, determining that the city should have studied the environmental impacts of taller buildings before putting Measure E in front of voters.

The judge granted the nonprofit’s request for a writ of mandate, an act that invalidates the measure and bars the city from striking the Midway District from the coastal zone.