Friday, October 8, 2010

D6: Clairemont Debate Review - Easy Wayne Win

After passing through a mass of Wayne signs, volunteers and sitting through a Ron Robert's hosted info session about Cal Fire, the debate for District 6 was held before a filled (about 150 people) cafeteria at Clairemont High.

In a tightly run debate voters had a clear sense of their choices. Zapf continued her pattern of not answering the questions and using the opportunity to attack labor. Wayne began hitting back landing solid rhetorical blows on Zapf for her lack of a record and the hypocrisy between her statements and her actions.

What was very telling was the use of cue cards by the Zapf campaign. A member of the Zapf camp was in a corner with a few pieces of cardboard that had notes in large type on them. When questions about city finances would come up, he would switch these notes out and Zapf would look to his corner before responding.

This is pathetic. It's not like we need more evidence of Zapf's vacuous campaign. But this is just sad. At this stage in the calendar, any candidate worthy of being elected should be able to speak on the issues without a net. Zapf has ducked debates and appears to be in hiding unless she can be scripted.

Really, without DeMaio's talking points and Sudberry's money, would there even be a Lorie Zapf candidacy? With her constituency of two and her weak showing last night, the last thing District 6 needs is a puppet at City Hall.

Wayne won last night in a big way. He was smarter, convincing, and called Zapf out on her BS when she tried to let it fly

And kudos to Janet Miller of the Clairemont Community News for moderating this debate and keeping things on schedule. This was one of the only debates that ever let out on time.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Official Democratic Voter Guide

Early voting has begun! If you're holding on to a ballot, please help all our candidates by filling it out completely and mailing it in right away. You can view and print our official Democratic Voter Guide online here: 

www.sddemocrats.org/endorsements 

Please forward this link to your friends and family through email, Facebook, and any means you have to promote the Party's recommendations. As an informed Democrat, you are a vital source of information for other voters in your personal network.

For more information, please call Democratic Headquarters at (858) 277-3367 or email info@sddemocrats.org.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Former District 6 Candidate Kim Tran Endorses Howard Wayne

Statement from Kim Tran

Character. Honesty. Ethics. In order to protect our community and our children, we need to elect officials whose words we can trust.  

With this criteria in mind, today, I announce that I am endorsing Howard Wayne as my choice to be the next Council member for District 6. I am encouraging all the people who supported me in the June primary to please vote for Howard.

We need the person representing our district to be honest, capable and truly committed to helping our communities.

Howard Wayne has proven his honesty. He is a deputy attorney general who has protected our communities from violent crime and consumer fraud as a prosecutor for 30 years. San Diego needs a leader we can trust.

Howard Wayne has proven his capability. He understands the legislative process and knows how to make things happen. And he’s maintained his own financial and personal integrity. San Diego needs a leader with experience.

Howard Wayne has proven his commitment to the community, as evidenced by his extensive history of community involvement in the 40 years that he’s lived here. San Diego needs a leader who cares about the community he lives in. 



While I don't agree with Howard on some issues, Howard has given me his word that he is committed to revitalizing our communities by creating middle class jobs, restoring fire and police protection and repairing our streets. He is also committed to reforming the pension and reducing the budget deficit. 



We have a choice between two candidates here in the 6th district. One candidate in this race is honest. One candidate in this race is capable. One candidate has shown true commitment to the community. And that one candidate is Howard Wayne. Please join me and Steven Hadley this November, and support Howard Wayne for City Council.

Bad News Keeps Piling Up for CA GOP

From the CDP:

In case you missed it: Bad News Keeps Piling Up for CA GOP

Two articles today that offer windows into the state of the race for the GOP candidates at the top of the ticket: Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina.

Yesterday, Meg Whitman hit the unprecedented $140 million mark in campaign spending, and she’s still not done. Why is that bad news? Her campaign remains stuck in neutral and has even started sliding in several polls. This is not where Meg Whitman and her high-priced consultants hoped to be at this point in the race — not after outspending their opponent 14 to 1.

Also, a new Field poll out today shows what California Democrats have known for months about that darn Sarah Palin endorsement that now hangs around Carly Fiorina’s neck like an albatross. In short, California’s Democratic-leaning, moderate electorate does not hold the half-term Alaska governor in high regard and is inclined to vote AGAINST a candidate who has received her endorsement.

The bad news is far from over for Fiorina as Governor Palin is scheduled to fly into California for an RNC-sponsored fundraiser in Orange County next week. If there’s one thing that follows Sarah Palin, it’s media attention — and that’s now part of the problem for Carly Fiorina and her team heading into the homestretch.


http://www.sacbee.com/2010/10/06/3082867/whitman-spends-record-140-million.html
Whitman spends record $140 million on campaign
By Jack Chang
jchang@sacbee.com
Published: Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2010 - 12:00 am | Page 1A
Last Modified: Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2010 - 10:28 am

Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman spent a record $140 million on her campaign through the end of September, including about $55 million since winning her party's nomination in June, according to campaign finance records filed Tuesday.

Her Democratic rival, Jerry Brown, spent less than a tenth of Whitman's total – about $11 million – but didn't face any serious primary challenger and could count on unions to run anti-Whitman advertising through the summer.

Five of the biggest union-funded independent expenditure groups, including California Working Families, Working Californians to Support Jerry Brown and Level the Playing Field, spent about $13 million through the end of September running ads and campaigning against Whitman, the records show.

The groups were funded by an array of unions, including the California Nurses Association, the California Teachers Association and the California State Council of Service Employees.

On top of that, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees spent $2 million on TV ads opposing Whitman.

The filings don't show the cost of issue ads run by the California Teachers Association against Whitman or U.S. Chamber of Commerce ads targeting Brown.

Whitman had $9.2 million in reserves at the end of September, while Brown had $22.6 million in cash on hand.

Whitman, the billionaire former CEO of online auction firm eBay, has invested more than $119 million of her own money in the campaign and has said she's prepared to spend up to $150 million of her wealth. Last month, she surpassed New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg as the biggest self-funding candidate in U.S. history.

Whitman spokeswoman Sarah Pompei noted that outside contributors were also pitching in, to the tune of at least $29 million by the end of September. Whitman collected $10.8 million in outside contributions from July to September, compared to Brown's $9.5 million.

"Our campaign has a budget designed for victory, and we've invested the necessary resources for success on Election Day," Pompei said.

Brown spokesman Sterling Clifford said state voters just aren't buying Whitman's message, despite the record spending. Public opinion polls show Brown and Whitman are locked in a tight race.

"It's an indication that you can spend a lot of money but if it's in the service of a message that voters don't buy from a candidate and that voters don't believe, you're still going to lose," Clifford said.

Whitman's campaign finance statement contained several eye-popping numbers in a race that has already smashed political records.

She has spent about $95 million so far on radio and TV advertising, with the radio spots debuting more than a year ago. By comparison, Brown has spent about $9 million on such advertising, which he launched on Labor Day.
Whitman has poured $8.2 million into campaign literature and mailings, including two editions of a glossy policy magazine mailed to hundreds of thousands of households.

She's also spent $11.7 million on consultants, including top adviser Mike Murphy, who earns $90,000 a month, close aide Henry Gomez at $36,000 a month and campaign manager Jillian Hasner at $30,000 a month.

Pompei said the Republican has had to invest heavily to battle Brown and the unions.

"There's no question these unions have bought and paid for Jerry Brown's campaign," Pompei said. "And if he's elected to his third term in office, they'll be looking to collect their IOUs."

Clifford responded that Brown, who was governor from 1975 to 1983, has proved he'll make decisions independent of the unions. In fact, Brown has said he'll seek pension changes and some cuts to bridge the state's budget deficits.

"There's one candidate in this race who's actually vetoed pay raises for employees, and that's Jerry Brown," Clifford said.

*****



http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=824D3D9A-E818-FBF0-04F235DB495B0BCB
POLITICO
Poll: Palin woes could hurt Fiorina
By: Andy Barr
October 6, 2010 12:08 PM EDT

Nearly six of 10 California voters have a negative view of Sarah Palin, whose endorsement could be dragging down the state’s GOP Senate nominee, according to a new Field Poll.

The former Alaska governor and Republican vice presidential nominee has a 58 percent unfavorable rating in the Golden State, compared to a 33 percent favorable rating. Only 9 percent of the registered voters polled had no opinion.

Palin’s polling woes could have coattails as well.

Carly Fiorina, who is challenging Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer, has frequently touted her endorsement from Palin, but the survey shows Palin may be a drag on Fiorina’s numbers.

Fifty-three percent of those surveyed said they would be less inclined to vote for a candidate endorsed by Palin, while only 21 percent said they would be more inclined.

Among those who said they plan to vote in the Senate race, 47 percent of Fiorina supporters said they were more likely to back a candidate because of Palin’s support. But 84 percent of Boxer supporters said they would be less likely to vote for a candidate with Palin’s blessing.

The Fiorina campaign is not concerned about Palin’s poll numbers. “Voters are evaluating the candidates in this race as individuals,” said Fiorina spokeswoman Andrea Saul.

Palin is scheduled to appear in California next week for a Republican National Committee fundraiser in Orange County. She will be at another RNC fundraiser later in the month in Orlando.

Palin’s numbers in the state have declined since she was first introduced as John McCain’s running mate in September 2008, when both her favorable and unfavorable rating stood at 43 percent in the Field Poll.

The Field Poll survey included responses from 414 registered voters from Sept. 14 to Sept. 21 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Sierra Club gives high marks to San Diego Democrats

From Today's UT:

Local Republicans fare poorly in report card

Read it here

Sunday, October 3, 2010

LA Times says Jerry for Governor!

"Californians must choose. One candidate is a stranger to the political and governmental landscape; the other knows every superhighway, back road and dead-end. We opt for real-world experience, know-how and creativity. The Times urges a vote for Brown."

Read it here.