Peters to Run for City Attorney

The UT is reporting this morning that councilmember Scott Peters will definitely run for city attorney and former Superintendent of City Schools Alan Bersin will not run. The decision came about following a weekend meeting between the two.

Bersin and Peters, who are friends, made a joint decision after discussing their options at a meeting Saturday in which they reviewed the results of a poll commissioned by Bersin, said the attendee, who spoke on condition of anonymity because neither man had authorized a public comment. [Link]

Peters joins an already crowded field of candidates who all seek to defeat incumbent City Attorney Mike Aguirre. His entry into the race provides an opportunity for Democrats who are dismayed by Aguirre erratic behavior to support a candidate that has a good opportunity to win the seat.

Peters may be our only hope

As the City Attorney's race heats up, those of us on the left should be VERY worried about the shape of the race.

As of now, we have a far-right nut job with Jan Goldsmith, an empty-suit conservative with Brian Maienschein, an all-over-the-map, union hating democrat with Mike Aguirre and two candidates who can't seem to get traction.

Lee Burdick is actually quite sensible and would be a great candidate if anyone knew her, but conventional wisdom says she will need a lot of money to compete in this field. And I hear, she can't pull the fundraising.

So who does that leave for us? Anti-worker former school-tyrant Alan Bersin is threatening (and I do mean threatening) to enter the field. His likelihood of getting a dem party or labor endorsement is on par with Republican Maienschein.

So what do we do? Encourage Scott Peters to run for City Attorney. Sure, he over-waters his lawn and hasn't been a favorite of labor or the party in the past, but he is a lot better than the alternatives. His "big" negative of the pension mess is going to get lost with another Councilmember in the race. I have never been one to advocate for the moderate, but he does seem to be the only Democrat that could garner enough support from labor, elected officials, enviromentalists, maybe even the Party and present a united front against the nightmare match-up of Goldsmith / Aguirre. He has proven himself on a number of key issues this year, including marriage equality and wal-mart, and holds a decent record with coastal environmentalists. Let's not forget this guy was an Environmental Attorney and is a former Coastal Commissioner. He even took a courageous stand on toilet to tap. Best of all, he has the money to self fund. Sources close to the Councilmember say he is considering it.

It may be an unconventional choice, but Peters may be our only hope.

Thoughts on the City Attorney Race

Gentry out
Chalk it up to yet another misfire by the office of Dumanis in her quest for increasing political clout on her ill-advised march to the Attorney Generals office in Sacramento. Gentry seems like a nice guy, but when your own party’s establishments coaxes a judge to leave his cushy gig to take on Mike, you’ve got to smell, if not see, the writing on the wall to bail while you can.

Aguirre
Since when does a sitting City Attorney give a counter State of the City address? Look, I think Mike has done some good and that his heart is in the right place, but when he spends his time playing like he wants to be mayor but lacks the balls to actually run you’ve have to question his motives. Especially given his increasing bipolar behavior in relation to the City Council and Mayor.

Coffey
I’m developing a soft spot for this guy. He’s everywhere you want to be and he’ll bury you with anti-Mike facts that do check out. The problem is that he goes into “passion mode” and turns into an angry white fanatic who turns people off. He needs to focus and tone it down lest he be tuned out.

Burdick
Who? Her reasons for running seem to barely pass muster but her motives don’t seem all that pure. In fact, she appears to be more of a front for Jim’s Air and as a siphon for Democratic votes, given how reliable they have been in the past. If you want to keep Brown Field in the background, there are better ways to do this than to send out a sacrificial lamb.

Goldsmith
It’s odd, yet wouldn’t be unheard of, for some consultants somewhere launching Burdick at the Dems to bleed Mike but the most ardent Mike supporters, IMHO, are Republicans. He appeals to their kind of crazy. As such, I wish Jan the best of luck. His old Assembly District never offered him the kind of street fight that Mike can bring. And Gentry’s clearing the field doesn’t make this effort any easier. Remember that is always better to take down a bear is said bear is attacked by a pack of wolves rather than a few

Bersin
Why do moneyed Dems in San Diego think that they must ape their Republican counterparts to be players? I ask the ether of the internet this question because I don’t know of anyone else who is salivating at a Bersin run. The teachers are still (rightfully) pissed and, even though he won’t need a solid Dem bloc to win, he’ll have a hard time convincing the Dems giving the rising power of labor in the city. His resume is one that a consultant would love in that it screams “non-partisan” even though it can be argued that he is a partisan of convenience.

These are my thoughts. (Hand outstretched) What are yours?

Weekend Recap - Bersin for City Attorney?

So, the e-mails were on fire this weekend. Apparently, there has been a pretty concerted effort by the Republican downtown establishment to court former School Superintendent Alan Bersin to run against City Attorney Mike Aguirre. Rumor has it, Bersin has decided to do it. A source in labor says the teachers union will go nuts, spending upwards of half a million dollars to ensure Bersin does not get back into office. He would be picketed everywhere he goes. I can't imagine why Bersin would want to subject himself to the constant ridicule of 10,000 San Diego public school teachers. I guess its a good strategy to cause a war in labor - you would have quite a few of the unions fighting each other over who was worse: Aguirre or Bersin.

Another One Jumps into the Race for City Attorney

As reported in the VOSD yesterday, “Deputy District Attorney William Gentry has declared his intentions to run for San Diego city attorney in 2008, according to the city clerk.” [Link] William Gentry joins South Bay resident and attorney Dan Coffey as challengers to City Attorney Mike Aguirre next year.

VOSD also mentions that Mr. Gentry is most likely a Republican since he has contributed this year to the San Diego County GOP. [Link] I asked a friend of mine last night to check the voter file and it does appear Mr. Gentry is a registered Republican. So, I suspect that he’ll be receiving checks soon for the Spanos family soon.

It will be interesting to see who else decides to join the race for City Attorney. The name I keep hearing is that of former superintendent of San Diego City Schools and current member of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority Alan Bersin is considering a run for City Attorney.

Friends of Pete

Some interesting names found on the “Friends of Pete” list Honoring the “Governor Pete Wilson, Horton Walk: San Diego’s Walk of Fame.” Along with the typical-Republican establishment, there was your smattering of so-called business Dems, like Murray Galinson, Alan Bersin and George Mitrovich, no big surprise there. But, also listed was our City Attorney –Mike Aguirre and his spokeswoman Maria Velasquez. I didn’t know we had “Friends of Pete Wilson” in the City Attorney’s Office, that’s a little scary. Another interesting name was former (Democratic) Senator Wadie Deddeh. I can’t say I am surprised by the politics of that one. But, how does this affect his nephew, newly-converted Democrat Auday Arabo, who is running in the Democratic primary for the 78th AD? Another indication of the family’s right of center politics?