The Era of Democratic Conciliation is Over?

I think I’m ODing on Schadenfreude.

These past few weeks have had me just in awe in the response of the Downtown Powers-that-be over Mayor Bob Filner’s actions in vetoing the Port and the failure to override, especially the U-T’s editorial. I don’t which I love more. The fact that Bob is exercising the power given to him by the strong mayor position that the Powers-that-be backed or the fact that they thought Democrat that would eventually be elected Mayor would be someone that would follow the unwritten rule that you never, ever, mess around with Downtown and the Downtown interests.

That was always the rules if you were Democrat that wanted electoral success in San Diego. You would either kow-tow to the Powers-that-be and be allowed to do some of your pet projects with the knowledge that when the time came you would support them in some project that they needed to build up Downtown or the Convention Center. Then they would support you when you ran for some office either in Washington or Sacramento.

Eventually a Democrat would be elected Mayor so the powers-that-be hopes were that it would be a go-along-get-along Dem that they loved dealing with like a Tony Young or a Todd Gloria. I mean the recent Port vote reeked of the typical go-along-get-along deals that permeated for years in the Council.

But I think the Mayor and some of the City Council have done the math and made the conclusion that with a Democrat being elected in the Fourth District later this year that the Era of Democratic Conciliation is Over and that Democrats must be the voice of those who see San Diego as more than just a Convention Center and an Embarcadero. That there are communities north of Laurel St, east of 16th St and south of Imperial Ave.

And I think this message will resonate as long as the Mayor and some on the Council continue in the strong resolve that they have been showing.

And watching the Powers-that-be flip out is just a huge bonus. 

The Republican's new best friend on the San Diego City Council.

Four years ago the voters of District Three voted for a Councilmember that they felt would continue in the path of Christine Kehoe and Toni Atkins and be a voice for Democratic values on the Council. Of course there were those who were saying "Caveat Emptor" and were supporting Stephen Whitburn. They felt that Mr. Gloria's views could be prone to mailability for the right prize. However those gripes were shunted aside with the response that at the end of the day Todd would do the right thing by San Diego and that a little pragmatism is best in a city that has a Republican strong Mayor. 

For a while that was the case as Todd pushed for stricter guidelines on new Wal-Mart Supercenters within city limits but not for an outright ban in 2010 and for the creation of a permanent shelter in Downtown but things began to change once redistricting happened. With the addition of Downtown to D3 and the removal of City Heights to D9 there seemed to be shift by Todd to be more pragmatic than usual. 

When Tony Young announced his departure from the Council and Todd declaring his intent to succeed Tony as Council President there were fears among Democratic observers that somehow Tony would broker his vote to support Republican Kevin Faulconer since he was seen at GOP's best friend on the council. 

Yet at the 11th hour Faulconer backed down and Todd unanimously became Council President and many breathed a sigh of relief. Yet some observers were a little concerned that perhaps a deal was brokered and the terms may have been something big enough to let the GOP backdown without a fight.

Fast Forward to this past Monday and yesterday and perhaps the terms of the brokered deal was the Port vote and to act as a firewall to New Mayor. 

It is possible, especially with Kevin acting as the de facto leader of the GOP on the council and both he and Todd have friends in common like consultant Jennifer Tierney, who recently headed up the Bonnie Dumanis mayoral campaign and is the consultant for both Kevin and Todd tool.

If anything there seems to be more leadership coming from David Alvarez than Todd among the Democratic council members and is more and more being seen as the adult in the room. 

After all it was Alvarez who nominated the openly Democratic candidates for Port Commission and has been the most consistent vote on the issues that Democrats care about like living wage jobs, open and accessible government and the environment. Also his seemingly close relationships with Marti Emerald, Sherri Lightner and the Mayor have given him increased leverage and power in City Hall. 

In fact it is within the realm of possibility that we could be seeing a 5-4 council with the GOP running the table thanks to their new best friend. 

I mean after all, you do need a lot of money to run for Congress, right?

Thanks Bonnie!

This latest twist in the Dumais for Mayor saga of her flip flopping on the 401(k) initiative shows that when you're about 10 months out she's already reached the ceiling of her campaign. She can't money, she can't get support so why not change the campaign direction and now go to the right and see if that frees up something. However, she's boxed herself in because now she can't go after any more Democrats for money or votes at this point and she has ceded that to Bob. She's also ceded Public Safety as well to Bob if they look around and say "Hey, once they do that, wouldn't they go after me?" which is very possible. As the three Republicans try to fight it out amongst themselves, each being a fading copy of the other. This leaves Bob as the true alternative to all three and has now made clear who would be the real candidate for changing City Hall. So thanks Bonnie! You have just made life a lot easier...

San Diego Mayoral Candidate Forum

I find it intriguing the two lines of banter about the San Diego Mayor's race with some of the below candidates that have filed an intent to run statement:

• Sharam Adhami
  
• Hud Collins
• Loch David Crane, M.E.D.
• Carl DeMaio
• Bonnie Dumanis
• Bob Filner
• Nathan Fletcher
• Steven Greenwald
• Robert Girly Girly Harter
• Christine T. Kehoe
• Toby J. Lewandoski
• Rocky Neptun
• Tobiah Lee Pettus

There is the one angle of talk about the actual campaign; who are the front runners, certain candidate ceiling and base of support, intensity of a campaigner, fundraising capacity, candidates with competing support, partisanship, flame out potential (dropping out of race), and then the potential match-up in a run-off.

There is the other conversation on the various candidates and their management as a mayor; a strong mayor, characteristics related to previous mayors, a coalition maker, partisanship, understand the complexity of the issues, relationship to council members, downtown establishment and labor.

I think we have an opportunity this far out before the Primary Election to allow the voters of the City of San Diego the opportunity to meet these real half dozen candidates, hear why they are running, what they intend to do in office and ask people for their vote through a type of multi-district townhall debate program.

First, there are currently 13 people that have filed intent to run, but only four that have opened a candidate account. While it would be grand to have every candidate that files speak at the forum it should be for the legitimate candidates. There should be a criteria for those who are invited and if they wish to attend each one can meet what I would outline as the required criteria:

1. They need to open a candidate committee;
2. They need to hire at least one staff member to run their campaign on a full-time basis;
3. They need to hire a treasurer to manage their candidate committee; and
   
4. They need to actually commit to run a real campaign (i.e. send out mailers, host phone banks, host fundraisers or self-fund a reasonable sum, etc...)

While many love the fringe candidates that run every cycle, and say everyone should be invited to the debates this is a real issue for the voters of the City of San Diego who need someone that will make this a real full-time job. You can't have a substance debate for the voters with 13 plus people answering questions. Sorry Crane.

Here is how I would outline the forums:

1. There should be two forums hosted in each of the current eight city council districts with one in each district each following week starting the first of the year, then a second in each district after the completion of the first cycle of debates are completed.
2. The forums should be no longer then two hours or some voters will leave, some will not be able to absorb the entire debate and it is hard for the working person to dedicate more then two hours to anything political, unless they are political wonks.
3. Each candidate should get a two minute opening and a two minute closing.
4. The debates should allow for real-time translation at minimum for Spanish and possibly a second or third language.
5. The forums should be funded by the lcoal Republican and Democratic parties, who would just solicit donations from their respective donors anyway. We don't have to have taxpayers cover the cost of these forums.
   
6. There should be a three person panel to ask questions, which should be someone selected by the Republican Party chair, someone selected from the Democratic Party chair and a third which both party chairs can hopefully deem as neutral. Panels are always charged with being partisan, so lets skip the theatrics of choosing only reporters, academia, or non-profits and allow there to be some meaty questions.
7. The forums should hold candidates to 1-minute responses.
8. Candidates should each be allowed a certain number of times they can ask one specific candidate a follow-up question.
9. The audience should be polled at the end of each question on whether they think the candidates answered the question and not whether they liked the candidates answers.
10. At the end of the forum there is a spin zone for reporters from print, on-line and social media representatives to ask questions of either the candidates, their campaign representatives, party designee, and allow the fringe candidates to have a representative to complain how they were not allowed to debate.

I have other ideas, but I think you can get my line of thought here. So, I call on the following organizations that have the ability to put together these types of forums, to step-up and help organize these forums:

• Center on Policy Initiatives
• Common Cause
• League of Women Voters
• National University System Institute for Policy Research
• San Diego County Taxpayers Association
• San Diego-Imperial Counties Labor Council
• San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce

Rally to Block Blackwater Friday Morning

Full disclosure: I work for the Courage Campaign

When nobody was paying attention, Blackwater found another way into San Diego. After watching every friendly politician in Potrero get recalled handily in February, Blackwater West quietly started pursuing permits to open a facility in the City of San Diego just three blocks from the U.S/Mexico border. 61,600 square feet, zoned for a vocational school but which Blackwater plans to use for training Navy personnel in terrorism response. To echo recent comments by Councilmember Ben Hueso to local news, Blackwater has no business in the City of San Diego unless and until someone can say definitively what laws they are bound by. And certainly, setting up shop *on* the border raises all sorts of extra red flags.

The local response has been fast and furious this week. And thanks to leadership from Congressman Bob Filner, there will be a rally at the proposed site of the new Blackwater facility tomorrow (Friday) morning. Rep. Filner will be joined by Councilmember Ben Hueso, San Diego City Council President Scott Peters, Carol Jahnkow of the Peace Resource Center, Raymond Lutz of Citizens' Oversight Projects, and Sierra Club's Jeanette Hartman at 10:45am at 7685 Siempre Viva Road in Otay Mesa in opposition to Blackwater's latest shady dealings. Blackwater discovered once that San Diego isn't friendly territory. They're sticking around for a reason, and best guess is, it's not just for a Navy subcontract.

Among other organizations, the Courage Campaign is encouraging all local San Diegans to attend if they're able. If you want to read the email from Rick Jacobs, you can check it out here.

Filner to Host Fundraiser for Pamela Bensoussan

Congressman Bob Filner Welcomes you to a Benefit for Pamela Bensoussan, Candidate Chula Vista City Council Seat 3 Join us for a Poolside Sunday Brunch at the home of Jill & Victor Galvez.

7 Cresta Way
Chula Vista, 91910

Sunday, April 27, 11:30 – 1:30 p.m.

Requested Contribution:
Guest $50 - Host $150 - Sponsor $300

Don’t miss this great opportunity to meet our Congressman and help elect Pamela!

Please Contribute or RSVP now online at www.ElectPamela.com.

Or mail check to Pamela for City Council c/o Georgie Stillman, Treas.
580 Twin Oaks Avenue
Chula Vista, CA 91910

Or call Georgie at (619)420-0610

Campaign Committee
Pamela Bensoussan for City Council, ID#1299632
www.ElectPamela.com

Note: Ordinance No. 2955 of the City of Chula Vista limits contributions to campaigns for City elective office, either to candidate controlled committees or to regulated independent expenditure committees, to three hundred dollars ($300.00) per contributor. (Ord. 2955 § 1, 2004). Printed in-house and paid for by Pamela Bensoussan for City Council, I.D. No.1299632. Campaign Treasurer Georgie Stillman, 580 Twin Oaks Ave, Chula Vista, CA 91910

Wednesday - Quick Hits

City Council tells residents of Kensington to "screw you," and approves development project. UT

Ethics commission rules that councilmember Brian Maienshein can use his remaining 2004 reelection funds for his race for City Attorney. UT

Non-profits who provide affordable housing and other services to the homeless will split $2.1 million in HUD grant. UT

Bob Filner and Sierra Club urge East County residents to register their complaints regarding Sunrise Project at upcoming public hearings. UT

Fines reduced for cities of Carlsbad and Vista regarding Buena Creek lagoon sewage spill. UT

Gregory Canyon landfill faces more delays. NCTimes

End of The Week Notes...

With the buzz surrounding the presidential races this week following the New Hampshire primary, it is hard to forget that there are plenty of local races that will be decided in June.

In the San Diego City Council District 3 race, Steve Whitburn pickup the endorsement from Congressman Bob Filner. Both of San Diego's Democrats in Congress have now weighed in on the District 3 race. It is interesting that both Assemblywoman Lori Saldaña and State Senator Christine Kehoe have yet to endorse in this race.

Also this week, I heard that Auday Arabo easily won the endorsement of the Chicano Democratic Association. In the coming weeks both the San Diego County Young Democrats and the Eastlake-Bonita Democratic Club will be having endorsements in the 78th Assembly race. It will be interesting to see where their endorsements go.

South Bay Summit

December 28, 2007

Dear Democrat:

We have a tremendous opportunity in 2008 to organize, win elections, and build a new generation of Democratic leadership in South San Diego County – if we are all united and working together to advance the values we share.

The four of us are writing to invite you to a South Bay Summit on Saturday, January 12, sponsored by the San Diego County Democratic Party.

At this event we plan to identify the significant work that needs to be done by Democrats in the South Bay, from voter registration and turnout to coalition-building and candidate development.

Most importantly, we hope to take full advantage of the energy coming out of this Presidential election year. With your help, we can unite and mobilize Democrats to make the South Bay a center of Democratic strength for San Diego County and all of California.

Invitations to the Summit are going out to elected officials, Party representatives, and other community leaders in the region. It will take place from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon at the Downtown Chula Vista Library (365 F Street, 91910[Map]). Light refreshments will be provided.

Please R.S.V.P. and direct any questions you might have to Julian Quinonez in the Party office at (858) 277-3367 or julian@sddemocrats.org. Thank you for joining us in this unprecedented effort.

Sincerely Yours,

Jess Durfee, Chair San Diego County Democratic Party

Hon. Bob Filner, Member of Congress 51st District-CA

Hon. Denise Moreno Ducheny, California State Senator District 40th

Hon. Mary Salas, California Assembly Member District 79th

Thursday - Quick Hits

Airport baggage employee doesn't like Congressman Filner's apology. UT

Environmentalists not to happy with Chargers billion dollar bayfront stadium proposal. UT

Documents reveal that half of Cal Fire's spotters were unavailable when fires began. UT

Seaworld applies to becomes first business in San Diego to discharge fireworks over water. UT

More corporate welfare, Escondido to give $1.45 million over ten years to Marriot corporation to build hotel near North County Fair. NCTimes

Filner pleads to trespassing

The AP is reporting this afternoon:

WASHINGTON – California Congressman Bob Filner has entered a plea days before he was set for trial on assault and battery charges over an incident at Dulles Airport in which he allegedly pushed a United Airlines baggage employee.

At a hearing in Loudon County General District Court on Monday Filner entered a so-called Alford plea to trespassing, according to a statement issued through his attorney. That means he did not admit guilt, but acknowledged sufficient evidence exists for a conviction.

Filner was accused in the August 19th incident of trying to barge past a female baggage worker into an employee-only area after his bags were delayed.[Link]

I'm sure the crazy wingnuts will go off on how he is receiving preferential treatment.

Filner supports bill to end Blackwater contracting

The UT is reporting this afternoon:

WASHINGTON – Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif. (San Diego), is backing legislation to replace private security contractors in Iraq, including Blackwater Worldwide, with military or State Department guards.

The proposal to replace hundreds of contractors within six months of passage of the bill ran into resistance from the State Department, which contends the federal governmentlacks enough trained specialists to take the place of private contractors who are protecting U.S. diplomats.
[Link]

It is good to see Bob Filner being responsive to the Blackwater issue. I wish some of the other members of the San Diego delagation were as responsive when it comes to the Blackwater issue.

Buff Piece on Sheriff William Kolender by U-T

First and foremost I really had been a fan of Sheriff Bill Kolender and think he has made some major positive changes in law enforcement for San Diego. However, I think there needs to be true reporting on Sheriff Kolender on how he is doing in his leadership role.

So, I don't know if you had a chance to read the Union Tribune's not in-depth article. It very softly danced around rumors that Sheriff Kolender might not finish his 4-year term, personal health conditions and family matters.

It seems Sheriff Kolender had been ducking their interview for sometime, limited the time originally scheduled for the interview, had his spokeperson limit the exchange of information and we seemed to gleem more insight from the comments of Sheriff Kolender's underlings, then the Sheriff himself.

• “I tell people, 'He's not 41 anymore,' ” said Undersheriff (Bill) Gore
• Gore's urging, Kolender recently agreed to scale back his speaking engagements and other commitments outside the office
• “He compares positively in all the dealings I have with anyone his age,” (Ron) Roberts said.
• He struggles to find the right words or phrase sometimes...

I think the media or should I say the Union Tribune does a real disservice to the public when they have a chance to interview an elected person and throws a softball rather then ask the tough questions. Though they would not have given a free pass to Congressman Bob Filner or any other Democratic, but we forget this is a Republican elected afterall.

What is really Sheriff Kolendar's health, will he really stay the entire 3-1/2 years, will the County Board of Supervisors appoint a caretaker for his position, why is he getting 3 months off on taxpayer expense, would this type of time off be allowed for an employee, etc...?

P.S. The U-T did come out in favor of the Chula Vista caretaker option to not allow appointees to run for a vacanted open seat. Will the U-T stay on course for the County?

Fighting Mercenaries in Our Own Backyard

Local activists jumped into carpools and showed up en masse in the rural town of Potrero this weekend. Beautiful and secluded, this wide open space is a picture of peace and tranquility. The township of Potrero, CA, has a population of 600. This sleepy little town seems an unlikely place for a peace rally, and an even more unlikely place for the residents to have to confront Bush's private army. Potrero is the site chosen by Blackwater to open up it's west coast training facility on an 824 acre ranch. [Link]

The residents of Potrero, along with several peace and social justice groups, organized a two day event to educate and illuminate. During the two day encampment event, close to 300 people participated in workshops, a night-time concert with local musicians, and an environmental walk. By Sunday, when many more of us arrived, this quiet little town was packed with media, from CNN, to all the local network affiliates.

Rep. Bob Filner was one of many speakers at the rally. He will introduce a bill in Congress, calling for all military training to be conducted on military bases only. At the conclusion of the rally, the culminating event was a march to the gate of the proposed Blackwater West facility. Blackwater mercenaries were out and about. They were trying their best to look menacing, filming us, and in general being the bad neighbor that they said they weren't going to be.

Residents of Potrero were very grateful to see the show of support from so many San Diegans. To learn more about Blackwater, see Blackwater: Shadow Army by Jeremy Scahill.


To take action, check out Courage Campaign. [Link]

Back in Town

After leaving town for a few days, I came back yesterday to see San Diego was literally crashing in on itself. I saw the national news coverage of the La Jolla landslide, but missed the internal politics. Seems that Mike Aguirre may have given the insiders (the Mayor, the UT, the downtown establishments) enough fodder to make him look like he has gone off the deep end. That, combined with the ugly UT story yesterday pointing out the cost of his pension lawsuits, marks the official start of the "Anyone But Mike" campaign. We Dems need to be careful and start looking for a real Dem candidate (read: NOT Alan Bersin), in case Mike really is in trouble or decides to run for Mayor.

Some pieces of gossip I picked up this morning:

1. New names being floated among Dem circles for Mayor of San Diego: Scott Peters and Bob Filner. Both are intriguing, but have some serious negatives. I heard both were being floated in circles at the San Diego Democratic Club Dinner this weekend. The beauty is, with Francis and Sanders duking it out, whoever the Dem candidate ends up being, s/he almost guarantees themselves a spot in the November run-off. In a Presidential year, you gotta believe a Dem has a great shot at pulling it out against whatever bloodied Republican makes in into the general. So, who is going to stand up and make it official?

2. I had a friend e-mail me about the Labor Council's Candidate training this past Saturday. I guess there were quite a few Republicans who came out for the pre-endorsement meeting. That should be interesting. Are we going to have Republicans looking for favor with the unions this go around? I guess appearing mainstream must poll well.

3. It looks like there will definitely be two viable Republicans running in San Diego City Council District 1 (Scott Peters is termed out). Lincoln Club endorsed candidate - Phil Thalheimer is facing opposition from millionaire-Republican Marshall Merrifield. This means Sherry Lightner may be able to get into the run-off just by being the Democrat in this swing district. Not an exciting candidate, Lightner lacks the polish you would want from a candidate in that district. But, I hear she has a substantial following in La Jolla and is willing to spend her own money. We will see, but it looks like another likely November showdown.

Susan Davis Condemns MoveOn, Protest, Free Speech

In a direct slap in the face to anyone who's ever felt that free speech or the right to protest the government are, you know, Constitutional imperatives, Susan Davis voted today to condemn the Petraeus/Betray us MoveOn ad. That's what your congress is doing. Not ending a war. Not passing a law that will make people healthier, wealthier, wiser, or safer. Spitting on free speech. Thank you to Bob Filner and the 79 Democrats who stood with him for getting this vote right, and no thanks to the 195 Republicans and the 145 other Democrats in the House who joined Susan Davis in telling the nation to sit down, shut up, and leave governance to the grownups without passionate public input. If you think MoveOn was disrespectful to the troops by running an ad in the New York Times Ms. Davis, where exactly does paying for the troops to get shot at rank?

It's time to get angry. Congress is telling people what they're supposed to say and not say. I don't remember learning about that congressional duty in government class.

Cross posted to Calitics

Update: Prompted by a Calitics comment, I want to lay out what just happened here more directly. Susan Davis, with this vote, did not disagree with what MoveOn said. She disagreed with there being anything said at all. It's not a difference of opinion or even an objection to a certain opinion, but rather a condemnation of people expressing opinions at all. -Lucas

Chat with Rep Bob Filner

Marc Ash from Truthout.org has a interesting interview with Rep. Bob Filner on how a progressive Democrat succeeds in representing a conservative leaning district. [Link]

Bob

OK, so I have to ask… is anyone really surprised about the recent stories about Bob Filner’s aggressive behavior? Come on, we all knew he had a temper, that he is assertive, strong-willed and sometimes rude. But, isn’t that why we love him? It is that same “lack of filter” that makes him such a strong advocate for progressive causes. He rarely shows caution in taking on anyone who tramples on the little guy. Notice his recent stance against Establishment-Mayor Cheryl Cox and her lack of leadership on Gaylord. So, I read the stories, yawn and say “that’s our Bob.” So, he may be an ass, but at least he's OUR ass.