Fourth Time Still Might Not Be The Charm

Sunday night/Monday morning a candidate you can usually expect to see on a ballot in most elections seems might not be ready for another ballot so soon.

After a night of alcohol, Dwayne Crenshaw was caught sleeping behind his parked car's steering wheel by law enforcement.  When he was awaken by them, Crenshaw was allowed by police to call for a car service to be picked up.  After he and the police left, then it seems Crenshaw doubles back attempting to drive his car.  Oh, but not so fast Crenshaw.  Law enforcement saw his car, pulled him over, and took him into custody.   They tested him showing a result above the legal 0.08 alcohol level.  No charges have yet been leveled, but awaiting a decision from our esteemed city attorney.   

Interesting, Crenshaw is working to help his college buddy San Diego City Councilmember Kevin Faulconer for mayor, as we have seen and read in local papers and Facebook postings.  Many question whether Faulconer will distance himself from Crenshaw.   At this point Crenshaw is still featured on Faulconer's campaign social media.  In addition, Crenshaw was rumored to be seeking to challenge San Diego City Councilmember Myrtle Cole in her re-election this June.  Crenshaw had been a good solider for many of the Republican establishment in Faulconer's campaign and hoped they would again invest in his next election endeavor. It was suspected his lawsuit against Cole was part of his plan in challenging her and would be used in his campaign materials to attack her.

Now it seems with this arrest, Crenshaw and his new Republican allies will need to re-think his election bid and they will need to look for another pawn of the Lincoln Club and the downtown establishment.  We can still expect Crenshaw to seek an elected office in the not so near future.

To read more about the arrest click here: http://m.utsandiego.com/news/2014/feb/07/dwayne-crenshaw-dui-arrest/

Foul me once, shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. San Diego Police Officers Association, shame on you!

I find it interesting that on one hand San Diego City Councilmember Kevin Faulconer and his alliance of the radical right-downtown establishment-big business groups are touting his endorsement from the San Diego Police Officers Association, then hitting San Diego City Councilmember David Alvarez for his support from unions.  What the heck do you mean?

Well, you have the mixed-up world here in San Diego.  The San Diego Police Officers Association is a UNION!  They may not have the word UNION in their title, but they are a U-N-I-O-N.  In fact, they are a San Diego City U-N-I-O-N, which their members are part of the PENSION, which Councilmember Faulconer and his alliance of the radical right-downtown establishment-big business group blame for the city’s demise.  In fact, his backers would like to eliminate the polices pension, like they did for all the other unions at the city, just ask the UT Editorial Board.  While it is okay to denounce Councilmember Alvarez for getting support from unions it would not be right to do the same of Councilmember Faulconer, right?  There is a saying, “If you point a finger at someone else, three of your fingers are pointing back at you.” Try it.  They are just a bunch of hypocrites, but we knew that one.

Though, the bigger scratching of my head was over the San Diego Police Officers Association for supporting Councilmember Faulconer.  Some dogs just don’t learn it seems.  It is important to point out that Councilmember Faulconer told this union and the San Diego Firefighters in his first win for San Diego City Council to get their endorsement and money he would support them as councilmember.  How did that work out?  Well the firefighters are now supporting Councilmember Alvarez.  You see they both got screwed by Councilmember Faulconer.  He voted to cut their budgets, freeze their pay, not replace their equipment, actually made them pay more for benefits thus reduced their take home pay, made it harder for them to recruit new officers and he pals around with those same Wisconsin anti-labor alliance of the radical right-downtown establishment-big business group.  Now Councilmember Faulconer has a plan, just like former San Diego City Councilmember Carl DeMaio had a plan.  Just don’t look at the details, because you won’t really like it.  Details, details.  Also, this alliance of the radical right-downtown establishment-big business groups supports eliminating the police the right to have their union, which is spending their union money for Councilmember Faulconer’s election, which the Councilmember and his alliance of the radical right-downtown establishment-big business groups are now touting and using for his campaign material.  Crazy isn't it?

Let’s put it this way:  What ten year old kid would want to play after school with the another kid who took food off their dinner table, abuses you and tells it is becaus they love you, does not like the way you live your life and tells the neighbors they think your family should not have the right to exist?  I don’t think you would find one kid that gullible, but the police union just signed up for round two!  There is another saying, “actions are louder than words,” and for the past 7 years Councilmember Faulconer has been talking out of one side of his body about the police union, while signing petitions, writing op-eds and voting to hurt the same San Diego Police Officers Association

Polls, polls and more polls

We are coming down to the final weeks before E-Day and the polls from the various campaigns and IE committees are all basically showing the same thing, San Diego City Councilmember Kevin Faulconer is in the lead around the low 30's, and San Diego City Councilmember David Alvarez is running neck and neck with former California State Assemblymember Nathan Fletcher.  Depending on the time of the polls, Alvarez has passed Fletcher, but the margin of error still keeps them in a dead heat.  This information includes Fletcher's own internal poll, which he has not yet released.  The only poll that was different is the Survey USA poll.

There are two things that are very clear:
1) There will be a run-off
2) Faulconer will be in the run-off, unless he commits some major misstep.

Fletcher supporters fearing his loss are now running around claiming Faulconer could win it straight out in the primary, even when they said Nathan could have won it straight out in the primary or was so strong he would win it in a run-off.  Clearly, they were feeding people a fairy tale line and the next time these spin-not so masters tell you about another race, then you might want to tell them thank you, but no thank you.

These polls have shown Fletcher wasn't as strong as proposed by his early supporters either against Alvarez or Faulconer and the early polls were more about name identification, then anything else.  It shows that if the few unions and Democratic elected endorsements had followed the Labor Council and Democratic Party and gone with the lifelong Democrat, who had the proven progressive voting record Alvarez, then he would be in a dead heat with Faulconer and Fletcher would have folded even faster in the race and not place the possibility of Fletcher getting into the run-off to clearly loss it.

Does the Knight Fall?

It was just about two months ago, when then San Diego City Mayor Bob Filner was going to resign and dialogue about an upcoming special mayoral election on the Democratic side was to put forward a candidate that could beat either former San Diego City Councilmember Carl DeMaio or San Diego City Councilmember Kevin Faulconer.   

Former California State Assemblymember Nathan Fletcher, who had run and failed in the last mayoral election, was now being touted around town as the savior of the left by some state and federal elected officials, as well as big Democratic donors as the only one that could win the special mayoral election.  He was the one!  This banter was to take him even over a true tested Democrat elected with name id, fundraising ability, proven mayoral leadership and solid Democratic credentials, California State Assemblymember Toni Atkins.  Remember, Assemblymember Atkins steered the city the last time a mayor resigned.  The theory regarding former Assemblymember Fletcher was he had name identification, polls showed him ahead of “Dirty DeMaio” and “No Name ID Kevin”, as well as he had brought in big fundraising numbers in his last failed mayoral attempt and he was just swell on the stump.  Those points were regardless of the facts that former Assemblymember Fletcher had switched his party registration three times in about a year and half, lost most of his support from the right which he was still touting as him being able to be a consensus maker, while disavowing his previous held public policy positions and voting record.  Also, when he was truly tested in a heated campaign he crumbled or some would say never lived up to the hype in the last mayoral primary.  These new boosters of former Assemblymember Fletcher billed him as the savior on the left.  Funny, just in the 2012 mayoral election, he was billed as the true savior on the right from “Dirty DeMaio”.

The latest polls are coming out, after we have gotten into the thick of a real campaign.  Voters have been hearing the positives, the negatives, the endorsements of elected officials and organizations.  Big money has been spent and we can expect some more money still to come into play.  Under the pressure of a campaign, former Assemblymember Fletcher has shown yet again his well-developed image and the storyline of the campaign he and others touted does not stand-up.  There are various public and even internal polls, including his own I understand that all show former Assemblymember Fletcher dropping now below Councilmember Faulconer.  In fact, they all have him neck and neck with San Diego City Councilmember David Alvarez.  Those in the Fletcher campaign want to point fingers outside of their own campaign and cast blame onto others, but a true assessment is on his campaign and their supportive independent expenditures.  Nothing is a sure bet going into a campaign, but you need to make the best of what you have at hand.  The tails of endorsements, money, name identification and cross party appeal does not seem to be materializing for him.

The election is not over yet and polls are not always right at forecasting the election, but it seems like what the storyline of this knight riding a stallion in shining armor to rescue all of us on the left is looking more like after all the horn blowing, drummers and fanfare, he is just maybe a pimply guy on a colt with a spray-on tan missing the target and falling off his horse.  Only time will tell, the election results this election night!

What once is no longer, or was it ever really?

We have all read over the years about former Assemblymember Nathan Fletcher’s (R-75) ability to broker “The Deal” or bring sides together.  He was able to bring Republicans and Democrats together at the table to make “the deal”, break gridlock, create compromise in a broken down Sacramento world.  Looking at the repeated statements a little closer did then Republican Assemblymember Nathan Fletcher really make the deals possible?  Hmm

What really needs to be understood is the Democrats had almost a Super Majority and at minimum a majority.  In Sacramento, it didn’t take much to get something past, even when the Republicans stood in lock step opposition to it. You had a Democratic majority.  However, when you needed a few Republican votes they were usually around to be picked up.  It just needed for a deal to be made.  As former Speaker Willie Brown showed us when he kept his own speakership.  Remember, no one in Sacramento did anything for nothing; there was a deal and both sides gained something out of it.

This deal maker, the then Republican Assemblymember Fletcher was just selling something for something else and never really brought many Republicans, if any to the table from then his own party and as time rolled on, he had less success in bringing any other Republican to the table at all for a deal, besides himself.  Though, he got his from the deal, regardless.

Now, after the transformation from former Republican Assemblymember Fletcher, to Independent Assemblymember Fletcher in his loss in the last mayoral campaign, a year later he changed to a Democrat.   He is still making the claim, as well as his supporters; he can make the deal, bring people from opposing sides together and make the city work from its partisan gridlock. Not sure the partisan gridlock he speaks of, but let’s go with his narrative.  Sadly, since he is no longer a Republican, he no longer can bring any Republicans along.  You look at his current mayoral campaign and you don’t see any of his former Republican elected officials standing with him, you don’t see any of his former Republican big contributors standing with him, you don’t see any of his Republican endorsers, you don’t see any of his former Republican staffers standing with him, really you just don’t see him bringing anyone from his former Republican life to the campaign.  Rather, he is surrounded with the handful of swing voters from his last campaign, but mainly its all Democrats who he made deals with along the way.  He got something, they got something.  There is nothing wrong with people he made something happen for and they made something happen for him supporting each other.  My point is this, the image former Assemblymember Fletcher as the deal maker bringing people together was a great story, but like many stories it has come to an end and the more we re-read his story we see the errors in it.

The truth is if former Assemblymember Fletcher was not in the race, his support would have gone with Councilmember David Alvarez or they would have sat out of the race.  Maybe a few checks would have gone with Councilmember Kevin Faulconer, but just a handful at most. He isn’t drawing a middle of the road coalition and his storyline shows it.

The End

The Conscious of the Council.

It has been said that nature abhors a vacuum and in 2010 when Donna Frye left the San Diego City Council a chasm was created. Since her time on the Council, Donna was almost always the consistent voice of leadership and conviction on the council. Sometimes she would irk her supporters from time to time but over all she was seen as someone who would always do what she thought was right and became the voice for those who felt left out of the Downtown power plays and would remind the Council, time and again that there was more to San Diego than Downtown and that there were other issues than redevelopment and the Convention Center.

If the past was any indication of what was to happen in the future then it would be a long time before someone would be that champion again. After all, almost everyone who has been elected to the Council seems to view it as a stepping-stone to a higher political office and seems to position their votes and support with an eye towards that goal of being in the Assembly, State Senate or Congress. So perhaps that saying didn’t apply in San Diego Politics.

Or did it?

In that same year, a small political upset took place when a relatively unknown candidate beat someone who’s family was an institution in the District and was seen as a shoo-in as he had the support of Labor and some big names. Yet even in the face of all those obstacles, David Alvarez was able to beat his opponent, Felipe Hueso by 15%.

During that campaign Alvarez promised that he would serve the full terms and would do his best to provide the District the representation it needed. A promise that resonated with the District but to many political observers it was seen a smart ploy that eventually he would have to reneg on because history was against it.  Possibly only one person served two full terms since 1980’s because either the person moved on to higher political office or had to resign in disgrace.

In his short time, Alvarez has been consistent in his views and his votes that he has fought for his district but, by extension, the communities that have been left out of those Downtown Power Plays. He as been an advocate of stopping needless waste as his efforts with reforming San Diego SAFE program with Lorie Zaph and most importantly was the lone voice against the giveaways to the Convention Center in 2012.

Also he has become a real leader with the other Democratic Councilmembers and yesterday’s meeting at Rules showed that.

It was well known that Alvarez was going to put up a resolution that would support Immigration Reform with a path towards Citizenship to those who have worked and labored in the shadows. With the help of fellow Councilmembers Sherri Lightener and Marti Emerald they were all set to do so but jumping in on the bandwagon for the sake of political survival the four Republicans, with Mark Kersey leading the pack, decided to draft their own resolution, sign it, force it on the docket and blab to the U-T and the media about it and not tell their Democratic Counterparts.

Maybe Kersey thought his watered down, mealy-mouthed resolution would be acceptable to everyone. I mean it calls for “legal status” so maybe he can say he snag some Latino votes in some future City wide run and since it doesn’t say citizenship so he say to the right that they don’t get citizenship. Win-win, right?

Wrong.

Alvarez, at the Rules meeting, called the Republicans out for their attempt at playing politics with their antics of going around the other Councilmembers, drafting a vague resolution and doing so as an act of political survival. He denied Kersey’s attempt to co-opt the resolution he and the other Dems on the Council drafted and so Kersey and Kevin Faulconer voted against the true Immigration Reform resolution and now both go up to the Council for a vote.

So where is Todd Gloria in all this?

You guess is as good as mine.

Will Todd support the sham Republican resolution that in essence would call for a permanent immigrant ambiguous status not fully a part of our society?

Or will he stand with Alvarez, Emerald and Lightner with a resolution that lives up to the creed of this nation and give those who have labored, fought and risked their lives to come to this county a chance to be a part of this country that they have sacrificed so much to be a part of?

I’m not holding my breath…

Wednesday - Quick Hits

Social Justice groups to march on May Day for immigration reform. UT

Political opportunist council member Kevin Faulconer leads group in protest to proposed garage at Lindbergh Field. UT

The GJ's investigation in Sunroad controversy recommends better land use policy and employee training for city. UT

As drug gang war continues in Tijuana, Mexican officials vow combat the violence. UT

In Riverside County foreclosures during Q1 tripled from the number same period last year. UT

Scripps Encinitas is trying to break the nurses union. NCTimes

It's Leadership Time Now Kevin!

As reported today in the UT, the opponents of the Alcohol Beach Ban, yesterday delivered over 45,000 signatures to the city clerk's office. They needed to deliver a little more than 30,000 signatures to either force the City Council to rescind the ban, or to place it on the ballot.[Link]

Prior to last Labor Day's alcohol-induced riot at Mission Beach, district 2 council member Kevin Faulconer had always been ambivalent regarding an alcohol ban on the beach. However, never one to miss an opportunity to have his face on television, Faulconer quickly seized the issue. He worked with other council members and the city attorney's office to draft an ordinance and to have the council pass it last November.[Link]

If the city council decides to put the ban on the ballot, it is going to be interesting to see how much council member Faulconer is going to take the lead on it now. As a candidate, he has shown himself to be a prolific fundraiser. I wonder how much of his political capital he is willing to put on the line to get the measure passed. It is going to be interesting to see what happens now.