Pension Campaign’s Signature Gatherer Assaults Truth Squad

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Pension Campaign’s Signature Gatherer Assaults Truth Squad Republican Campaign Operative Caught on Tape, Police Report Filed
 
SAN DIEGO – (July 19, 2011) – In the latest dirty tactic employed by the Republican ballot measure campaigns, a paid signature gatherer threatened and ultimately inflicted physical harm on a member of the “Just Say No, San Diego” Truth Squad yesterday outside a Best Buy electronics store on Mission Center Road in Mission Valley.

Video of the attack was captured after a Truth Squad member witnessed the Republican signature gatherer threatening to hit his female partner. After making the threat, the signature gatherer tried flee, saw that his likeness was being recorded, lost his temper, and hit the Truth Squad member who was recording his threats. Though the punch was intended for the educator’s face, it landed on his cell phone.

The assailant fled the scene after the incident. No one was seriously hurt, although the act of violence was reported to the San Diego Police Department.

“It’s shameful of the Republican campaign to verbally intimidate and ultimately resort to violence against members of the public,” said Kyle Haverback, spokesman for Just Say No, San Diego, a committee created to correct deception in the ballot measure process. “One reason why America is so great is that we all understand violence has no place in our political system. Just because the Republican campaign can’t win a debate on the issues doesn’t give it the right to raise its fist and retaliate.”

Haverback continued, “This is part of a larger trend. There are numerous reports of signature gatherers physically threatening educators. These signature gatherers are so afraid of open conversation that they resort to physical intimidation and battery, and then run away.”

The Just Say No, San Diego campaign calls on the Republican campaign proposing the measure to turn over information about the assailant to the Police.

“To the politicians that have boasted about making themselves indistinguishable from this campaign, it’s your responsibility to bring this matter to justice,” Haverback said.

View the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMqH6FlBCwc

The “Just Say No, San Diego” campaign is a project of the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council, which strives for more jobs, better jobs and better lives for all of San Diego’s workers, union and non-union. To learn more, visit www.unionyes.org.

Thanks Bobby!

If you don't recognize the gentleman above let me introduce him to you. This is Bobby Glaser and he is owner and president of the La Jolla Group. The specialize in gathering signatures to place things on the ballot. Way back in the 1980's and early 1990's it was a political consulting firm but after a series of setbacks and embarrassments it kind of became a de-facto firm that specialized in local ballot initiatives.

Recently Mr. Glaser was in charge of the signature gathering for the San Diego for Great Schools Initiative an attempt to "reform" the school board and the Unified school system. However they failed to get enough signatures to make it on the ballot.

Also Mr. Glaser was in charge of gather signatures for Carl DeMaio's "Competition" initiative . Which DeMaio, with great flourish delivered to the city clerk last year. Yet less than a month later the clerk verified that Carl didn't have enough signatures and after threatening to pay for a recount quickly backed down.

I wonder if he's in charge of gathering signatures for the 401 k initiative?

SDUT: Fletcher backs city 401(k) ballot proposal

Fletcher joins DeMaio and Sanders. Story here.

VOSD: Filner Shifts Cash to Mayoral Campaign

The Voice has the story here.

SD Rostra

It seems a previous post about San Diego County Supervisor Bill Horn has spun some people up, when I wrote:

"SD ROSTRA won't write about it either, because he is a conserv[ative] now and their site is about looking at the injustices and falsehoods of only the liberals."

I was making a point that SD Rostra would not write a critical article about Horn misleading the public. However, I just wrote about them just writing about it, which they did and I apologize.

I would like to make these last three points:

1. I would point out the first article to come out of SD Rostra about Horn misleading the public spent a third being negative about me, a third praising Horn and eleven words that said, "Horn is taking his medicine and apologizing for those honest errors." I am not for sure what the apology is, but assume the apology was about misleading the public that he was arrested during the civil rights movement, he meet with Hall Brown and Rosey Grier at some later point to retell this misleading story and that he worked for Ralph Abernathy. Though, I would love to know how the misleading was an honest mistake verse a dishonest mistake.
2. I will say thank you Bradley Fikes for expressing to a certain extent my feelings about some comments and articles on SD Rostra when you said, "Timmons is absolutely right. SD Rostra bloggers are zombie-like conformists who always agree with each other and toe the GOP/conservative party line.We don’t tolerate a whiff of dissent on issues like gay marriage, abortion and global warming. Meanwhile, lefty blogs like San Diego Politico not only tolerate but encourage their writers to express robust differences of opinion on those topics. You’ll never catch them mindlessly parroting partisan dogma!"
3. I should not assume what others may do, but as the administrator over at SD Rostra recommended about challenges, then the next time I will throw down the gauntlet and see what is done.
   

I think we all should be critical thinkers, hold elected officials accountable in all political parties and challenge what people write in newspapers, blogs and in the comment section. Though, it should be a respectful challenge. When you are wrong, admit it and when you are right, fight as hard as heck not to be silenced.

News Alert - Horn Really Apologized for Misleading

Exclusive by campaign consultant for Republican candidates Mr. Jim Sills has notified that San Diego County Supervisor Bill Horn has indeed now apologized for misleading the public of his civil rights record with Ralph Abernathy, Rosey Grier and arrest at a civil right event.

After San Diego Politico posted about Horn yesterday, Sills in SD Rostra yesterday then stated, "Horn is taking his medicine and apologizing for those honest errors."

Regardless that Horn has not made a public announcement, talked to anyone he directed his misleading statements at that previous hearing or asked, if possible, to correct his comments of the County meeting minutes we says thank you for doing the right thing and Voice of San Diego for Fact Checking this for the public and letting us and Horn know Hal Brown and Grier are still with us.

I hope the news (UT, Voice of San Diego, North County Times or CityBeat) can report Horn's apology, because that might be the only way the public gets to see he corrected his misleading record. Also, I think it is the first time he has ever corrected his past misleading statements. If I am wrong about Horn correcting his past misleading records, then I ask you to please post his past corrections in this post's comment section to help myself and others learn about them.

LGBT History No Longer Invisible

See the Press Release here.

Statement of Assemblymember Toni Atkins on Enactment of FAIR Education Act

(San Diego) On the eve of San Diego’s huge annual LGBT Pride celebration, I am thrilled that the Governor has signed into law Senator Mark Leno’s FAIR (Fair, Accurate, Inclusive and Respectful) Education Act, SB 48, of which I am honored to be a principal co-author. The FAIR Education Act requires that the historical contributions of LGBT people be included in school instructional materials and will rectify the near-invisibility that our community has had in our schools.

The FAIR Education Act will ensure that LGBT students know that people just like them have been an important part of our history, increasing their sense of self-worth. Accurate education also helps reduce stereotypes and negative views, which will lead to a reduction in bullying and harassment of LGBT students.

What a wonderful way to kick off Pride weekend! I am grateful to my colleagues in the state legislature and to the Governor for making this historic moment possible.

State GOP chairman assails redistricting panel, threatens referendum

From the Ventura County Star:

GOP Chairman Tom Del Beccaro said the party will attempt to qualify a referendum for the ballot to overturn the commission's final maps if they "remotely resemble the most recent visualizations."

Story here.

Senate passes Kehoe's pertussis vaccine bill

See the Press Release here.

SAN DIEGO – Sen. Christine Kehoe (D-San Diego) announced today that the Senate unanimously passed her bill to extend the deadline for students to receive their whooping cough vaccine this coming school year. It now heads to the governor for his consideration.

"This bill will help get more young people vaccinated and give school districts time to put together an immunization plan at their campuses,” said Kehoe. “Protecting public health is one of the government’s biggest jobs, and this legislation reflects our obligation to keep Californians healthy and safe.”

SB 614 would allow 7th through 12th grade students up to 30 days after the school year begins to receive their whooping cough, or pertussis, vaccine. Students who fail to comply will not be able to attend school. Existing law requires students to receive the vaccination before the start of the 2011-2012 school year.

According to the California Association of School Business Officials, some school districts had proof of immunization for only 5 percent of their middle and high school students as of late June. San Diego Unified School District reports a 52 percent immunization rate, but rates at some individual schools are as low as 10 percent.

California reported 10 infant deaths and 9,120 cases of whooping cough last year.

# # #

Congresswoman Susan Davis Votes to Protect San Diego’s CleanTech Innovation

See the Press Release here.

WASHINGTON – Congresswoman Susan Davis (D-San Diego) opposed an energy spending bill that would have gutted clean energy, including biomass and solar programs. The bill would hit San Diego hard as it has a large concentration of clean technology companies.

“San Diego has 767 clean technology companies and has become an innovation hub, especially in solar power, energy storage, and advanced biofuels,” said Davis. “If we’re going to remain competitive in the global economy, we must invest in clean energy innovation.”

According to the San Diego Association of Governments, the algae energy section alone provides the region with 410 direct jobs and $108 million in economic activity each year.

The Energy and Water Appropriations bill (H.R. 2354) cuts solar energy research by more than one-third, decreases biomass research by $33 million, and cuts $80 million from funding for breakthrough domestic clean energy innovators.

“We can’t hold back the companies that can come up with the answers to our serious energy problem,” said Davis.

H.R. 2354 passed the House of Representatives on a vote of 219-196.

###

Bill Horn Apoligizes Today for Misrepresenting his Record on Civil Rights

When Bill Horn was running for the County Board of Supervisors he made claims of his military record. Those opposing him called that record into question. Though, the veteran community came together to stand with him that he truly was one of them and that any these questions about his records was wrong.

The Voice of San Diego did a fact check on Supervisor Horn and found the following statement he made last week at a County of San Diego Board of Supervisor Meeting over the county's agenda item on redistricting to be false:

"During the civil rights movement I worked for Ralph Abernathy and went to jail over the rights of the minority," County Supervisor Bill Horn said June 28 at a public board meeting."

Turns out the real story, again according to Horn was he was only questioned by police for a downtown incident, Mr. Abernathy never worked in California, let alone in San Diego and never worked with Horn.

Unfortunately, it seems he and his staff got him into further trouble in trying to explain his falsehood. According to Horn's staff he said the following:

"[Horn] knows that [Hal] Brown and former NFL star Rosey Grier came to his office many years ago to reminisce about the incident. The Supervisor has a football in his office with the faded signature of Grier. Unfortunately, both of those men have passed away, and short of a séance, there's no way to confirm with them the events of a half century ago."

Again, the above is false, because the truth is Brown the former chairman of the local C.O.R.E. chapter at the time and Grier are alive, Brown does not recall Horn being involved, and Grier was playing for the LA Raiders at the time, not involved and doesn't recall the incident.

Each time Horn tells his story he only gets deeper in trouble. So, as a public official he should do the right thing and apologize to his constituents and those that were truly arrested in the civil rights fights.

Both as an elected official and a religiously moral person, he wants to set the example for our next generation that in the end it is better to tell the truth, then to mislead and cover it up.

Horn will state the following in his announcement:

1. Those that were arrested for civil injustice in the 1950's and 1960's should be honored and no person should misrepresent themselves as one to use them for political reasons;
2. He did not work for Mr. Ralph Abernathy;
3. He knew of Mr. Hal Brown, but not in the way he has retold the story repeatedly over the years;
4. As a truly religious man, then it is important to be truthful at all times, even in difficult times;
5. Over the years he has questioned other elected officials about being honest with the voters, he doesn't want them to question him in the future with this incident weighing on him; and
6. He will sit down with those in the civil rights community and seek to help in his capacity has an elected official to continuing struggle he had started many decades again against the injustices for those in the African-American and Latino community.

This press conference at 5:00 pm outside the County Administrative Building north steps will be a difficult statement by Horn, as he has confirmed, but something he must do to set the record straight and move on.

The truth on my part is the false statements made by Horn, his staff, those statements retorted about Horn's claims to have been involved in the civil rights incident, plus the Voice of San Diego article are true. HOWEVER, it would have been nice for the rest of the above story to be true. Horn won't be making an announcement clearing up the real story, he won't be seeking to continue his fight for injustice he started decades ago and lost his way, and he won't be setting an example as a public official or someone claiming to be religiously moral. Horn was upset of being called what he felt a racist and shoot back with the first thing he could think about, which was a story he has been over exaggerating over the past several decades, like the fish I caught.

Horn is Horn, his staff will protect him, and the rest of the community he surrounds himself with will keep quiet, because he votes their way most of the time, he tells a good story, takes on their enemies, and if they don't do it, then he will get angry and be vindictive in every way he possible can be.

If you think Horn should do the right thing, then comment here on the Voice of San Diego article or link to this post on your Facebook or Twitter feed. I would have suggested Horn's Facebook page, but he doesn't want to hear from others in a public arena and calling and emailing his office won't make a difference, because he will claim you are a bunch complainers. SD ROSTRA won't write about it either, because he is a conserve now and their site is about looking at the injustices and falsehoods of only the liberals.

The Problem with Petitioning. . .

As you may have noticed from the posts below, or from the Voice of San Diego, or lately, Daily Kos, you might have noticed a slight problem we seem to be having with our signature-gathers here in San Diego.  It appears that our local petitioners (as they prefer to be called) have been misleading voters throughout San Diego about various initatives.  I can't say I'm surprised.

First, a slight confession - in the summer of 1996, I worked as a signature gatherer/petitioner for Voter Revolt, a group that, the more I think about it, was a fairly conservative organization.  In my defense, it was the 1990's, and we were all "New Democrats" back then.  Also, I was young and didn't know any better.  And lastly, the initiatives I worked on were fairly innocuous - term limits for Congress and a limitation on how much money school districts could spend on non-classroom spending.  Neither were great, but they weren't bad either.

From that experience, here's what I can tell you about petitioning - its hard work, and most people don't last long.  As a petitioner, I would stand in a parking lot or some other designated area, and walk up to people and talk to them.  The goal was to get them to sign my petitions, and for each valid signature, I'd get $0.25.  As I had two petitions, I could get $0.50 out of most people.  The money sucked, but going out there, being with the people, it felt like politics, only it wasn't (oh, and the independent contractor thing the company was running was a total scam, but I digress).  Instead, Voter Revolt was paid by some group to gather the signatures, and they were paid to do it.

Now, from later experience, I can tell that most professional petitioners are much more mercenary than I was.  They gather signatures for petitions based not on whether they agree with the issue, but how much it pays.  A reasonably decent petitioner can get 200 signatures in a day - if the petition is paying out at $1-$2 per signature, working 5 days a week, well, that can be as much as $1000 per week, or $4000 per month.  That's more than I made out of law school.*  As a result, petitioning, in my experience, attracts interesting people.  People with a lot of charm, little job skills, and a desire for a flexible work schedule.  Given what we now know, is it surprising that a few (or more than a few) are actively misleading voters?  I bet that anti-union petition is paying over $2 per signature.

Ultimately, every initiative campaign needs these professionals to collect signatures because they are really, really good collecting a lot of valid signatures in a short period of time.  As a result, the "grassroots" aspect of the initiative process is not grassroots at all - its simply a way for the wealthy to get around legislative bodies.

*Okay, I did work for a non-profit out of law school, but still, $48k per year ain't bad.

Governor Brown Signs SB 48 To Recognize Contributions of LGBT Americans, Pacific Islanders and Persons With Disabilities

SACRAMENTO - Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today issued the following statement regarding SB 48 by Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco):

"History should be honest. This bill revises existing laws that prohibit discrimination in education and ensures that the important contributions of Americans from all backgrounds and walks of life are included in our history books. It represents an important step forward for our state, and I thank Senator Leno for his hard work on this historic legislation."

For full text of the bill, visit: http://leginfo.ca.gov/bilinfo.html.

###

Daily Kos: Misleading Signature Gathering Being Used to Push Anti-Union Measure in San Diego

Check out the blog post here.

VOSD: Fact Check: Bill Horn's Bogus Civil Rights Story

Shocking, right? The Voice has the story here.

SDUT: Medical marijuana rules may be repealed

They did better than the school "reformers." Check the story here.

Word on the Street: Peters for Congress

This rumor has been swirling around for over a month, ever since the DCCC sought him out to run against Bilbray.

Word is that he didn't bite but "establishment" Democrats have ben pushing him to run because they can't seem to stomach the possibility of Saldana candidacy.

So, with Lori and Scott verses Brian, who wins?

On the Democratic side, I give the edge to Saldana. She's tenacious, been working the activist base, and has represented most of the draft district before. She will need to work like she has never worked before on raising the money but she has a base of support and a volunteer base as rabid as Frye supporters.

Scott can raise money but can't seem to spend it well. In his run against Aguirre, he ran a full-blown campaign operation with a full complement of staff and volunteers and lost to a less-than-loved incumbent who didn't campaign. Scott doesn't have a base outside of La Jolla and has a tendency to surround himself with yes people who aren't known for their strategic brilliance.

Saldana thinks and acts outside the box which can cut both ways. Against two white, bland, establishment-approved men, she will shine as a fresh face ready to take on DC.

Don't rule Peters out (he has yet to announce). As things stand today, I would give the nod to Lori against Brian in the fall of 2012.

SD CityBeat: District mine

I'm back (thank you Franklin, but you missed a story).

Saldana says she can win against Bilbray. CityBeat has the story here.

Calitics: Darrell Issa bails on FCIC hearing after reality "didn't fit the narrative"

Lucas O'Conner of Two Cathedrals exposes Issa's hypocrisy at Calitics here.

SD CityBeat: “Oy!” said the goy

Gracchus is out so I'm posting this.

Bob Filner’s problem with prominent Democrats from SD CityBeat. Story here.

We Party: Misleading Signature Gathering Being Used to Push Anti-Union Measure in San Diego

Check out this blog here.

LA Times: Janice Hahn wins House seat

Story here.

LA Times: Obama campaign's staggering haul: $86 million raised for re-election

Story here.

VOSD:DeMaio Tops Half-Million in Mayoral War Chest

The Voice has the story here.

SDUT: County to delay political maps over ACLU concerns

Read the story here.

SDUT: Signatures fall short in bid to shake up SDUSD

From the SDUT:

School board president Richard Barrera said he was not surprised that the signature-gathering effort came up short.

“I think when you stand out in front of supermarkets a lot of times people who sign may not be registered voters or not be registered voters in the district,” he said. “I’m not surprised.”

Read the story here.

VOSD: Nathan Fletcher's Other Fundraising Account

The Voice has the story here.

LA Times: 'South California' for 51st state?

I believe that many San Diegans would object to this.

You decide. The story here.

KQED Capital Notes: No 2nd Draft of CA Redistricting Maps

Final maps will be released on July 28th with a vote on Aug 15th.

See the note here.

UT: Judge allows Inzunza to remain free for now

Here is the story.

Councilmember Gloria Announces Funding for Sunday Library and Gym Hours

PRESS RELEASE

Councilmember Announces Funding for Sunday Library and Gym Hours
City Heights Library, Performance Annex, and Mid-City Gym Now Open Sundays

SAN DIEGO, CA (July 8, 2011) – Councilmember Todd Gloria today announced that several City Heights facilities will once again be open on Sundays thanks to newly secured funding. The community will now benefit from additional hours at the City Heights/Weingart Branch Library and Performance Annex and the Mid-City Gymnasium.

The Price Family Charitable Fund provided a $40,000 grant to open the City Heights/Weingart Branch Library and Performance Annex on Sundays from 1:00 – 5:00 p.m. starting this Sunday, July 10, 2011. Sunday hours were eliminated in March 2010 due to the City’s financial hardships.

“Libraries are essential to every community,” said Councilmember Gloria. “By helping bridge the divide between those who have access to information and those who do not, library services are critical, particularly to the community of City Heights where there is a high concentration of lower income households and small businesses.”

In addition to the library grant, the Price Family Charitable Fund contributed $2,430 to the City to fund summer Sunday hours of operation and programming at the Mid-City Gymnasium. The donation will open the gym to the public for three hours each Sunday from 12:00 to 3:00 p.m. from June 24 through September 4, 2011.

Councilmember Gloria will extend the hours through June 2012 with a contribution of $8,694 generated through his office budget.

“With budgetary savings produced by my Council office in the previous fiscal year, I am able to direct additional resources to this grossly park-deficient community. This $8,694 contribution will sustain the programming proposed by Price through June 24, 2012,” said Councilmember Gloria.

The Mid-City Gym opened in 1996 as a result of strong community organization and effort. It was part of the first phase of City Heights Urban Village, bringing together in one location a number of opportunities in recreation and education. The additional gym hours and programming will provide individuals of all ages the opportunity to practice good health and fitness in a safe environment.

“Since 1994, the Price Family has contributed to the renaissance of City Heights. I applaud their focus to continually improve housing, shopping options, healthcare, education, social services, public safety, and job opportunities for this diverse neighborhood,” said Councilmember Gloria. “I am thankful and honored to have them as a true partner in the community.”

###

Reorganizing the San Diego Redevelopment Agency by Marti Emerald

San Diego’s Redevelopment Agency has much to be proud about. We’ve won awards for projects in City Heights and Barrio Logan, and national recognition of the Centre City Development Corporation’s revitalization of downtown. Our Agency staff is professional and committed, and residents are actively involved in project planning.

Yet, we have problems. I have heard from the public that we adopted redevelopment project areas that are not truly blighted; that blight in downtown has been eliminated but we keep collecting redevelopment dollars to enhance City revenue; that we just build shopping center, not projects that truly benefit low-income residents; that we select developers who are connected, rather than most qualified; that redevelopment is not used to create new jobs; that funds have been improperly transferred among project areas; that Agency debts to the City have not been repaid; and that we have not built enough affordable housing. And we all remember the scandals uncovered by the Voice of San Diego at the Southeastern Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) and at CCDC.

I don’t agree with all these criticisms. But I do think the public criticisms reflect problems we have with the Agency’s effectiveness, efficiency, accountability, and transparency. To understand these problems, I want to clarify how the San Diego Redevelopment Agency is organized.

Just as a business is the sum of its parts – its buildings, employees, assets, and liabilities, the San Diego Redevelopment Agency is seventeen project areas spread throughout the City, hundreds of revitalization projects, millions of dollars in bond debt, and numerous contracts. Redevelopment agencies are state agencies, not a part of the City, and are governed by state law, not the City Charter. The Board of Directors of the San Diego Agency, by state law, is the City Council. As currently organized, the San Diego Agency carries out redevelopment through a contract with CCDC for two downtown project areas, a contract with SEDC for four project areas, and a third contract with the City for the other eleven project areas. (That’s right, the City is a contractor to the Agency.) CCDC and SEDC are both nonprofit corporations chartered by the City.

Our effectiveness problem is that not all project areas get their proportionate share of resources and expertise. Our efficiency problem is that redevelopment work and expenses are duplicated among the three operating components of the Agency. Our accountability problem is that everyone who does work for the Agency really works for another employer and so has a built-in conflict of interest. The best example of this is last year’s State budget deal that lifted the cap on collecting downtown tax increment. Agency board members – the City Council members with the duty under State law to be responsible for redevelopment – were kept out of the loop on this important decision. Our transparency problem is that our complicated organization structure, coupled with gray areas about what information is public and what is not, make it difficult for the public to understand the redevelopment decision process.

We can fix these problems. My reorganization plan eliminates duplicated functions and leverages our strengths and successes by merging CCDC, SEDC, and the City’s Redevelopment Department into a single San Diego Development Corporation,
and centralizes all affordable housing responsibility and funding in the Housing Commission. My plan gives the Agency Board the resources to be accountable by making the Agency Executive Director, Finance Manager, and Legal Counsel direct employees of the Board. And my plan simplifies the Agency decision process. Take a quick look at the organization charts of our current Agency structure and of my proposed structure – you will see that the difference is striking. I believe that my plan has the elements necessary to be effective.

Governor Brown has proposed that redevelopment agencies should be eliminated. I disagree. Redevelopment is a critical tool to revitalize older neighborhoods, as we have proved in our downtown and in other parts of our city. We must restore public confidence in how San Diego manages redevelopment, and prove to Governor Brown and our state representatives that redevelopment is too important to de-fund. We can do that by building a new redevelopment model in San Diego: lean, smart, effective, transparent, and capable of generating new tax revenues where none previously existed.

VoSD: Fletcher Nets $300K

We know Bonnie was burning up the phone lines because of this. And where will Carl end up?

The story here.

Note to the Fletcher Campaign re: Lorem Ipsum

Check out this press release from the Fletcher campaign.

Here's the first paragraph:

In an unsurprising turn of events, Activate Direct showed very well in its demonstration with the League of CA Cities on Wednesday. One official was heard to say "we all knew it was coming. It's not surprising in the least when you think about it." Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce iaculis, risus mollis facilisis sodales, sapien risus vulputate odio, eu lobortis nisl erat ut nisi. Nunc sit amet arcu nec dui fringilla rutrum et at nisl. Cras vitae lectus vitae quam rutrum sodales vitae non diam. Ut ut nisi enim. Ut volutpat dolor non enim porta tristique. Curabitur a eleifend mi. Morbi sed nulla id dolor eleifend tincidunt. Nullam pulvinar, massa vel varius facilisis, lorem risus consequat massa, non posuere neque mi et justo. Vivamus lacus magna, facilisis vitae vulputate et, tincidunt quis nibh. Vivamus nec felis nibh, ut scelerisque dui.

Did you get all that? Here's what you need to know about "Lorem Ipsum." Not a big deal but just a note to watch your typesetting.

Campaigns For GOP Ballot Measures Lure Voters With Phony Petition To “Lower Gas Prices”

From the Labor Council
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Campaigns For GOP Ballot Measures Lure Voters
With Phony Petition To “Lower Gas Prices”

New Video Footage of Bait-and-Switch Illustrates Latest Deceit
by Pension and Government Contractor Campaigns

SAN DIEGO – (Wednesday, July 6, 2011) – The “Just Say No, San Diego” Public Education Campaign released video today of Republican-controlled ballot measure campaigns using a phony petition to supposedly “lower gas prices” as a bait-and-switch in order to have voters sign ballot measures that eliminate a retirement safety net for city employees, abolish collective bargaining for construction workers and silence the voices of workers in politics.

A paid operative of the Republican ballot measure campaigns are seen luring voters to a booth with colorful posters stating “Lower Gas Prices” while representing that the ballot measure they are signing will put a question on the ballot that forces Congress to “drill here, drill now.” In fact, there is no such ballot measure registered for circulation at the Secretary of State’s office and no actual federal initiative-by-petition process.

After talking up the phony gas prices initiative, the signature gatherer asks the voter to sign the petition in order to put it on the ballot.

But, in fact, the paid signature gatherer flips the top page about gas prices over to have the voter sign a petition for one of the Republican ballot measures being circulated by government contractors, developers, corporate lobbyists and other far-right special interests.

“This is a very deceitful tactic, even by the low standards of the underground industry of paid signature gathering,” said Kyle Haverback, spokesman for the “Just Say No, San Diego” Public Education Campaign. “In the video, you can clearly see that the paid signature gatherer is preying on people’s desire to lower gasoline prices. It’s very cynical of these campaigns to employ a bait-and-switch where you tell the public they’re signing one thing when it’s really another.”

Watch the Video here!

Only when the paid signature gatherer is prompted in the video does she then describe that she is collecting signatures for other petitions besides the phony “gas prices” campaign. When describing those ballot measures, the paid signature gatherer makes several misleading and inaccurate statements about what the measures do.

The paid signature gatherer claims the pension ballot measure “better defines what they’re giving the employees” when the measure actually creates more uncertainty about the benefits city employees receive. When describing the government contracting ballot measure to stop collective bargaining agreements on public projects, the paid signature gatherer said the measure allows non-union firms the right to bid on city contracts, when in fact non-union firms already have the right, regardless of whether there’s a project labor agreement or not.

# # #

Two Cathedrals: Building a base is not a vice.

Lucas O'Conner nails it.

This boils down to the collision of principle vs pragmatism: Whether aspiring to the supposed ideal of post-partisan governance trumps the pragmatism of trying to actually enact beneficial policy. The trick is, the policy is the principle. It can be easy to lose sight of the actual point of politics, but ultimately the goal is to improve people’s lives. And the mechanism is policy. Everything else is the sausage-making. Aspire to as much righteousness as you want in the process of making that sausage, but at the end of the day all that matters is what gets made.

Here is the post.

SD CityBeat: Vargas raising cash for state Senate, but running for Congress

CityBeat has the story here.

GOP Ballot Measure Relies on Illegal Maneuvers, Resulting in Higher Costs, Phantom Savings and No Safety Net for Workers

Press Release from San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council, AFL-CIO


Mayor’s Proposition Depends on Breaking State Law In Order To Achieve Lion’s Share of Projected Savings

SAN DIEGO – (Thursday, June 30, 2011) – The Republican ballot measure to leave city workers without Social Security or any other retirement safety net includes a maneuver that Mayor Sanders claimed was illegal just a few months ago in order to achieve be

According to the ballot measure’s supporters, the section of the proposition requiring the city to freeze pensionable pay for 5 years accounts for up to 87 % (or $1.1 billion) of the savings heralded by supporters. It is against California state law to impose a pay freeze for that long without bargaining in good faith with employees first.

“They’re counting chicks that will never hatch under state law,” said Lorena Gonzalez, the San Diego Labor Council’s Secretary-Treasurer. “This proposition leave workers without Social Security or any retirement safety net and assures the City will find itself back in expensive courtroom battles like in the Mike Aguirre days. Those are steep prices to pay for what appears to be minimal savings compared to the status quo.”

Other reasons why this ballot measure is BAD for San Diego:

BAD FOR THE LONG TERM: Additionally, it appears to be a better deal for the city to keep the employees in the pension system. In year 27 of the lower scenario, the costs of the 401-K begin to outpace the savings from reduced payments to the pension system. This begs the question of why the Republican campaign cut off the chart at year 27 instead of going further, because it is clear that this measure has the potential to end up costing more in the long run.

BAD FOR THE SHORT TERM: The supporters are admitting that the short-term costs outweigh the savings even if the measure is found to be legal. The San Diego City Employees Retirement System said that moving to a 401-K will cost the City $94 million over the first six years because money for new employees will not regularly be directed to the retirement system. That’s the last thing San Diego needs as police, fire and other city services have been cut during this recession.

BAD MATH: The ballot measure uses an apples-to-oranges comparison in assumptions, assuming that salaries are going to grow 4 percent annually in the current pension plan and only 2 percent annually in the proposed 401-K plan. This is a dishonest comparison.

TAKING CREDIT FOR WHAT’S ALREADY HAPPENED: The Republican campaign is taking credit for the pick-up savings, even though that has already been eliminated through collective bargaining between the City and its employees.

###

SDUT: Supervisors’ shameless self-preservation

If a UT editorial can see the problem, why can't the Board of Supervisors? Maybe they can but won't do anything until challenged.

We don’t see these decisions as driven by racism. Instead, they’re fueled by politicians’ desire for self-preservation. That distinction, however, hardly insulates the board from a Voting Rights Act challenge. Such a challenge now seems inevitable – and welcome.

DeMaio signature gatherers lying!

I, for one, am shocked, shocked at such shenanigans. It is here on this YouTube clip.

SD CityBeat: Murder at the courthouse!

CityBeat rounds out their political hat trick this week reviewing Tony Kvaric's losing streak here.

SD Citybeat: True and false

CityBeat's exposes the local signature gatherings here.

SD CityBeat: Durfee's a thug

To be fair, Durfee’s Republican counterpart, Tony Krvaric, has the same policy: no support for Republicans who dare to endorse Democrats, whether or not the office is partisan. Durfee and Krvaric both are political hacks who’d fit in nicely as party operatives in some fascist foreign regime. They make things worse, not better. America should aspire to something loftier than these two knuckleheads.

CityBeat editorial here.

SDUT: No Mayor Kehoe: State senator decides not to run

“We gave it a lot of thought, talked to friends and supporters ... and I came to the conclusion that I am not going to run for mayor in 2012. That’s it. The whole story,” the San Diego Democrat said in a brief interview Tuesday night as budget votes were underway.

The UT has the story here.

About Those Democratic Endorsements of Non-Democrats

As I said previously, Bonnie Dumanis (and to a lesser extent, Nathan Fletcher) is the establishment candidate for mayor.  So its not at all surprising that members of the San Diego political establishment would give her money and support.  Lynne Schenk and Murray Galinson fall into that establishment category, and even with Bonnie Dumanis being a Republican, they're going to support her.

Additionally, there is a bit going on behind the scenes.  Specifically, it appears that Kehoe is staying out of the Mayor's race (for now), so the sole remaining Democrat is Bob Filner.  The Congressman is a tireless campaigner, a brilliant mind, someone who cares deeply about his constituents, and is actually passionate about his job.  If Filner becomes mayor, he's going to work his ass off.  As a progressive, I'm pretty pumped at the idea of Filner, also a progressive, being mayor.

That said, Filner has a reputation of being prickly.  Or, in less polite terms, Filner has a reputation of being an asshole, particularly by his enemies.  One particular enemy is Juan Vargas, who ran against Filner in two epic bloodbaths (and one completely disappointing campaign) that left both men scarred for life.*  Galinson and Schenk are current and former Vargas supporters, and so its not at all surprising that they are backing Dumanis.

I have no idea if Sessom comes from the Vargas camp or not, but I wouldn't be surprised if she was.  As far as her line about Jess Durfee, I find it somewhat surprising that a mayor who has asked for and received the Democratic Party endorsement time and time again doesn't know who the Democratic Party Chair is.  In this respect, Lucas over at Two Cathedrals is right.

Nonetheless, for the Democratic Party insiders who haven't been on the lines of the Filner-Vargas war, Bob Filner is their guy.  Note that both Kehoe and Frye both slightly backed away from running for mayor when they heard Bob was in.  They didn't do that out of fear, they did it out of respect.  And not only will the Dem insiders back up Durfee's statement that the endorsement of non-Dems in this race will be punished, they'll cheer him all the way. 

And this is a big, big problem for Dumanis.  She's gay, she's pro-union, not fiscally conservative, and completely out of touch with the Republican Party.  With the DeMaio in the race, Dumanis' only hope is gather enough support from Democrats and independents.  But if Filner is in the race, and is strongly supported by Democrats, Dumanis is toast. She knows that, Bob knows that, and that's why the endorsement thing is a big issue.

*I'm not even remotely joking about this, and no I can't tell you how I know.

NewsFlash: The election is 16 months away...

So with the election only 16 months away we already have a winner in the San Diego Mayor's race. Even though there have been no mailers, no commercials, no precient walks, no debates, no anything. The situation is so dire that only Donna can save us!

16 months is an eternity in politics. Especially in this City. I mean in December 2002, this guy was saying he owned city hall and that Dick Murphy and Michael Uberuaga had to go through him to get anything done in Council and what happened more than a year later? Please see link above.

This is going to be a hard long slog and we don't know what will happen and those saying who has a lock and who doesn't all have a short term memory. I mean look at Mark Penn and the national political establishment who 16 months before the election were already talking about who Hillary would put in her Cabinet. Last time I checked, this guy won.

VoSD: Dem Mayor to Dem Leader: Who Are You Again?

Lemon Grove Mayor Mary Sessom calls out SDCDP Chair Durfee. The Voice has the story here.

VoSD: Hell to Pay for Dems Who Endorse GOP

"I will do everything in my power to see that any Democratic elected official or candidate in the county who endorses a Republican for mayor will not receive the endorsement or support of the Democratic Party in the future," Durfee wrote in a letter to local Democratic elected officials.

The Voice of San Diego has the story here.

Pension Mess: Former Mayor Says She's Not to Blame

The Voice of San Diego has the story about Susan Golding refusing to accept responsibility for decisions made under her watch.

SD GOP Fail!

Today, the Court agreed with the City Attorney and has dismissed the entire Republican complaint about the City Redistricting Commission. Without legal standing, you do not have a case.

I am curious as to how the SD GOP will explain their inept efforts at redistricting to their base.

Voice of San Diego: Big Name Dems Back Republican for Mayor, Again

And Schenk smacks Filner. The Voice has the story.

The Gerrymander?

Have you taken a look at the proposed county maps yet? Below is the proposed new County Supervisorial Seat 3.




Maybe this would help.




And here's the original.


The proposed shape was too easy to resist.

‘Unemployed’ Romney Raises Cash in SoCal, but Will He Visit His New Home in La Jolla?

SDCDP Press Release
June 23, 2011

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is sweeping through Southern California this week, raising funds at private events yesterday in Beverly Hills and today in Orange County. But there’s no word on whether he plans to stop by his 3,000-square-foot home in La Jolla, which he purchased last year for $12 million.

Romney also owns a cabin in New Hampshire and is registered to vote in a basement unit of his son’s home in Massachusetts, but he is presumed to have quietly made San Diego his main residence since 2010.

The former governor sparked controversy last week when he jokingly described himself as an “unemployed” job-seeker to a group of jobless Florida residents. The tone-deaf comment by the multimillionaire underscored his own record of failure on unemployment and the economy:

• During Romney’s tenure as governor, Massachusetts’ economic performance was among the worst in the country on all key labor market measures, ranking at or near the bottom.

• In Romney’s four years as governor, Massachusetts placed 47th out of 50 in jobs growth. At just 0.9%, his state’s growth lagged far behind other high-skill “knowledge economy” states
like New York (2.7%) and California (4.7%).

• Under Romney, manufacturing jobs in Massachusetts declined by twice the national average – the third-worst record in the country.

The Chair of the San Diego County Democratic Party, Jess Durfee, blasted Romney for his unsubstantiated campaign rhetoric and his insensitivity to the plight of America’s middle class.

“Mitt Romney is the last person who should be lecturing the country about how to create jobs,” said Durfee. “The one time he was in charge of an economy, he failed miserably. Millions of jobs were lost, and people in his state suffered.

“Romney’s joke in Florida last week might have been funny to his fellow former corporate CEOs, but for those unemployed people it just added insult to injury. No matter how hard he tries not to seem out of touch, he clearly doesn’t understand or represent most Americans.

“I have a suggestion for Mitt Romney,” Durfee added. “He should take a long break from his comedy act and come home to La Jolla. I would be happy to personally register him to vote as a San Diegan – as long as the only job creation he attempts here involves him spending his own money.”

# # #

The Legend of Dick Murphy

With the mayoral election coming up, I'd like to speak of the legend of Dick Murphy.  Yes, the Dick Murphy who Time once called one of the worst mayors in the country (which he was, but it wasn't all of his fault).  The same Dick Murphy who quit in 2005, seven months after his reelection.  You see, Dick Murphy's election as Mayor in 2000 was a sight to behold.  It was, quite simply, the most magnificent political move I have ever seen in San Diego politics.  And knowing this story can help us out in understanding who are the players in the mayor's race and in San Diego in general.
San Diego, like any city there are multiple interests with significant power.  We have the Downtown business establishment (made up of real estate, construction, banking, and tourism), which favors stability, is Downtown-centric (shocking, I know), and very behind closed-doors.  There is also Labor, made up of the, well Labor Council, the environmental groups, anti-tax groups and hardcore Republican types, the Catfish Club (African-American leaders who meet every week to chat over fried catfish), and a few other groups here and there.  By and large, the two biggest and most powerful groups are Downtown and Labor.  Downtown has the money and resources, and Labor has the grassroots.

In 2000, both Downtown and Labor backed one guy - Supervisor Ron Roberts.  Not only that, but Ron Roberts had San Diego's best political consultant at the time, Tom Shepard, who is hands down, the political consultant of the Downtown business establishment.  Hell, even though Roberts was a Republican, he had pretty substantial backing from some well-heeled Democrats. Everyone knew that if Roberts didn't win outright in the primary, he would kill in the general.  Sure enough, and in a primary that had over 10 candidates, Roberts took 29% of the primary votes, and Dick Murphy barely made it past the primary.

But Murphy's people had a plan.  Not only was Murphy more conservative than Roberts on social issues, but he was also more liberal than Roberts on environmental issues.  I'll wait as you get your head around that one.  The thing is that Downtown and Labor are pretty much center-right and center-left.  What Murphy did in both the primary and in the general election is he went hard right and hard left at the same time.  I know, I know, its crazy.  But it worked.  As Roberts raised and spent more and more money, Murphy managed to form a coalition with the anti-tax groups, the hardcore Republican groups, and left-leaning environmental groups and won the whole damn thing.  The strategy was breath-taking.

Of course, the whole thing blew up once we all found out that Susan Golding blew a whole the size of Texas through the San Diego Employees Pension fund.  But that's a story for a different day.  The key to remember is that each interest group has a substantial part to play in this election.  So who is backing whom?  Here is my guess:

Downtown Establishment: It looks like Downtown has not one, but two horses in the race as evidenced by Bonnie Dumanis getting the endorsements of Jerry Sanders and Kevin Falconer, and Nathan Fletcher getting Pete Wilson's backing.  Not this is interesting because Downtown is doing this despite having DeMaio in the race.  Hmm. . .looks like he doesn't have friends Downtown.  Is Fletcher socially moderate enough for Downtown? I don't know.

Anti-Tax, partisan Republicans: San Diego has always had its fair share of anti-tax cranks, but it is interesting to see that the anti-tax/anti-corruption groups splitting up along partisan lines (actually, we can thank Donna Frye for that, but that's a different post).  The anti-tax and partisan Republicans are backing DeMaio.

Democrats: Notice how I didn't mention the Democrats in 2000?  Yeah, well, we're back baby.  Democratic partisanship has shown itself to be a real power since Shelia Jackson beat the Teachers' preferred candidate in 2004, much to everyone's surprise.  With Filner definitely in, and Kehoe maybe in, one of these two will get the Dems' endorsement.  As much as Donna Frye is beloved by progressives, both Kehoe and Filner are loved even more.  I don't see Donna getting the nod over Kehoe or Filner.  Ever.

Environmentalists and Anti-Corruptionists: Ever since Donna Frye ran for office, there has been a split between the anti-corruption groups and the anti-tax groups which is kind of sad in a way.  Both groups HATE Downtown, but in the end have radically different agendas.  What is also true is that Donna Frye more or less cemented environmental groups with the anti-corruption groups, which is what lead to Mike Aguirre's election, IMHO.  If Donna Frye doesn't jump in, then Filner will have their support.

Labor: Its either going to be Filner or Kehoe.  Both have longstanding support from Labor, and both are great on labor issues. 

Frye for Mayor?

Maybe. She likes Filner and doesn't like DeMaio. CityBeat has the story.

Pete Wilson: Why I support Nathan Fletcher for Mayor

San Diego Rostra has the post.

About DeMaio's 1,400 supporters in 14 days.

As of June 5, DeMaio's website listed 1,047 supporters. Now he claims to have collected 1,400 supporters in 14 days. Let's do the math that Carl cannot or can but would rather hide semantically:

1,400 supporters as of 6/21 - 1,047 supporters as of June 5 = 353 supporters in the last 14 days.

353 supporters in 14 days isn't bad but nowhere near what he is claiming.

This isn't the first time Carl has fudged numbers and certainly won't be the last. Too bad the Taxpayer Watchdog can't watch his math.

The Changing Face of San Diego Politics

One of the things that drives me absolutely nuts about San Diego is that because so many people move here from places decidedly colder, there is little institutional memory about San Diego.  The news media is particularly bad about this.  As a result, they either rely on old assumptions, and then become shocked when something obvious happens.

Politically speaking, it is worth noting what San Diego once was, and what it has become.  When I was growing up in the 1980's, the City of San Diego was a socially moderate, but fiscally conservative city.  Pete Wilson wasn't just the former mayor, but he was also the model for all future Republican mayors, up to and including Jerry Sanders.  Each mayoral candidate went before the brilliantly titled "San Diego Democratic Club" - an LGBT organization - for its endorsement, and ended up softening their stances on abortion and LGBT rights as a result (at least a little bit).  But that said, San Diego was a solid vote for the GOP in any state-wide or national race.

But sometime during Clinton's Presidency, things turned around in San Diego - it became more and more Democratic and more liberal.  By the time I finished college, and moved back home, Democratic registration in the City of San Diego dwarfed GOP registration.  In fact, the San Diego County Democratic Party changed the message in its pamphlets from trying to convince people to become Democrats to trying to convince local Democrats to become more active.*  And now we find out that even in the County of San Diego - long a bastion of conservatism - Democrats now outnumber Republicans.  Holy crap!

This shouldn't be all that surprising though, because all the while, the local Democratic Party has gotten stronger and stronger.  The biggest test of strength came in 1999.  The Party Chair, Art Casteneras, insisted that the aforementioned San Diego Democratic Club stop endorsing Republicans, even in non-partisan elections.  This was a huge, huge deal at the time because the San Diego Democratic Club isn't just an Democratic club that serves the LGBT community, but it was (and probably still is) the biggest, most active and most influential Democratic club in the City.  Most Democratic activists thought Art was nuts. But, you know, he was right.  With that move, the Democrats in San Diego stopped playing nice with the Republicans. (Or most of them)

After Art came Bob Jellison, then Kennan Kaeder, and now Jess Durfee, all of whom have built up the Party in one way or another.  Of course, Jess has done the heaviest lifting.  Now, not only is San Diego more Democratic in registration, but also has the kind of organizational support necessary to actually do something.  In 1999, there was a real concern that if the San Diego Democratic Club left the Party, there would effectively be no Democratic Party in San Diego.  That's not the case today.

Voting patterns have begun to follow suit.  More and more Democrats have been elected to office, with 5 of the 8 City Council members being Democrats (and Howard Wayne should have been the sixth).  Two of our four Representatives are Democrats.  The list goes on and on.  Organizing has something to do with the changes, but demographics plays a bit part.  As coastal residents, we're more concerned about the environment because it can kill us more directly (surfers, for instance, suffer directly from ocean pollution).  San Diego is also becoming more Hispanic** and more Asian.  As these trends continue, the hold the GOP once had on San Diego lessens more and more.

And that is the changing face of San Diego politics - the demographics have changed, and the Democrats have gotten their act together.  Little wonder the GOP has thrown a hissy fit over redistricting - all the trends are going against them.

*The author may or may not have had something to do with this decision.

** Compared to the rest of California, San Diego has a shockingly low number of Hispanics/Latinos.  Seriously, San Diego is around 30% Hispanic, the rest of the state is 37%.  This seems bizarre given our proximity to Mexico until you realize that until the immigration and drug wars made border-crossing a bitch, a fair number of people were binational, and would work in the U.S. and live in TJ, getting the best of both worlds.  Now that border crossing IS a bitch, more than a few people who hold both American and Mexican citizenship have bit the bullet and moved to San Diego.  That's not the entire reason why the Hispanic population in San Diego has increased, but I think it plays a part.

Defeatist Democrats

Please Join

Mayor Jerry Sanders

For a Kick-off Event

To support

Bonnie Dumanis

San Diego County District Attorney

And her San Diego Mayoral campaign

Tuesday, June 28^th

5:30-7:30p.m.

Suggested Contribution ~ $150 minimum

Host Level ~ $500

Endorsers &

Host Committee

Hon. Lynn Schenk

Sheriff Bill Gore
Supervisor Ron Roberts

Councilmember Kevin Faulconer

Mayor Cheryl Cox,

Chula Vista

Councilmember Dave

Roberts, Solana Beach

Hon. Bill Kolender

Hon. Greg Smith

Hon. Barbara Warden

Hon. Casey Gwinn

Mary Ball

Gerald Blank &

Mary Barranger

Vincent Bartolotta

Eve Benton

Laurie Black

Catherine Blair

Lynn Bruser

David Casey, Jr.

Morris Casuto

Jerry Coleman

Judy Copeland

Patrick Daniels

Kevin Tilden &

Philip Diamond, M.D.

Laura Jo Galinson &

Jane Fantel

Edward L. Fike

Murray & Elaine

Galinson

Beth Gwinn

Lynne Heidel

Ric Horda

Bertrand Hug

William Johnson

Donna Jones

Kitty Juniper

Samuel & Suzanne

Kahn

Linda Katz

Richard A. Katz

Cheryl Kendrick

Mitchell & Lynn

Lathrop

Richard Ledford

Jerrilyn Malana

Marla Marshall

Robert A. McNeely

Anthony Napoli

Bob Nelson

Barry & Denise Nussbaum

Scott Paine

Lorne Polger

Conrad Prebys

Larry & Cathy

Richman

Lynne Robbins

Joseph Roiha

Heather Rosing

Frederick Schenk

Bobbie Spoon

Kelly Spoon

Gael Strack

John & Sally Thornton

Chris Van Gorder

Lisa Sanders &

Meaghan Yaple

Mike Zarbo

I received this e-mail today for the Bonnie Dumanis fundraiser next week and couldn't help but notice a lot of high profile Democrats on her host committee. Now if this was 1981, I would understand because San Diego was very different back then and being a Dem in San Diego was like being Vegan in Omaha or a Republican in San Francisco. So I could understand that "go along, get along" mentality.

But it's 2011 and San Diego is a Democratic city. Thanks to demographics and outstanding outreach efforts from the Republican party like this and this. Oh and this, this and this and well I could go all day on that. However, even Republicans understand this shift which is why they are fighting City redistricting tooth and nail.

Yet these people think that if the Downtown establishment supports someone they are a surefire winner and maybe they can get some scraps after the victory buffet. And who cares that there are two very well qualified Democratic candidates like Bob Filner and Christine Kehoe. And who cares that Christine Kehoe and Bob FIlner were ardent supporters of LGBT rights when it wasn't cool and was dangerous. It's all about a backing a winner.

This kind of self defeating attitude is why the Republicans win. I don't care how many times John Kern keeps telling people that Bonnie's really a Democrat. In the end she is a Republican and so are you, John. So unless she re-registers it's a load of crap.

And for those of you who are buying this crap and then when you bitch about why Bonnie voted against you if she becomes Mayor. Why don't you look in the mirror and thank yourself for screwing up the City even more.