How is Zapf making her mortgage payments?

Inquiring minds what to know what it is that Lorie Zapf does for a living.

See CityBeat

The longer she remains silent, the larger a campaign issue this becomes.

Boxer vs. Fiorina Senate Debate Watch Party

Bamboo Lounge - 1475 University Ave. San Diego, CA 92103

Don't miss the first and ONLY televised debate between Democratic U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer and her Republican challenger and former CEO of Hewlett Packard, Carly Fiorina.

What does Lorie Zapf do for a living?

For someone who claims to care about business, it looks like she should find one.

From CityBeat:

City Council candidate’s small business was dissolved months ago
District 6 candidate Lorie Zapf listed only one business interest: “Zapf & Associates, Inc.,” a corporation engaged in “consulting, creative, sales” activities. She listed herself as the president and CEO.

CityBeat has learned that Zapf & Associates Inc. has gone out of business.
According to records on file at the California Secretary of State’s office, the corporation was dissolved on April 6, 2010, which means it no longer exists. The corporation had been registered to Zapf’s home address in Clairemont—the same address against which a bank filed a “notice of default” in March that said she and her husband, Eric, were behind on their mortgage payments by several months.

And
On the campaign trail—and on the ballot—Zapf describes herself as a legal advocate and a small-business owner. However, it is unclear what happened to her small business and what, exactly, she now does for a living.

Zapf has also publically described herself as the regional director for Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse, a non-profit organization that advocates for tort reform. This position was not disclosed on her Form 700 (as is usually required) and instead Zapf listed CALA as one of her company’s sources of income.

Sudberry and Kvaric know how to pick their candidates. "So long a they look good on camera, there's no need to vet them." Gotta love these conservative values.

California Democratic Party To File Complaint Against Shady Whitman Front Group “Small Business Action Committee”

From the CDP:

SBAC Using Its 501(c)(4) Status to Hide Donors While Engaging in 527 Advocacy

Sacramento – The California Democratic Party today announced it will file an official complaint with the Internal Revenue Service against a group supporting Republican Meg Whitman’s run for governor by waging dishonest attack ads against Jerry Brown. The complaint will allege that the “Small Business Action Committee” is spending hundreds of thousands more on political activities than is permitted under its 501(c)(4) status, and that as a possible consequence, SBAC may have to disclose the identity of its donors who are currently anonymous.

“If Meg Whitman and her Wall Street cronies want to fund a dishonest and deceitful ad that’s certainly their business,” said John Burton, Chairman of the California Democratic Party. “But they do not get to abuse the tax system to do so. People have a right to know who’s behind these sleazy ads.”

The “Small Business Action Committee” endorsed Meg Whitman just two days after receiving a $10,000 check from her campaign.

SBAC’s treasurer, James Lacy, is the co-founder of the National Campaign Fund, which runs the website ExposeObama.com , a site that devotes significant space to “news” and commentary questioning the validity of President Obama’s birth certificate and citizenship by relying on the thoroughly discredited claim that the President was not born in the United States.

San Diego Realtors reconsider their endorsement of Zapf

From Jim Abbot at the Gay and Lesbian Times:

Like Lucille Ball after any number of harebrained schemes gone awry, The San Diego Association of Realtors (SDAR) “has some ‘splainin’ to do” over its recent endorsement in the Sixth District San Diego City Council race of on-the-record mega-hater Lorie Zapf.

As reported by SD Citybeat reporter Justin MacLachlan on March 9, 2010, Republican Zapf’s opinions range from goofy to illegal given the protected status of GLBT Californians. Here are excerpts from emails she wrote to notorious “ex-gay” James Hartline.

“I absolutely want to keep homosexuals out of public office and not be allowed to influence our schools, textbooks, altering marriage, children and on and on.”

“...I do believe homosexuality is a sin. I have three homosexual first cousins. I love them all and would ‘be seen’ in a photo with them. I believe they all live in sin and frankly all are very unhappy people and had horrible childhoods as well. “

“...for whatever reason God allowed people to choose homosexuality. So there must be a reason for it, although I don’t get it, like so may (sic) other things that don’t make sense.”

And

I thought nothing more of it until Friday afternoon, when I suddenly recalled the recent disagreeable money solicitation Zapf inflicted upon me. Having not yet seen her hater-stripes, I politely confessed that I had already endorsed a competitor to which she snapped, “I guess you really don’t care about your business, do you?” Before I could advise this total stranger of my 25 years as an agent/broker and of my years of volunteer service to the profession, she showed me… by hanging up. I guess Zapf’s skin is as thin as her qualifications.

SDAR’s leadership must rescind Zapf’s endorsement. The Realtor imprimatur cannot be applied to a candidate who hasn’t the faintest notion of equality, especially when a strict Code of Ethics and a commitment to Equal Housing Opportunity guide everything we do as Realtors.


So only Zapf cares about business? That's not very business-like.

Irony and Zapf

From Tom Blair at the UT:

Lorie Zapf, in a tough campaign for San Diego City Council, cites her experience as local director of Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse, which aims to stop frivolous lawsuits. Now, her opponent’s backers are citing her experience with lawsuits, too. According to Howard Wayne’s camp, Zapf and her husband filed nine lawsuits between 1992 and 2002 — including two against her in-laws. Says Zapf, conceding the nine suits, “We’ve never filed a frivolous or abusive lawsuit. These were business disputes, and that’s what courts are for.” The suits against her in-laws? “They were disputes over the value of shares in our company. And they were very painful to the family.”

Of course. Everyone who files a lawsuit will say their lawsuits have merit. I'm willing to bet the average San Diegan doesn't have nine lawsuits under their belt especially if they direct a group dedicated to reducing the number of lawsuits filed.

A definition of irony is "the full significance of a character's words or actions are clear to the audience or reader although unknown to the character."

I think that sums up Lorie on this issue.

Burton Nominates GOP Senate Candidate Carly Fiorina for Hypocrite of the Year Award

From the CDP:

CDP Chairman John Burton released the following statement:

If there is an award for Hypocrite of the Year, Carly Fiorina has laid claim to it after her shameless performance at the GOP convention this weekend in San Diego.

It’s simply amazing to hear talk of “job creation” coming from someone who is directly responsible for laying off 33,000 workers at Hewlett Packard during her disastrous tenure as CEO. The only jobs she created were in India and China where she outsourced thousands of American jobs.

Fiorina has no credibility on the issue of jobs, and even less on the issue of job creation. California voters know that we can’t afford Fiorina’s brand of failed-CEO leadership and backroom dealing.

Statement of California Democratic Party Chairman John Burton on the Passing of Latino Civil Rights Pioneer Mario Obledo

From the CDP:

Mario Obledo will be remembered as a tireless advocate for justice and equality whose contributions had a direct impact on the lives of millions of Latinos in the United States. As founder of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF), the Hispanic National Bar Association, and the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, he leaves behind a lasting legacy of advancement and accomplishment that continues to benefit all Americans.

Mario never stopped fighting, and his place among the great American civil rights champions was assured long before President Clinton awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1998.

Our condolences go out to his wife and his nine brothers and sisters.

Bounties

It says a lot when the only way Republicans can register voters is by paying them.

From KPBS:

The California Republican Party is paying out $5 bounties for each validated new registration.

San Diego's Democratic Party chair, Jess Durfee, doesn't think the county is likely to go red this year though. And even if it did, he said registration bounties can't ensure new voters are dedicated to one party.

"I always question the loyalty of a voter who is registered by somebody who is getting a heavy bounty like that because there's an awful lot of coercion coming from the person doing the registration," he said.

Meg Whitman says she would defend Proposition 8

From Capitol Alert:

Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman said this afternoon that if elected governor, she would defend Proposition 8, which prohibits same-sex marriage, by appealing a recent federal court ruling declaring the proposition unconstitutional.

And
“The issue right now is, as I understand is 'Will Proposition 8 have the appropriate support to actually make an appeal to the circuit court of appeals?' " Whitman said. "And I think the governor, the attorney general today has to defend the constitution and has to enable the judicial process to go along and has to enable an appeal to go through. So if I was governor, I would give that ruling standing to be able to appeal to the circuit court."

Statement of California Democratic Party Chairman John Burton on Court Ruling Overturning Prop 8 Marriage Ban

“Ninth Circuit Judge Vaughn Walker upheld the constitution and thus made the right decision in overturning Proposition 8, the ban on same-sex marriage. For Californians fighting for equality and the thousands of same-sex couples who have been striving for the basic right to marry their partner, this was also the morally correct decision. Prop 8 was nothing more than a divisive and mean-spirited way to elevate one class of people above another.

When it comes to fighting for constitutional rights, equality and fairness, Democrats have been at the forefront of the battle. We relish in this hard fought victory and celebrate that as Californians we have reached another milestone in securing equal rights for all.”

# # #

Senator Feinstein Statement on Proposition 8 Case

This was released yesterday.

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today issued the following statement in response to Judge Vaughn Walker's ruling that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional:

"This is an enormous victory for the equal rights of gays and lesbians. Judge Vaughn Walker's ruling today confirmed what many of us had felt was clear all along: that it is unconstitutional to take away the rights of gays and lesbians to enter into the institution of marriage.

Most likely this verdict will be appealed and will go to the Supreme Court. The journey is not over, but today is a day to celebrate this historic victory for equal marriage rights. This is very good news."


# # #

Statement of California Democratic Party on Court Ruling Overturning Same-Sex Marriage Ban

Today’s ruling is a victory for equality and an affirmation for all Californians who believe that our state must never be party to keeping committed, loving couples apart. This is but the latest victory in a long march toward full equality that has yet to be realized for the majority of LGBT couples and families in the United States. California Democrats will continue to fight on the side of basic fairness and equality under law until the right to marry is extended to all couples.

Jess Durfee
Southern California Chair, LGBT Caucus
California Democratic Party

Does Meg’s Money Matter?

Meg Whitman has spent nearly $100 million so far to become the next Governor.

Jerry Brown has spent $663,000 with $23 million in the bank.

Any other candidate would be down by at least 10pts if they had to endure the attacks that Meg has launched against Jerry. Yet the polling numbers aren’t moving much.

I don’t believe that Brown can win by standing still, but he’s doing great so far.

Wayne gets $17K from the SDCDP

From Today’s UT:

After complaining about a loophole that allowed the local Republican Party to give $20,000 to a City Council candidate, the San Diego County Democratic Party did the same thing just before the window of opportunity closed.

The party gave $17,000 to District 6 council candidate Howard Wayne on June 16 ahead of the city formally adopting a $1,000 limit on political party contributions.


Good job, Dems! About time the SDCDP does something real to help their candidates besides supplying volunteers. The SDGOP didn’t do the same for Zapf after the election. If the local Dems continue acting like this, they may become a real force in this city. Stay tuned.

Frye wins

The battle isn’t over but the Voice of San Diego has summed up what happened last week:

Their 2005 campaign, for all its hoopla and circumstance, eventually became a rather unromantic affair. It was a battle of financial plans, after all.

Frye chose a more radical approach of the two. She wanted to stop paying what the city attorney had said were illegal pension boosts and ask voters to give her authority to go around the City Council and unilaterally negotiate with unions and put the city in bankruptcy. Her goal: Have the clout and authority to put a comprehensive reform package of labor cuts and a temporary sales tax on the 2006 ballot.

Sanders on the other hand disavowed taxes as a solution and seized on Frye's tax plan accordingly. He wanted to streamline, outsource, renegotiate with unions and wait for a judge to decide the legality of employee pension boosts.

The strategies underscored a subtle but key difference between the two politicians: Frye saw a systemic problem that needed a shock to the system. Sanders saw a single problem that could be addressed through incremental change.

But, in the end, it was the mayor that got the ball rolling on a comprehensive reform package a month ago, though he didn't publicly admit it until after he had given up hope.

Sanders would rather be popular than effective. It’s nice to see Frye finally wield her power in a grand way.

Vargas Victory Speech

From Capitol Alert:

"The time has come to take a stand -- to blaze a bold new trail and once again make California the state of possibilities.


"I know we can do this if we work together.


"As one of 10 children, born and raised on a small farm, I leaned from my parents at a young age that anything is possible and that no dream is too big if you work hard to achieve it...


"As your senator, I will passionately promote policies that reflect a vision for the future in which we measure our progress not merely in the quantity of our goods but in the quality of our lives - the purity of the air we breathe and the water we drink; the safety of our streets and the excellence of our schools and healthcare system.


"Thank you once again for joining me in this cause. Let's win in November and turn California around."

Councilmember Donna Frye and Former Candidate Steve Hadley Announce Endorsement of Howard Wayne

July 1, 2010


(San Diego, CA). District 6 Councilmember Donna Frye and her Chief of Staff, Steve Hadley, a former District 6 candidate, announced today that they are endorsing Howard Wayne to replace Frye on the council.

“We have a very clear choice in this race,” said Frye. “Howard is a long-time member of this community, a Deputy Attorney General and a legislator who has already proven his commitment to us. Lorie Zapf, in contrast, has shown herself to be intolerant and to lack the kind of financial management skills it takes to run a large City.”

Steve Hadley also expressed confidence in Howard Wayne and concern about the direction Zapf might take the City. “This is a critical time for San Diego,” he said. “We can’t afford any big mistakes in who we elect.”

Howard Wayne is running on a platform of improving City services through economic improvement, better fiscal management and pension reform.

Howard Wayne has served the public throughout his professional career as a San Diego area California State Assembly Member and as a California Deputy Attorney General. A San Diegan since early childhood, Howard attended Marvin Elementary School, Lewis Junior High School, Hoover High School, San Diego State University, and University of San Diego. He has lived in San Diego Council District 6 neighborhoods for 38 years.

The Problem with Better Courts Now

This year, a group called “Better Courts Now" put up four candidates to challenge sitting judges on the California Superior Court in San Diego. The challengers claim to be running to impose what they consider “Christian values” on the courts. An AP story reported one of the challengers claimed that “God has called upon us to do this only with the judiciary.”

The incumbent judges all won handily against these challenges.

I recently debated a supporter of Better Courts Now on a local morning news show.The approach of Better Courts Now, to impose a specific religious perspective on judicial elections, seems inappropriate to many observers. It’s unsettling to people of faith, myself included.

But why? In most elections for public office, we usually tolerate interest groups jockeying for influence. It’s a part of our pluralistic democracy. It’s just politics.

I accept that anything with an election is inherently political. But I do not believe that just because something’s inherently political, then every political act within it is fair game.

There are some campaign tactics that are inappropriate, even if they’re entirely legal under the system. For example, we object strongly to race-baiting, or spreading salacious and false rumors about candidates. Campaigns may be allowed to do so, but they still shouldn’t do so.

Similarly, it’s inappropriate for judicial candidates to assert that they’ll impose specific views on the administration of justice (religious or otherwise). The office is intended to be impartial and fair-minded.

The problem with Better Courts Now is that they are trying to bring in a specific narrow set of values to an office that is supposed to be neutral. Sure, judges are human beings, and they carry the same biases and weaknesses as all of us. But a judge has an obligation to strive for impartiality. Neutrality may ultimately be a fiction, but it’s a useful fiction.

Better Courts Now chucks the idea of impartiality out the window. The whole basis of their campaign, to impose a set of values on a body of neutral arbiters, is antithetical to the function of a judge. Voters are appropriately left to wonder who are these candidates running for judge, who so fundamentally misunderstand the very nature of the offices they seek.

The supporters of Better Courts Now also make the incongruous claim that judges who apply their particular set of religious and social values, are better able to render impartial legal decisions. This idea is inconsistent, if not incoherent.

A judicial activist is a judge that allows their own set of values to supersede other more legitimate legal policies. In the same breath, Better Courts Now claims they will prevent the imposition of personal values in the administration of justice, by imposing personal values in the administration of justice.

Voters don’t like this kind of double dealing, and they appropriately rejected it.

One week left: Predictions

Things always change the last week before the election. Today, this is where I see things:

San Diego City Council District 2 & 4 - Yawn
Faulconer and Young win. Finucane becomes the front-runner four years from now in D2.


San Diego City Council District 6 - Popcorn!
The egos of Kvaric and Sudberry have chained them to the flawed candidacy of Zapf. Thanks to the "gift" of $20K from the SD Republican Party, the Lincoln Club's oversized hit pieces and this being a Republican leaning primary, in spite of the candidate, Zapf gets dragged across the finish line into the runoff.

Wayne makes the runoff to take out face Zapf. With Labor focused in Chula Vista and the local Dem party tilting at the windmill that is the 4th Supervisorial seat, Wayne gets in the old-fashioned way; he worked at it. His relentless campaign should grab enough of the electorate to make it.

Hadley has the Donna-heads on his side but that's it. They will deny Wayne the outright win but will make it easier for him to unify the party in the fall. Hadley's natural volunteer base has fled for Whitburn and, as of this writing, his campaign has not shown much of a pulse since their SDSU interns graduated.

Tran has loaned herself $20K but it remains to be seen how she will apply this to campaign (more signs?). This is her best chance to make the runoff: five candidates and a wounded Republican frontrunner reduce the number of votes needed. It could happen.

Huckabone may receive more than single digits. He has been quiet during the Zapf brouhaha which implies that he is being the good soldier for a future shot at office. Keep your eye on this guy. With some direction and money, he could be dangerous.


San Diego City Council District 8 - Kettlecorn!
D8 is the the kind of place where the total votes garnered by the 3rd or 4th place finisher in D6 could win outright due to the low turnout numbers. Polls have been done showing Inzunza with a solid lead but his runoff opponent remains unknown. One poll has BD Howard as number two and in another it's Alvarez. UFCW launched a hit on BD but it may result in elevating Nick to an outright victory. With Felipe and Ben Hueso sharing resources and people, it appears unlikely that any prediction for the second spot can be credible.

What I will say is that he who has the better ground game will win.


State Assembly District 79 - Tequila poppers!
Conventional wisdom (the same wisdom that gave Peters the nod over Aguirre, Morrow a chance a against Sanders, etc) gives this to Hueso but he's never had to run against a class warrior like Quinones and an experienced veteran like Doyle. The Hueso camp has cobbled together an operation in the last month to compete with the other two which have been in operation for months.

It appears that he didn't realize he had to run a real campaign until May rolled around. Word on the street is that Hueso is planning a hit involving comments from some of Quinones's fellow boardmembers. Hueso also doesn't acknowledge Doyle probably because Doyle is set to take a chunk out of the votes that would be going to Hueso.

Either way, this race is turning into a streetfight between Ben and Pearl. I would have given this to Hueso but his inability to take the race seriously until the last minute may cost him. It will be close.


Prop G Chula Vista - Jaggersahots!
Talk about streetfights and close results. This will be decided by last minute voters and whichever side can yank people out who care about this in June. Chula Vistans have been flooded in the mail and on TV (watched MSNBC or the History Channel recently?). Labor needs to win this. Too close to call.


State Senate 40 - Vodka!
After sending and receiving Molotov cocktails, fire-bombs, and other incendiaries at eachother for months, the Salas and Vargas campaigns will reap the fruits of their labors. Will the insurance industry buy their seat for Vargas? Will Salas be able to raise her head to fight another day? Elements of this race had Spy-vs-Spy qualities.
Winner wins by 2-3 percentages.


Congressional District 50 - Peanuts
Emblem and Busby have been locking horns for over a year now. Emblem is running with Labor in an area where Labor is not popular. Busby gets it on name ID.


Extra! Republican Primary Congressional District 53 - Pretzls
This has been a fun one to watch! Fink gets it because she has good signs and is nowhere near as batty as her opponents.