State Senate Republicans elected a new leader Wednesday, but it wasn’t Joel Anderson of La Mesa.
Sen.
Bob Huff of Diamond Bar, after wrapping up commitments from a majority of the GOP caucus earlier, will take over.
Read the article here.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
100th Anniversary Free Speech Exhibit Debuts in San Diego
***MEDIA ALERT***MEDIA ALERT***MEDIA ALERT***
100th Anniversary Free Speech Exhibit Debuts in San Diego
100th Anniversary Free Speech Exhibit Debuts in San Diego
WHAT:
Community-wide Celebration to honor 100-Year Anniversary of San Diego’s Free Speech Fight. Local labor, community, and educational groups from around San Diego will gather to remember San Diego’s role in the American free speech movement that hit a fever pitch in January 1912 based on a San Diego City Council ordinance banning speech in public around 5th Avenue and E Street.
EVENT:
Opening night activities include: photo display of the San Diego Free Speech Fight; a reading from FLASH (a book based on the San Diego Free Speech Fight) by author Jim Miller; live music by Gregory Page, The Proles, and the People’s Revolutionary Choir; and more. Hors d’oeuvres and refreshments will be provided.
WHO:
San Diego-Imperial Counties Labor Council, ACLU – San Diego Chapter, San Diego City College Labor Studies Program, Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice, University of San Diego Department of Communications and History Graduate Program, National University Center for Cultural and Ethnic Studies, and Federation of Retired Union Members. All will be available to speak with media.
WHEN:
Friday, January 6, 2012
7:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
WHERE:
Centro Cultural de la Raza, Balboa Park, San Diego, CA 92101
For additional information and a detailed event listing of the San Diego Free Speech Fight 100-Year Anniversary activities, please visit: www.aftguild.org/free_speech
# # #
SD CItyBeat: The U-T's connections to Carl DeMaio and the Lincoln Club
And to continue harping on The San Diego Union-Tribune—shit, done it again—U-T San Diego: Last month, the San Diego Daily Transcript reported
that City Councilmember and mayor candidate Carl DeMaio has a history
with the new owners of the city’s main daily newspaper, hotelier Doug
Manchester and broadcaster John Lynch. In 2005, Manchester donated
$100,000 to a DeMaio-run political committee, while Lynch’s radio
station provided the committee with $38,400 in free air time.
Read the article here.
Read the article here.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Two Cathedrals: A leaderless movement can still be led
Read the original at Two Cathedrals
In its editorial last week,
CityBeat tried to kickstart a conversation about the future of the
Occupy movement, particularly in San Diego. The gist is that the
physical occupation side of things has run out of steam and distracted
from the original goals of raising awareness and building consensus
around the economic and political disparities in San Diego, the country,
the world. That’s probably right, although as much as the physical
occupation was important because of its impact on others around it, it
also worked because it was such a low, opt-in bar for potential
activists to clear in order to participate. That’s what makes
‘graduation’ tricky.
The more difficult needle to thread is what comes next? CityBeat recommends joining the system to save the system from itself, a strategy that’s been around forever in equal parts co-option and Crashing the Gate, depending on who’s talking. Especially in San Diego, a more engaged citizenry with higher expectations is a desperately needed step, but it isn’t an end in itself to just make a list of other people who don’t do enough. Occupy has kicked the door open and created opportunity, now it’s everyone’s job to go through it.
Here’s the piece that so few seem to understand — or want to. Occupy was never about occupiers taking over the system. They aren’t aspiring to write new bills, or hold elected officials accountable, or be the next generation of reform politicians. They are think tank policy wonks. They aren’t journalists. They aren’t legislators. They already have vocations and already have lives. They’re protesting the disruption of those vocations and lives because policy, elected officials, watchdogs aren’t keeping up their end of the bargain. They aren’t looking for a new gig — they just want their original gig back. There are plenty of people who have run for office, who have started or joined community organizations, who have invested themselves in the stuff of making our communities stronger, who now must rise to the occasion.
It’s a tough concept to grasp across the spectrum. For every conservative seeking to discredit the objections of the 99%, there are Democrats dodging behind the ‘where’s their plan?’ tut-tut. Scott Peters is waiting to be led. Bob Filner wants to know where the itemized list of demands is and compares with nostalgia to his heroic time as a Freedom Rider. It’s still just four months since Occupy began; it was more than three years between the Freedom Riders departed and the Civil Rights Act was passed. The Voting Rights Act took another year — and after those four years activists were still getting beaten bloody on the road to Selma. They’re running to solve the same problems that Occupiers and their allies are are raising, so solve them. Leadership is earned by example.
Stephen Lerner has been one of the sharpest leaders on this point, identifying the need and the opportunity before there even was an Occupy, emphasizing both the need for an effort shaped like Occupy eventually was and the need of innovative leadership to grow into the bigger issues that the effort has exposed. Now, “Lerner is neither in nor of Occupy Wall Street…Be that as it may, his name is very near the top of that lamentably short list of strategists of how to rebalance power in America so that the 99 percent have more of it.” But he’s helped make clear that economic justice shouldn’t be a difficult concept to champion; leadership should not have trouble rising to meet this occasion.
Everyone needs to maintain and build on this momentum, but it isn’t the time to demand that Occupiers lead everyone else (though they’re welcome to it, and let’s take leadership wherever we can get it). It’s time to demand that all the people who signed up to be our erstwhile leaders to snap out of their reverie and actually do the job. They can do it; they know how. We’ve seen a couple early steps towards challenging the inertia of concentrated money and political power. There’s popular support served up on a platter for anyone willing to earn it.
To their credit, CityBeat declares itself an ally in this effort. But at some point, it has to stop always being someone else’s job to go first. That’s how we found ourselves in this spot to begin with — waiting for someone else to take responsibility. The strength of the Occupy effort is in its work outside the system: Bank Transfer Day moved $4.5 billion into community credit unions. Occupy Our Homes is forcing the country to confront the never-ending foreclosure crisis in new ways.
The opportunity isn’t to turn the 99% into politicians. This moment is when we’ll find out whether any of our politicians are ready to be leaders for the 99% — and whether there’s still room for populism to work at all.
by Lucas O’Connor
The more difficult needle to thread is what comes next? CityBeat recommends joining the system to save the system from itself, a strategy that’s been around forever in equal parts co-option and Crashing the Gate, depending on who’s talking. Especially in San Diego, a more engaged citizenry with higher expectations is a desperately needed step, but it isn’t an end in itself to just make a list of other people who don’t do enough. Occupy has kicked the door open and created opportunity, now it’s everyone’s job to go through it.
Here’s the piece that so few seem to understand — or want to. Occupy was never about occupiers taking over the system. They aren’t aspiring to write new bills, or hold elected officials accountable, or be the next generation of reform politicians. They are think tank policy wonks. They aren’t journalists. They aren’t legislators. They already have vocations and already have lives. They’re protesting the disruption of those vocations and lives because policy, elected officials, watchdogs aren’t keeping up their end of the bargain. They aren’t looking for a new gig — they just want their original gig back. There are plenty of people who have run for office, who have started or joined community organizations, who have invested themselves in the stuff of making our communities stronger, who now must rise to the occasion.
It’s a tough concept to grasp across the spectrum. For every conservative seeking to discredit the objections of the 99%, there are Democrats dodging behind the ‘where’s their plan?’ tut-tut. Scott Peters is waiting to be led. Bob Filner wants to know where the itemized list of demands is and compares with nostalgia to his heroic time as a Freedom Rider. It’s still just four months since Occupy began; it was more than three years between the Freedom Riders departed and the Civil Rights Act was passed. The Voting Rights Act took another year — and after those four years activists were still getting beaten bloody on the road to Selma. They’re running to solve the same problems that Occupiers and their allies are are raising, so solve them. Leadership is earned by example.
Stephen Lerner has been one of the sharpest leaders on this point, identifying the need and the opportunity before there even was an Occupy, emphasizing both the need for an effort shaped like Occupy eventually was and the need of innovative leadership to grow into the bigger issues that the effort has exposed. Now, “Lerner is neither in nor of Occupy Wall Street…Be that as it may, his name is very near the top of that lamentably short list of strategists of how to rebalance power in America so that the 99 percent have more of it.” But he’s helped make clear that economic justice shouldn’t be a difficult concept to champion; leadership should not have trouble rising to meet this occasion.
Everyone needs to maintain and build on this momentum, but it isn’t the time to demand that Occupiers lead everyone else (though they’re welcome to it, and let’s take leadership wherever we can get it). It’s time to demand that all the people who signed up to be our erstwhile leaders to snap out of their reverie and actually do the job. They can do it; they know how. We’ve seen a couple early steps towards challenging the inertia of concentrated money and political power. There’s popular support served up on a platter for anyone willing to earn it.
To their credit, CityBeat declares itself an ally in this effort. But at some point, it has to stop always being someone else’s job to go first. That’s how we found ourselves in this spot to begin with — waiting for someone else to take responsibility. The strength of the Occupy effort is in its work outside the system: Bank Transfer Day moved $4.5 billion into community credit unions. Occupy Our Homes is forcing the country to confront the never-ending foreclosure crisis in new ways.
The opportunity isn’t to turn the 99% into politicians. This moment is when we’ll find out whether any of our politicians are ready to be leaders for the 99% — and whether there’s still room for populism to work at all.
by Lucas O’Connor
Saturday, December 31, 2011
SDUT: Redevelopment not shutting down yet
Rep. Bob Filner, the lone major Democrat running for San Diego mayor,
separated himself from his Republican opponents by saying
redevelopment’s demise may be a good thing for the city.
“The fact that all these power brokers and the mayor are so upset means it must be the right thing to do,” Filner said. “The mayor called it a money grab by the governor and I say ‘No, we’re stopping a money grab from downtown special interests.’”
Read the article here.
“The fact that all these power brokers and the mayor are so upset means it must be the right thing to do,” Filner said. “The mayor called it a money grab by the governor and I say ‘No, we’re stopping a money grab from downtown special interests.’”
Read the article here.
Friday, December 23, 2011
VOSD: Manchester Eyeing North County Times
"Everyone is looking at it," Manchester said. "It could add to
our collection and it could be beneficial. We're probably the
logical buyers, but we haven't met with anyone on it."
Read the article here.
Read the article here.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
VOSD: Who Has the Power at City Hall?
David Alvarez, who was elected in November 2010, has been the
only City Council member to vote consistently against the tourist lobby on
both issues. Those votes are two in a series that has put Alvarez,
a Democrat who represents San Diego's southernmost communities, in
opposition to traditional big-time city interests. He's also stood
against downtown redevelopment.
When he's explained his decisions from the dais, Alvarez has referenced his time growing up in poverty in the city's Barrio Logan neighborhood. Too long, he's said, the city has directed its energy toward areas that benefit the privileged at the expense of its neediest residents.
Read the article here.
When he's explained his decisions from the dais, Alvarez has referenced his time growing up in poverty in the city's Barrio Logan neighborhood. Too long, he's said, the city has directed its energy toward areas that benefit the privileged at the expense of its neediest residents.
Read the article here.
HUffington Post: Customs And Border Commissioner Alan Bersin Resigns
Time's up for the head of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, who
announced Thursday he is stepping down at the end of the year when his
recess appointment expires.
Read the article here.
Read the article here.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Two Cathedrals: Roger Hedgecock peddling DeMaio hypocrisy
Original post here.
From his very own “Roger@CarlDemaio.com” email address today, disgraced former mayor Roger Hedgecock of all people sounded the alarm to Carl DeMaio supporters that “a leading architect of backroom deals for special interests” is planning to — can you believe it — discuss Carl DeMaio in public at some point!
The hyperbole would be a little more convincing if it weren’t so hypocritical. Carl DeMaio personally made millions off of government contractors seeking bigger profits and non-competitive government contracts of his own. And thanks to spending his professional life as a walking, talking special interest, he was able to personally drop more than $273,000 in seed money for his campaign over the summer. A quick spin through the same disclosure records finds more than $50,000 from more than 180 developers, government contractors, and lobbyists — some of whom have had business before the council that DeMaio voted on.
We could call the lobbyist part hypocritical also, since DeMaio was instructed by the City Attorney that he should register as a lobbyist because of his high volume of contact with the city council (before his election). But he refused to register, thus refusing disclosure.
And if you really wanted to read the whole disclosure report — or even just the first page (a challenge for DeMaio previously), you might notice that he just appointed his campaign treasurer to his new Task Force to begin pre-emptively implementing his pension reforms before the ballot measure is approved or DeMaio is elected mayor. No backroom deals though!
Hedgecock also frets about supposed plans “to skirt campaign finance laws.” That is, not break the rules but find beneficial loopholes. This strategy might sound familiar from how Carl DeMaio has run his entire campaign. He combined the mailing lists of his pension reform initiative and personal campaign. He used taxpayer dollars to fund the reports that now make up his campaign platform. He used taxpayer dollars again to hold a series of jobs forums, the results of which have so far only been announced at a private, pay-for-entrance campaign event.
And, of course, he’s told people at official government events not to email him with government business at his government email address (subject to public review), but rather his personal email address because, as he explained “No one sees it except me.” That email address is hosted by his campaign website, if you were wondering.
So in short, Hedgecock’s entire email amounts to petulant whining that the tactics that DeMaio has used for his nearly twenty years of professional politics might also be used by someone else. Hedgecock knows how absurd it is, and so does DeMaio. But they sure are hoping that nobody else notices.
by Lucas O’Connor (with clients including Too Extreme for San Diego)
From his very own “Roger@CarlDemaio.com” email address today, disgraced former mayor Roger Hedgecock of all people sounded the alarm to Carl DeMaio supporters that “a leading architect of backroom deals for special interests” is planning to — can you believe it — discuss Carl DeMaio in public at some point!
The hyperbole would be a little more convincing if it weren’t so hypocritical. Carl DeMaio personally made millions off of government contractors seeking bigger profits and non-competitive government contracts of his own. And thanks to spending his professional life as a walking, talking special interest, he was able to personally drop more than $273,000 in seed money for his campaign over the summer. A quick spin through the same disclosure records finds more than $50,000 from more than 180 developers, government contractors, and lobbyists — some of whom have had business before the council that DeMaio voted on.
We could call the lobbyist part hypocritical also, since DeMaio was instructed by the City Attorney that he should register as a lobbyist because of his high volume of contact with the city council (before his election). But he refused to register, thus refusing disclosure.
And if you really wanted to read the whole disclosure report — or even just the first page (a challenge for DeMaio previously), you might notice that he just appointed his campaign treasurer to his new Task Force to begin pre-emptively implementing his pension reforms before the ballot measure is approved or DeMaio is elected mayor. No backroom deals though!
Hedgecock also frets about supposed plans “to skirt campaign finance laws.” That is, not break the rules but find beneficial loopholes. This strategy might sound familiar from how Carl DeMaio has run his entire campaign. He combined the mailing lists of his pension reform initiative and personal campaign. He used taxpayer dollars to fund the reports that now make up his campaign platform. He used taxpayer dollars again to hold a series of jobs forums, the results of which have so far only been announced at a private, pay-for-entrance campaign event.
And, of course, he’s told people at official government events not to email him with government business at his government email address (subject to public review), but rather his personal email address because, as he explained “No one sees it except me.” That email address is hosted by his campaign website, if you were wondering.
So in short, Hedgecock’s entire email amounts to petulant whining that the tactics that DeMaio has used for his nearly twenty years of professional politics might also be used by someone else. Hedgecock knows how absurd it is, and so does DeMaio. But they sure are hoping that nobody else notices.
by Lucas O’Connor (with clients including Too Extreme for San Diego)
SD News Source: New U-T owner has history of support for Carl DeMaio
What a shock.
Read the article here.
Doug Manchester, the new owner of The San Diego Union-Tribune,
is well-known for his wide range of political donations. But among the
four candidates for San Diego mayor, he seems to have a favorite: City
Councilman Carl DeMaio.
Manchester and John Lynch, the new chief executive officer of the Union-Tribune,
donated almost half of the total funding for San Diego Citizens for
Accountable Government, a public policy action committee DeMaio launched
at the start of his San Diego political career. By the end of 2005, the
committee had raised $328,500, including $110,000 of DeMaio's own
money, $100,000 from Manchester and $38,400 in free airtime for
commercials from Lynch's Mighty 1090 radio station, according to
campaign disclosures.
Read the article here.
SD CityBeat: The Lincoln Club's unfunny Occupy Christmas spoof
A few weeks ago, CityBeat was
passing through the Civic Center Plaza, checking out the dwindling
Occupy San Diego crowd, when we spied Matt Donnellan, an aide to City
Councilmember Lorie Zapf, coordinating
some sort of stunt to ridicule the protesters. Donnellan (or “Fabio,”
as the Occupiers call him) was directing a group of Republican college
students dressed in elf costumes to march and wave anti-labor signs at a
video camera.
Those clips ended up as part of a video skit at an “Occupy Christmas” banquet benefitting the Lincoln Club of San Diego County, a conservative, pro-business political organization.
Read the article here.
Those clips ended up as part of a video skit at an “Occupy Christmas” banquet benefitting the Lincoln Club of San Diego County, a conservative, pro-business political organization.
Read the article here.
SF Gate: CA Dem chair John Burton lambastes story alleging party redistricting manipulation as “complete bull…t”
Chairman Burton calls it like it is.
“As the chair of the party, I know the party didn’t do this…the Democratic Party didn’t do sh..t,” he said. “As far as I was concerned, there was nothing you could goddamned do.”
Read the article here.
“As the chair of the party, I know the party didn’t do this…the Democratic Party didn’t do sh..t,” he said. “As far as I was concerned, there was nothing you could goddamned do.”
Read the article here.
Labor Council and United Way’s Labor Participation Host Annual Holiday Food and Toy Drive for San Diego’s Unemployed and Underemployed
***MEDIA ALERT***MEDIA ALERT***MEDIA ALERT***
Labor Council and United Way’s Labor Participation Host Annual Holiday Food and Toy Drive for San Diego’s Unemployed and Underemployed
Labor Council and United Way’s Labor Participation Host Annual Holiday Food and Toy Drive for San Diego’s Unemployed and Underemployed
WHAT:
Labor Council and United Way’s Labor Participation 2012 Holiday Food and Toy Distribution. The San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council and the United Way’s Department of Labor Participation will serve food and toys to 500 families from Greater San Diego.
EVENT:
Union members coming together to help San Diego families that have been affected by unemployment and underemployment this year by handing out turkeys, food bags, toys and bikes – all of which were donated by workers and their unions – to needy families.
WHO:
500 San Diego families in need, including children of all ages; Union Volunteers; United Way Staff. All will be available to speak with media.
WHEN:
Friday, December 23, 2011
8:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
WHERE:
Qualcomm Stadium, Parking Lot, San Diego, CA 92108
HIGHLIGHTS:
· San Diego-Imperial Counties Labor Council Secretary-Treasurer/CEO Lorena Gonzalez will be available for interviews
· Opportunities for local, neighborhood news and personal interest profiles, including live-shots for morning newscasts
· Sharing positive, uplifting stories of families from San Diego who will now be able to provide a happy holiday season for their children
CONTACT:
Patrick Pierce
619-807-0850 Cell
ppierce@unionyes.org
San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council
3737 Camino del Rio South, #403, San Diego, CA 92108
619-228-8101 Office
www.unionyes.org
# # #
3737 Camino del Rio South, #403, San Diego, CA 92108
619-228-8101 Office
www.unionyes.org
# # #
SDUT: Latinos sue Escondido over elections
The lawsuit challenges the city’s at-large election system saying it
violates the California Voting Rights Act of 2001 and the federal Voting
Rights Act of 1965 by discriminating against its majority Latino
population.
Read the article here.
Read the article here.
VOSD: Mayor, City Attorney Respond to Bankruptcy Case
Both Mayor Jerry Sanders' office and City Attorney Jan Goldsmith
responded to my post this morning on the
revelation that retired police and firefighters from a small city
in Rhode Island have agreed to reduce their pensions in bankruptcy.
That's important because Sanders and Goldsmith have argued that
pensions couldn't be reduced through Chapter 9 to combat the idea
that San Diego should explore bankruptcy,
Read the article here.
Read the article here.
Monday, December 19, 2011
OB Rag: Sit-In at San Diego Democratic Party HQ Being Planned for Monday, Dec. 19, to Protest Defense Bill
Upset over plans by President Obama to sign the National Defense
Authorization Act, various members of local progressive groups had an
emergency meeting Sunday morning and formed San Diegans to Save the Bill of Rights. The group is holding a sit-in at the Democratic Party headquarters on Monday, December 19th.
Read the press release here.
Read the press release here.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
SDUT: SD council balance hangs on one election
Businessman Ray Ellis has stepped down as board chairman of San
Diego’s pension system, setting the stage for a City Council run against
incumbent Sherri Lightner.
The race won’t get nearly the same publicity as the campaign for San Diego mayor, but the outcome in the city’s toniest district could decide which political party holds the majority on a new nine-member City Council.
Reade the article here.
The race won’t get nearly the same publicity as the campaign for San Diego mayor, but the outcome in the city’s toniest district could decide which political party holds the majority on a new nine-member City Council.
Reade the article here.
SDUT: County move to cut red tape threatens planning groups
Four decades ago the county created community planning groups to
increase citizen input in land-use decisions. Now, some say the locally
elected and appointed officials are gumming up the works and want to
eliminate or severely curtail their influence.
Read the article here.
Read the article here.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)