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.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Voice of San Diego: Big Name Dems Back Republican for Mayor, Again
And Schenk smacks Filner. The Voice has the story.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
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.
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.”
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.”
# # #
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
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.
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.
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.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
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.
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.
Monday, June 20, 2011
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 28th
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.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
San Diego Mayoral Candidate Forum
I find it intriguing the two lines of banter about the San Diego Mayor's race with some of the below candidates that have filed an intent to run statement:
There is the other conversation on the various candidates and their management as a mayor; a strong mayor, characteristics related to previous mayors, a coalition maker, partisanship, understand the complexity of the issues, relationship to council members, downtown establishment and labor.
I think we have an opportunity this far out before the Primary Election to allow the voters of the City of San Diego the opportunity to meet these real half dozen candidates, hear why they are running, what they intend to do in office and ask people for their vote through a type of multi-district townhall debate program.
First, there are currently 13 people that have filed intent to run, but only four that have opened a candidate account. While it would be grand to have every candidate that files speak at the forum it should be for the legitimate candidates. There should be a criteria for those who are invited and if they wish to attend each one can meet what I would outline as the required criteria:
Here is how I would outline the forums:
- Sharam Adhami
- Hud Collins
- Loch David Crane, M.E.D.
- Carl DeMaio
- Bonnie Dumanis
- Bob Filner
- Nathan Fletcher
- Steven Greenwald
- Robert Girly Girly Harter
- Christine T. Kehoe
- Toby J. Lewandoski
- Rocky Neptun
- Tobiah Lee Pettus
There is the other conversation on the various candidates and their management as a mayor; a strong mayor, characteristics related to previous mayors, a coalition maker, partisanship, understand the complexity of the issues, relationship to council members, downtown establishment and labor.
I think we have an opportunity this far out before the Primary Election to allow the voters of the City of San Diego the opportunity to meet these real half dozen candidates, hear why they are running, what they intend to do in office and ask people for their vote through a type of multi-district townhall debate program.
First, there are currently 13 people that have filed intent to run, but only four that have opened a candidate account. While it would be grand to have every candidate that files speak at the forum it should be for the legitimate candidates. There should be a criteria for those who are invited and if they wish to attend each one can meet what I would outline as the required criteria:
- They need to open a candidate committee;
- They need to hire at least one staff member to run their campaign on a full-time basis;
- They need to hire a treasurer to manage their candidate committee; and
- They need to actually commit to run a real campaign (i.e. send out mailers, host phone banks, host fundraisers or self-fund a reasonable sum, etc...)
Here is how I would outline the forums:
- There should be two forums hosted in each of the current eight city council districts with one in each district each following week starting the first of the year, then a second in each district after the completion of the first cycle of debates are completed.
- The forums should be no longer then two hours or some voters will leave, some will not be able to absorb the entire debate and it is hard for the working person to dedicate more then two hours to anything political, unless they are political wonks.
- Each candidate should get a two minute opening and a two minute closing.
- The debates should allow for real-time translation at minimum for Spanish and possibly a second or third language.
- The forums should be funded by the lcoal Republican and Democratic parties, who would just solicit donations from their respective donors anyway. We don't have to have taxpayers cover the cost of these forums.
- There should be a three person panel to ask questions, which should be someone selected by the Republican Party chair, someone selected from the Democratic Party chair and a third which both party chairs can hopefully deem as neutral. Panels are always charged with being partisan, so lets skip the theatrics of choosing only reporters, academia, or non-profits and allow there to be some meaty questions.
- The forums should hold candidates to 1-minute responses.
- Candidates should each be allowed a certain number of times they can ask one specific candidate a follow-up question.
- The audience should be polled at the end of each question on whether they think the candidates answered the question and not whether they liked the candidates answers.
- At the end of the forum there is a spin zone for reporters from print, on-line and social media representatives to ask questions of either the candidates, their campaign representatives, party designee, and allow the fringe candidates to have a representative to complain how they were not allowed to debate.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
No 3rd Round of Public Comment
Word on the street is that the State Redistricting Commission will not have a 3rd round of public comment. Monday night's meeting here in San Diego will be the last opportunity for public testimony before the commission locally.
Democrats Again Outnumber Republicans Countywide; Party Invests in Voter Reg.
From the SDCDP:
As of this month, Democrats have regained the lead in San Diego County's voter registration, erasing a 5,000-voter advantage the Republicans held as recently as September.
Last year Meg Whitman dumped hundreds of thousands of dollars into voter registration during her failed gubernatorial bid, boosting the Republican rolls with fraudulent and financially incentivized registrations. But the county's "blue" tilt since then suggests that the underlying political and demographic trends favor Democrats.
Registration numbers for the two parties have hovered within a razor-thin margin of each other countywide since the 2008 elections. With an eye toward greater potential in the 2012 presidential election year, the County Democratic Party is currently developing an expanded voter registration program in its updated strategic plan.
More immediately, volunteers are needed to register Democrats at events this summer, including the Juneteenth festival (June 18), naturalization ceremonies in San Diego (June 22) and Chula Vista (June 24), and LGBT Pride (July 16-17). To sign up for a shift, email sdvoter@gmail.com.
As of this month, Democrats have regained the lead in San Diego County's voter registration, erasing a 5,000-voter advantage the Republicans held as recently as September.
Last year Meg Whitman dumped hundreds of thousands of dollars into voter registration during her failed gubernatorial bid, boosting the Republican rolls with fraudulent and financially incentivized registrations. But the county's "blue" tilt since then suggests that the underlying political and demographic trends favor Democrats.
Registration numbers for the two parties have hovered within a razor-thin margin of each other countywide since the 2008 elections. With an eye toward greater potential in the 2012 presidential election year, the County Democratic Party is currently developing an expanded voter registration program in its updated strategic plan.
More immediately, volunteers are needed to register Democrats at events this summer, including the Juneteenth festival (June 18), naturalization ceremonies in San Diego (June 22) and Chula Vista (June 24), and LGBT Pride (July 16-17). To sign up for a shift, email sdvoter@gmail.com.
ATKINS APPLAUDS ON-TIME BALANCED STATE BUDGET AS KEY STEP TOWARD GETTING STATE’S FISCAL HOUSE IN ORDER
The state budget adopted today by the California State Legislature represents an important step forward in achieving stability and fiscal prudence in state spending, while it also promotes California’s economic recovery, according to Assemblymember Toni Atkins. The balanced, on-time budget that was approved today is critical both to how credit rating agencies view our state’s finances and to restoring the consumer confidence California will need to continue its economic recovery.
“By adopting the first on-time budget since 1986, we have acted early, responsibly, and made the difficult cuts needed to balance this year’s budget, without the additional revenues many believe were needed,” says Atkins. “This aggressive plan shows how serious we are about putting California back on the right path.”
“Let me be clear, this budget does include deep and difficult cuts that span the breadth of state government and which are in addition to cuts to the core of the state’s health and social services safety net that were made in March.” $2.85 billion in payments to public schools will be deferred and the public universities will take additional major cuts to their budgets.
But the budget adopted today also eliminates 60% of the state’s structural deficit, provides for a $600 million reserve for emergencies, and protects investments in programs that promote job creation and reduce unemployment. The budget includes reforms to enterprise zone and redevelopment programs which generate funds for job creation, education, and the elimination of blight. It restores $200 million for child care programs, ensuring that Californians can continue to work while knowing their children are safe and cared for. In addition, the budget restored critical job training funds that will enable people to get back to work as soon as possible.
“By adopting the first on-time budget since 1986, we have acted early, responsibly, and made the difficult cuts needed to balance this year’s budget, without the additional revenues many believe were needed,” says Atkins. “This aggressive plan shows how serious we are about putting California back on the right path.”
“Let me be clear, this budget does include deep and difficult cuts that span the breadth of state government and which are in addition to cuts to the core of the state’s health and social services safety net that were made in March.” $2.85 billion in payments to public schools will be deferred and the public universities will take additional major cuts to their budgets.
But the budget adopted today also eliminates 60% of the state’s structural deficit, provides for a $600 million reserve for emergencies, and protects investments in programs that promote job creation and reduce unemployment. The budget includes reforms to enterprise zone and redevelopment programs which generate funds for job creation, education, and the elimination of blight. It restores $200 million for child care programs, ensuring that Californians can continue to work while knowing their children are safe and cared for. In addition, the budget restored critical job training funds that will enable people to get back to work as soon as possible.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Let the Games Begin!
Since the imposition of term limits, San Diego politics has been essentially a carousel - a politician starts out on one level, then slowly climbs his or her way up the ladder. Take Christine Kehoe, for example. She started as a San Diego City Councilwoman, almost beat Bilbray in 1996, then onto State Assembly, then State Senate. Each time, she's done an admirable job, and rewarded with voters. But she's also been able to take advantage of open seats as politicians above her got termed out. And following Chris is Toni Adkins, an admirable politician in her own right.
The one place where the carousel hit a wall was U.S. Congress. Unlike political offices for the State of California or the City of San Diego, federal office does not have term limits. As a result, Congressmen locally have held onto their jobs in Congress with both hands. All you need to do is look at Juan Vargas' scars from his campaigns against Bob Filner to understand this principle.
The other interesting factor is that until recently, the position of Mayor of San Diego was considered a crappy job. Seriously, outside of the usual suspects (Ron Roberts, Jim Bell, Steve Francis, etc.), few politicians would even conceive of running. And that's not a huge surprise, because the office of Mayor WAS a crappy job. The Mayor would set the Council agenda and act as the 9th vote on the council. While he/she would get credit and/or blame for the City's successes/woes, he/she couldn't do anything about it. As a result, San Diego never seemed to have good races for mayor, and also not surprisingly, the last four mayors - Roger Hedgecock, Maureen O'Connor, Susan Golding, and Dick Murphy - have not held public office after their terms ended. As a result, the carousel ends without many San Diegan politicians have a chance to move up in the world.
But two things have changed. First, the Mayor of San Diego is now the chief executive of San Diego City Government. The Mayor gets to do stuff, and not just look the part of the big cheese, but be the big cheese. The kind of big cheese that gets talked about for state-wide office, like mayor of San Francisco or mayor of LA. As a result, ten thousand people* are running for Mayor. Not only are they running for Mayor, but they're leaving their other jobs to run for Mayor. Second, redistricting has come to the Congressional districts, and these new districts with new lines and borders change everything. Darrel Issa, for instance, has to move back into the district he's represented for the past ten years.
So what does this all mean? The carousel has ended folks. For the next year or so, everything will be in play to a degree. Democratic districts will probably remain Democratic, and vice versa, but who holds these seats will be a crapshoot as more and more seats open up. Once epic contests, such as Filner v. Vargas I, II and III, are ending peaceably as Filner vacates his Congressional seat to run for Mayor. Or not. I don't know, you don't know, no one knows. That is going to make things interesting for the next few years because the rules have changed.
*All numbers are approximate.
The one place where the carousel hit a wall was U.S. Congress. Unlike political offices for the State of California or the City of San Diego, federal office does not have term limits. As a result, Congressmen locally have held onto their jobs in Congress with both hands. All you need to do is look at Juan Vargas' scars from his campaigns against Bob Filner to understand this principle.
The other interesting factor is that until recently, the position of Mayor of San Diego was considered a crappy job. Seriously, outside of the usual suspects (Ron Roberts, Jim Bell, Steve Francis, etc.), few politicians would even conceive of running. And that's not a huge surprise, because the office of Mayor WAS a crappy job. The Mayor would set the Council agenda and act as the 9th vote on the council. While he/she would get credit and/or blame for the City's successes/woes, he/she couldn't do anything about it. As a result, San Diego never seemed to have good races for mayor, and also not surprisingly, the last four mayors - Roger Hedgecock, Maureen O'Connor, Susan Golding, and Dick Murphy - have not held public office after their terms ended. As a result, the carousel ends without many San Diegan politicians have a chance to move up in the world.
But two things have changed. First, the Mayor of San Diego is now the chief executive of San Diego City Government. The Mayor gets to do stuff, and not just look the part of the big cheese, but be the big cheese. The kind of big cheese that gets talked about for state-wide office, like mayor of San Francisco or mayor of LA. As a result, ten thousand people* are running for Mayor. Not only are they running for Mayor, but they're leaving their other jobs to run for Mayor. Second, redistricting has come to the Congressional districts, and these new districts with new lines and borders change everything. Darrel Issa, for instance, has to move back into the district he's represented for the past ten years.
So what does this all mean? The carousel has ended folks. For the next year or so, everything will be in play to a degree. Democratic districts will probably remain Democratic, and vice versa, but who holds these seats will be a crapshoot as more and more seats open up. Once epic contests, such as Filner v. Vargas I, II and III, are ending peaceably as Filner vacates his Congressional seat to run for Mayor. Or not. I don't know, you don't know, no one knows. That is going to make things interesting for the next few years because the rules have changed.
*All numbers are approximate.
Run Women Run Names Francine Busby to Executive Director Position
Former Congressional Candidate and Cardiff school board member Francine Busby has been named executive director of Run Women Run, announced Michelle Burton, president of the organization. Run Women Run, started in 2008, is a non-partisan political action committee that inspires, recruits, trains and mentors pro-choice San Diego women who are seeking elected or appointed office.
“We are excited that Francine has agreed to lead our organization as we approach an important election year,” said Burton. “National numbers indicate that women are still a minority in most state Legislatures, in Congress and as mayors of major cities.”
Busby, a long time advocate and mentor for girls and women, has served as an adjunct professor of Woman's Studies at California State University, San Marcos and as an elected member of the Cardiff School Board where she guided the district through a tumultuous transition involving critical personnel issues, multi-million dollar budgets, union negotiations and decisions that affected hundreds of families.
“While women are certainly not monolithic, women legislators are more likely than their male counter parts to support policies and laws related to the education, protection of reproductive rights and other issues impacting women and children,” said Busby.
Busby has mentored women in offices from school board and city council to state Assembly and Congress. She has also worked closely with Emily's List, the California List, California Women Lead, the National Organization for Women, National Women’s Political Caucus, Emerge, Planned Parenthood and other organizations that support women in leadership and elected office.
While raising her family, Busby served on governing boards of numerous community organizations including serving as the founding president of the Casa Teresa Central Guild in Orange County, as president of the Cardiff Education Foundation and as a Girl Scout troop leader.
Busby grew up in an Italian American family of small business owners in the Los Angeles area. She graduated from UC Irvine with a B.A. in humanities. She has been married to David Busby, a computer software engineer for 32 years, and they have two adult children. They have lived in Cardiff-by the Sea for 23 years.
“We are excited that Francine has agreed to lead our organization as we approach an important election year,” said Burton. “National numbers indicate that women are still a minority in most state Legislatures, in Congress and as mayors of major cities.”
Busby, a long time advocate and mentor for girls and women, has served as an adjunct professor of Woman's Studies at California State University, San Marcos and as an elected member of the Cardiff School Board where she guided the district through a tumultuous transition involving critical personnel issues, multi-million dollar budgets, union negotiations and decisions that affected hundreds of families.
“While women are certainly not monolithic, women legislators are more likely than their male counter parts to support policies and laws related to the education, protection of reproductive rights and other issues impacting women and children,” said Busby.
Busby has mentored women in offices from school board and city council to state Assembly and Congress. She has also worked closely with Emily's List, the California List, California Women Lead, the National Organization for Women, National Women’s Political Caucus, Emerge, Planned Parenthood and other organizations that support women in leadership and elected office.
While raising her family, Busby served on governing boards of numerous community organizations including serving as the founding president of the Casa Teresa Central Guild in Orange County, as president of the Cardiff Education Foundation and as a Girl Scout troop leader.
Busby grew up in an Italian American family of small business owners in the Los Angeles area. She graduated from UC Irvine with a B.A. in humanities. She has been married to David Busby, a computer software engineer for 32 years, and they have two adult children. They have lived in Cardiff-by the Sea for 23 years.
Word on the Street: Saldana for Congress
Rumor - This has been swirling for over a month but now has picked up steam. A number of electeds have been talking about this possibility and it seems to validate the conventional wisdom that Bilbray's days in Congress may be numbered.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Bilbray draws another challenger.
This morning, local Democrats were introduced to Bob Nascenzi for Congress via e-mail. The link to his site is here. This appears to be his first foray into politics and we would love to know more about him.
His intention is to run against Brian Bilbray. Maybe moving to Clairemont was not the best for the current Congressman, who seems to be drawing challengers at a steady pace.
His intention is to run against Brian Bilbray. Maybe moving to Clairemont was not the best for the current Congressman, who seems to be drawing challengers at a steady pace.
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