Photo by Brittany Bailey
With Filner’s days as mayor apparently waning, it’s a sure bet that San Diego’s “shadow government” will be restored to full authority by the candidates who would seek to replace him.
By Andy Cohen
Last November, San Diego—well, at least liberals in San Diego—celebrated the beginning of a brand new era in local government and politics. For the first time in over two decades the voters of this city elected a Democrat as mayor. But more than that, they elected a candidate that not only said he would change the culture at City Hall, he actually had the backbone to do it.
Bob Filner was the right candidate at the right time for a city whose policies for far too long had been dictated by the moneyed special interests, particularly the Downtown variety. Filner represented a whole new course for San Diego’s city government. Instead of a City Hall dominated by the local business and corporate interests, average San Diegans finally had a champion who promised he would care more about them than about the big hotel lobby or the big time developers who constantly had their hands out for public properties that they could profit from.
Filner stood up to the Tourism and Marketing District, insisting that if they were going to spend money to enrich themselves, then the risk needed to fall on their shoulders instead of the taxpayers’ if their tax scheme was deemed illegal by the courts. He insisted that Balboa Park could be returned to pedestrians, limiting vehicle traffic and opening the Plaza de Panama up for all to enjoy without spending $45 million and destroying a national historic landmark to do it. And for just over $300,000, he did exactly that.
After 30 years of promises and disappointments, he solidified plans to bring a long overdue transit center to City Heights, complete with rapid-transit buses to provide residents of one of the lowest income neighborhoods in the city better, faster, and more efficient access to the major employment centers.
He delivered a solution to eradicate the stench in La Jolla Cove, and extended it to Bird Rock. He stood in the way of controversial developers receiving gifts of free public land, albeit doing so in controversial manner of his own.
Bob Filner promised to change the culture at City Hall, restoring city government to the people instead of the moneyed interests, ensuring that everyone got a fair shake. And he was well on his way to accomplishing that feat, even as he was viciously opposed by the powers he sought to diminish. Under a constant barrage of attacks from the likes of Doug Manchester, Joe Terzi, Terry Brown, the Lincoln Club, and even members of the City Council, he stood tall, refusing to back down from any fight. The “little people” of San Diego at long last had a champion.
Sadly, those days, brief as they were, appear to be coming to an end, and the Mayor has no one to blame but himself as the noose of sexual harassment allegations continues to tighten around his neck, and as more and more local officials—friend and foe alike—call for his resignation. It now appears to be a matter of when, not if, the Mayor will step down.
If and when that happens, given the list of likely suspects to seek to replace Filner as the top dog in San Diego, we’re apt to see a return to business as usual downtown. That means the big corporate interests are positioned to once again take control of the city as a quasi “shadow government,” as SDFP columnist Jim Miller puts it.
Of the potential candidates who are thought to be the frontrunners in a special election, only Donna Frye figured to continue what Filner had started in regards to changing the influence structure at City Hall. Frye is the only one with a history of standing up for the little guy, pushing back against the traditional power brokers. But she has already definitively declared that she will not seek the mayorship, although that could change as it’s entirely possible she simply didn’t want to appear to be a shameless opportunist in announcing a run before the body of Filner’s brief term has even been officially declared dead. She would surely be the top choice of the liberal base in San Diego, having won almost exalted status during her two terms on the City Council and her previous runs for mayor.
Then there’s Carl DeMaio, the declared Congressional candidate challenging freshman representative Scott Peters in the 2014 52nd District race. The Tea Party backed, anti-tax, anti-government zealot who lost to Filner last November most certainly is a shameless opportunist, making sure that his Cheshire Cat grin can be seen through every print and broadcast media outlet in the city. DeMaio has all but officially declared himself a candidate again, which could be good news for Peters, but would certainly be horrific news for San Diego. As Donna Frye herself once said, a Carl DeMaio administration at City Hall would most certainly amount to a Highway to Hell.
As the current City Council President, Todd Gloria would take over the mayoral duties on an interim basis should Filner step down, and it’s a sure bet that he would seek to make that change permanent. A San Diego Reader blog posited last week that Gloria had already printed up campaign posters, although his office denied the charge, and the Realtor in whose office the poster first appeared insisted that he made the poster himself “to be silly.” Gloria is another political opportunist who is brilliant at playing both sides of the fence, sucking up to the money while doing just enough for his district to make his constituents believe that he’s on their side. On social issues he may be solidly in the Democratic column, but on economic and governance issues he’s as conservative as the lobbyists want him to be. He has much higher political aspirations, and he’s not shy about sidling up to whoever will help get him there. He has certainly never been an ally to this current mayor, Democrat or not.
When it comes down to choosing between regular, every day San Diegans and the Downtown power brokers, Gloria will side with the money.
Jan Goldsmith—the current City Attorney who it seems, like Mike Aguirre before him, has designs on the 11th floor at City Hall—is another possibility. But his reputation took a nosedive recently after his office was humiliated nationally when they decided to prosecute a man for writing protest slogans on a public sidewalk with washable chalk in front of a Bank of America branch, all at the behest of BofA. You might have heard that Jeff Olson, the “Mad Chalker” in question, was quickly acquitted of all charges by a jury.
Which leaves us with Nathan Fletcher, who, when you look at it, might just be the best available option short of a surprise candidate emerging. The moderate Republican-turned-independent-turned-Democrat (I’m trying really hard to forgive him for signing the Grover Norquist pledge) had a change of heart late last year when he decided to join the Democratic Party, less than a year after he bolted from the Republicans. There are many who insist that the switch was merely out of convenience in an effort to keep his political aspirations alive. After all, he left the Party only after the County GOP spurned him for DeMaio in the 2012 mayoral race, and the entire state Party turned outright hostile toward him shortly thereafter. And when life in the independent wilderness got too lonely to bear, he decided to join forces with the Democrats.
It’s entirely possible, however, that he honestly found that his core values simply no longer matched up with the Republicans of today, and he found that he had much more in common with Democrats. No one is going to mistake him for a dyed-in-the-wool liberal anytime soon, though. And he too is likely to restore the traditional base of power that Filner fought so hard to dismantle. But in the end, he may just be the best of an undesirable lot.
Andy Cohen
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Here’s an email sent out today by Carl DeMaio:
“I assume you’re as disgusted as I am with the mess at City Hall. We have to be ready to continue our push for better leadership for our region. I need your help getting some folks together.
On July 31, we’re holding a campaign fundraiser at Stone Brewing in Liberty Station.
Can you join the host committee and help us get others to attend and donate?
Let me know – call me to discuss. Cell is 619-xxx-xxxx.
Thanks
Carl
That tells us just about all we need to know….and it certainly isn’t unexpected. Power to him is like crack to a crack addict.
I can’t find anything on the internets about drafting Donna Frye for Mayor.
…oh well.
But we do have an effort from The Mushy Middle to draft Fletcher.
By SD Rostra and no doubt supported by the Lincoln Club.
SDRostra support for a Fletcher candidacy is extremely unlikely. They hate him over there.
Wrong, Andy. By mainstream Democrat Christine Forester.
Regardless of whether she were to come into the picture sooner or later, I think the city would have a hard time branding her as anything short of the shameless opportunist Andy suggests, given how central her voice has been in the anti-Filner campaign. Although it’s disappointing to hear what we’re hearing about Filner, her past integrity gives her current claims credibility – though if she pulls an about-face and jumps into the replacement race that credibility goes out the window.
N. Fletcher is a wholly owned subsidiary of Irwin Jacobs.
Apres moi, le deluge. (Filner)
Be careful what you wish for, folks…
This is no longer a matter of desire (sic), this is now a matter of realpolitik: the politics of the situation means that there will be absolutely no due process coming to Filner. The straws called The Filner Headlock and The Filner Dance broke the camel’s back.
Wrong. Calumny is trumped by the people’s short attention span.
I think we need a .decent moment of mourning. The people who elected Filner should decide who succeeds him. Let us meet and confer. The dream is not dead.
Neither is Filner. He can reform. We can continue to have a strong mayor who fights
for a better city.
I agree. Why do they get to decide which punishment fits the crime, before a crime has even been demonstrated?
I thought Kehoe was interested, no? Have either Emerald or Cole given any indication if they are interested of not? Personally, I would like to see Lori Saldana have that job.
Well, the sharks are circling. I’ll bet the sharks are even more set in their ways after seeing what a real mayor could do. This will be an open invitation to bring San Diego back to the bad old days.
The sharks have been circling Filner since the day he announced his intention to run.
He is a fighter and will need support. Why do you go there — the bad old days — when
something is salvageable?
Are you all really ready to say it’s the end for Filner? Isn’t that a tad premature, or did I miss something when I took my nap?
Me personally I’m stopping short of calling for his resignation, particularly given the alternatives. But let’s face facts: He’s done. I don’t see how he can survive this level of political shitstorm.
Two words: Arnold Schwarzenegger, governor of California. Okay, five.
I don’t get to do opinion journalism much these days, but the only person who does that I’m seeing standing on a soapbox rallying behind Filner’s cause (lots of us are taking a “wait and see” or “let’s face the inevitable” approach) is former San Diegan Don Bauder – see both his tirades against ouster and dogged pursuit of examples of past scandals blown over in the last few days…
Four more words: Anthony Weiner, Eliot Spitzer. Two more: Mark Sanford.
I’ll bet you’re stopping short: it would be too risky to take a real position, Andy. Let’s face facts: you live on the fence.
And these facts too: Filner is elected for a term of four years. He has been pilloried for allegedly egregious behavior on the public square by his “friend” Donna Frye and two lawyers who are trying to extort a resignation with damaging anecdotes from unidentified people. Filner has been denied the right to answer formal charges, to confront his accusers and to mount a defense — it is an old custom, falling into disuse, called due process. Filner rightly refuses to resign. The only alternative to resignation is a recall — expensive and risky because it involves a vote of the people who may return an underdog who fought for them by a greater margin than their original vote in November 2012.
It is premature. I hope he fights to the bitter end, and even more, that he prevails.
and I lamented when “I, Claudius” went off the air. This stuff is almost as good…’let all the poisons that lurk in mud, come out…’
Andy, tell the truth: you wrote this just to make me want to send you to the woodshed.
First of all, I suggest you change your bio above because it’s dishonest — saying that you offer “political and policy commentary from a liberal perspective” and that you don’t “hide your more liberal political bent.” The terrible truth is that 1) you don’t, and 2) you do.
Your cheerful sweeping of Mayor Bob Filner into the dustbin of history here is also dishonest and offensive. “It now appears to be a matter of when, not if, the Mayor will step down.” You make huge assumptions and know nothing, but you briskly bury a body that is still sentient. It makes me think you are full of, well, fakery, and that you are not describing current events but promoting mayoral succession — without copping to it.
Incredibly, your exhaustive analysis of subsequent mayoral contenders ends with an apologia for Randy “Duke” Cunningham’s /Pete Wilson’s/ Irwin Jacobs’ boy Nathan Fletcher whom you have the chutzpah to describe to us as “the best available option” because he “found he had much more in common with Democrat$.” Never mind that pesky Grover Norquist pledge: all’s “forgiven.”
The truth is Fletcher wandered in the desert of an inhospitable County GOP that wouldn’t endorse him for Mayor, strategically became an Independent for the mayoral Primary and finally settled on the Democratic Party after he lost but got a nice job with Democrat Jacobs’ family’s Qualcomm.
Furthermore, the no-account local Democrats, now headed by your old mentor Francine Busby, welcomed Fletcher with a standing ovation at the annual Roosevelt Dinner gala in May, but strangely never even gave a line on the program to Bob Filner, the first Democratic Mayor of San Diego in a generation.
Actually, the headliner for that Democratic event was money bundler Christine Forester, who was reported in the Reader today to have convened a meeting of the usual special interest heavy hitters to begin the process of raising buzz and money for the mayoral candidacy of Nathan Fletcher.
Di$gu$ting — all of it.
Right on Fran. What we are seeing currently is the modern version of being run out of town on a rail. The whole storm came out of nowhere, a press conference totally lacking in details and accusers. Donna is tainted now in my book.
I agree! I expected more from Donna Frye! I also expected more from Mayor Filner, however, I’m not willing to recall him for the unknown nor to allow him to go because of the hysteria of the few! The “gang of 3” did more harm than good in my mind!
Thank you Fran, thank you Frank Gormlie, thank you Don Bauder for standing UP for democracy and due process. All that are so at ease with circumventing and basically rejecting it do commit an atrocity exponentially worse than their scandalous, easily spoken tirades.
DO NOT RESIGN MAYOR FILNER–MANY HARD WORKING, OVERWROUGHT/ABANDONED AND ABUSED CITIZENS HAVE VOTED YOU INTO OFFICE TO PUT AN END TO REAL AND PROVEN ATROCITIES BY ELITIST POWERS THAT HAVE GONE UNCHECKED FOR DECADES!
(Is it just me or if someone unwelcomingly “sticks their tongue down your throat”–an obvious exaggeration at that–on a public sidewalk, and you then agree to give them a ride somewhere during which they fondle your breast unwelcomingly—that their is reasonable suspicion that you’ve played some part in all that unwelcome behavior?) How G-damn stupid!
I campaigned for Donna and supported her against the Republican Mayor Sanders on their TV debate. I am getting pretty jaded on the subject of politics these days, so I admit to wondering about Donna’s motives. Why would a Democrat publicly work to destroy another Democrat?
Is this merely a woman standing up for other women? I don’t think so. We have been dodging men’s unwanted advances since we began working in their houses or their offices. Donna always had the support of Democratic women, and some “decline to state” women. So is she playing coy about not running for Mayor or has she changed parties without notifying us?
Progressive Agenda Risks Being Reversed
I am as disgusted by Bob Filner’s long history of maltreatment of women as many others are. It is a condition that should never have gotten this far without being reined in and thoroughly dealt with. At least one of the women is suing him for how he treated her, so it will come before a court in the near future.
That friend and foe alike have known that Filner had been a womanizer for some time makes it sad that he was encouraged to be the only candidate from the left in the recent Mayoral election. With a long history of championing liberal causes, a long series of electoral victories behind him, and a strong following from a variety of progressive, veterans, and minority interests, he was clearly perceived as a candidate capable of winning . Therefore, others were caused to defer to him. The progressive cause, under the banner of Bob Filner went on to win against Carl DiMaio,who championed Conservative causes, in the general election. Now, that Progressive Agenda, that received such a strong acclamation, risks being reversed.
Unfortunately, the Mayor’s self-destructive behavior is not all there is to the serious matter of which administration governs San Diego and how it is governed. There are powers that be that have contested every thing that this Mayor has done since Day One of his administration. You may remember the razzing that Filner got for trying to effect a new labor agreement with the Municipal Unions of San Diego. He, actually, performed well in bringing into being a new, five year agreement with all of the city’s unions. He took on one of the biggest contributors to the Democratic Party when he sided with those who opposed the $40 Million Jacobs Plan for renovating Balboa Park and removing cars from the Plaza de Panama. His achieving that purpose for less than $1 million dollars was impressive. Then there was the 40 year deal that the large hotel owners had worked out with the city, including the previous City Council and former Mayor Jerry Sanders. Filner refused to sign on to this extraordinary, 40 year deal until a revised two year agreement was worked out with the Tourism & Marketing District by Council Member Alvarez. Then, and only then, did he consent to what is not to be called a tax, but rather a fee to be charged to every hotel guest in the city. Since a tax would have to come up for voter approval, it became a so-called fee. Bumper stickers saying “Recall Filner” started to appear throughout the city soon afterward, leading me to believe that te plan to recall Mayor Filner had been in the works for some time. However, no real push was given to the recall effort, then, with the fear that it might, instead, deepen his support and he might win. Again and again, people like City Attorney Jan Goldsmith and City Council President Todd Gloria have spoken in favor of developer interests which were being thwarted by Flner in favor of the public’s interest.
If you look at who will benefit from Bob Filner’s indefensible, behavior toward women, it is the same set of downtown interests that have been pretty much in control of this city for some time. They will choose a candidate to back in the upcoming campaign for Mayor. That person will receive sufficient money, publicity, and campaign organization to be first past the post in the recall effort currently underway. The general public has been sufficiently primed by the current sex scandal that current Mayor Filner won’t stand a chance of surviving, while their candidate will have a good chance of winning. If that is the result, then the progressive agenda he campaigned on, and the followup actions he has succeeded in accomplishing in his first eight months in office, may indeed be reversed.