San Diego Free Press

Grassroots News & Progressive Views

You are here: Home / Archives for Andy Cohen

In San Diego, Taxpayers Want More than What They Pay For

by

At KNSJ Mayoral Forum, candidates unwilling to discuss raising city revenues.

By Andy Cohen

Last night I had the opportunity to represent the San Diego Free Press as a panelist in the KNSJ mayoral debate, hosted by the California Western School of Law. We were privileged to have three of the four major candidates for mayor participate, with Nathan Fletcher the only missing candidate.

This event had been in the works for months, with the upstart progressive radio station looking to put itself on San Diego’s political map, once again giving those on the more liberal side of the political spectrum a reason to listen to talk radio in San Diego, something we haven’t had since Clear Channel switched KLSD to an all sports format. Apparently they didn’t like the competition to their right wing property, KOGO.

In the debates leading up to this one, in my opinion not nearly enough has been discussed regarding the philosophy behind economic growth and development by the candidates thus far. And the candidates have not been asked to address how they would fund all of the different services that city government is supposed to provide, and all of the so called “goodies” that San Diegans have come to expect from their local government.   [Read more…]

Why Kevin Faulconer Has a Chance, But Shouldn’t

by

Despite a large disadvantage in voter registration numbers, Republican Kevin Faulconer remains the frontrunner in the November 19 mayoral special election.

By Andy Cohen

San Diego is sort of an odd duck politically. In a state that’s as deep blue as any in the nation, San Diego stands out as one of the few hopes for Republicans to control a major city in the most populous state in the Union.

Consider: California has 53 seats in the United States House of Representatives, yet only 15 of them are held by Republicans (two from San Diego County). In 2010, Democrats swept every statewide office by a wide margin. Democrats achieved near supermajorities in both the State Assembly and State Senate, falling only a few seats short of essentially neutering state Republicans. As of 2012, consider state level Republicans neutered—and yet the Democrats have shown a remarkable propensity to work with their colleagues from across the aisle, despite the fact that with supermajorities in both chambers, they really don’t have to.

The State Senate is currently occupied by 28 Democrats and 12 Republicans. San Diego is a part of four different Senate districts, split evenly with two Democrats and two Republicans. In the State Assembly, Democrats currently hold a 53-25 advantage over Republicans (with two seats vacant). San Diego County contains six different Assembly districts, evenly split at three apiece.   [Read more…]

Mayoral Race 2013: Character Matters

by

For the second time in the last year, San Diego voters will be asked to determine who they trust to lead the city.

By Andy Cohen

Who do you trust? That’s the overriding question in this 2013 San Diego Mayoral Special Election. After what most San Diegans consider to be a major betrayal by our ex-mayor Bob Filner—whether you agreed with his policies or not—the major question on the minds of probably most voters is can we trust the current crop of candidates vying to replace him?

There are currently four major candidates running to complete Filner’s first term: City Councilman Kevin Faulconer (R), City Councilman David Alvarez (D), former State Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher (D), and former City Attorney Mike Aguirre (D). San Diego broke with historical tradition and elected a Democratic mayor for the first time in 20 years in 2012, and now there’s a sense that voters could revert back to Republican rule, despite there being a nearly 90,000 voter registration advantage for Democrats within the city limits.

Combine that with frighteningly low voter turnout expectations for the special election—circumstances which almost always favor Republican— and it’s easy to imagine that Kevin Faulconer has a major leg up on the other contenders.   [Read more…]

Who’s to Blame if the Bolts Bolt?

by

In the quest for a new stadium, the public needs to meet the team at least part of the way.

By Andy Cohen

Last week, the venerable Chargers blog “Bolts from the Blue” ran a piece pondering the question of who will be primarily at fault if the team ends up leaving San Diego, its home since 1961, for the greener pastures of a new stadium in a new locale.  It’s an interesting question with few clear answers, but with plenty of blame to go around if the team does relocate.

Let’s be clear about something:  The Chargers cannot continue to play in Qualcomm Stadium indefinitely.  Contrary to popular belief driven primarily by civic pride, Qualcomm Stadium is the second worst stadium in the entire NFL, surpassed only by Oakland’s O.co Coliseum, which is truly a pit unmatched.  Not even Candlestick Park, which is scheduled to be replaced as of the beginning of the 2014 season with the new Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, comes anywhere close to being as awful as Qualcomm.  Candlestick at least has some charm to it.  It has some character; an intimate, festive atmosphere for fans.  The ‘Q’?  Not so much.   [Read more…]

The Cruelty and Ignorance of the Tea Party Republicans

by

By Andy Cohen

Reports out of Washington today are that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and their contingents have reached an agreement to end the government shutdown and raise the debt ceiling. If the deal is passed, the government will reopen until at least January 15, and the debt ceiling will be raised until February 7, while putting the framework in place for a round of overall budget negotiations.

Talks between the two Senate leaders were put on hold yesterday in order to allow Speaker Feckless and his merry band of House Hooligans one last chance to pass a plan of their own to bring this latest debacle of American political (nee, Republican) incompetence to an end.

They failed. Miserably. Speaker Feckless brought several different measures before his House Republican Caucus in an effort to prove how in control he is and to ostensibly preserve the “Hastert Rule,” whereby only measures that can earn a majority of the majority are brought to the floor for a vote.   [Read more…]

Former Mayor Filner Pleads Guilty

by

By Andy Cohen

Former San Diego mayor Bob Filner pleaded guilty to three criminal counts yesterday in San Diego Superior Court, according to the California State Attorney General’s office. As a part of a plea deal, Filner pled guilty to one felony count of false imprisonment and two misdemeanor counts of battery.

The deal puts an end to one of the most troubling periods in San Diego’s complicated political history, and closes the book on one of the city’s most polarizing political figures. Filner resigned from office on August 23.   [Read more…]

California Nation

by

The national government arguably no longer represents the best interests of California.

By Andy Cohen

With the government shutdown entering its third week and the country on the brink of defaulting on its financial obligations, the United States sits mired in a major political and economic crisis. It is a self inflicted crisis caused by a bunch of radical know-nothings who have deliberately set out to undermine our government and economy in a game of political brinksmanship. The entire nation is being held hostage so that 30 million Americans can be denied healthcare; because an ignorant and racist faction of the Republican Party has wrested control of the U.S. House of Representatives because they abhor the very idea of a black man occupying the White House.

I’m tired of it. We deserve better. And by “we” I mean Californians.

Consider: The United States Congress no longer represents who we are as a state, as an economy, and as a worldwide economic force. Our economic future is being manipulated by extreme ideologues in Texas, Iowa, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina……states who mostly have very little in common with California economically, politically, or ideologically; states that refuse to acknowledge modern demographic realities and yearn for the days of the Old South, many of whom desperately waiting for the South to “rise again.”   [Read more…]

Republicans Are Out To Destroy American System of Governance

by

And some Congressional Democrats are willing to let them.

By Andy Cohen

America’s entire system of governance is being threatened.  Our Constitution, the presidency, the rule of law itself is under attack.

Republicans have shut down the government and are holding the government and the entire U.S. economy hostage, and are doing so for no apparent reason.  They have insisted that President Obama “negotiate” with them, but they have absolutely no clue what they want from “negotiations.”  House Speaker John Boehner has demanded that Obama have a “conversation” with House Republicans.  All we want is a “conversation,” he said over and over again last Sunday on ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos”, never once uttering the other “C” word, “compromise.”   [Read more…]

America Gets What it Deserves

by

American Government Hostage Crisis officially begins as Republicans shut down the U.S. government as promised.

By Andy Cohen

Congratulations America! Judging by the results of the 2010 and 2012 Congressional elections that put Republicans in charge of the House of Representatives, you got just exactly what you wanted……and what you deserve.

There really isn’t any other logical conclusion. The government shutdown of 2013, commenced at 9 pm Pacific time last night, was inevitable. It was no secret that a government shutdown was the goal all along since the day John Boehner took the gavel as the Speaker of the House of Representatives. It’s not like we weren’t warned……repeatedly.

Congressional Republicans are celebrating today, for they’ve achieved at least half of what they’ve set out to do, and they are a mere two-and-a-half weeks away from achieving their ultimate goal: Completely sabotaging the American economy in its entirety by defaulting on the country’s debt. You see, America must fail for Republicans to succeed.

This is the mission of the “American Taliban:” To destroy our system of governance and institute a system whereby the ultimate power resides in private hands. ENRON FOR PRESIDENT!!!   [Read more…]

Bolts’ Brass Must Decide on Mathews’ Future

by

Chargers and SDSU football teams have given San Diego little to cheer about early in the 2013 season.

By Andy Cohen

So I’m breaking with my norm and reverting back to my roots. The 2013 football season is now in full swing, at the high school, college, and NFL levels. So today’s column is about football, and purely football.

The state of San Diego football at both the pro and major college level is a pretty sad one as I sit here and type this. And it’s depressing, because San Diego is one of the better football cities out there. We deserve better here; a better pro/college stadium, and better teams that the fan base can be proud to support.

But we’re being seriously shortchanged here in “America’s Finest City.” Our pro team is apparently back to its maddeningly foundering ways, and our FBS college team….well, as much as I love my Aztecs (and yes, I am biased and not at all afraid to admit it), what’s happening out there on the field of play is nothing short of embarrassing. I expect much better from this program at this point in the program’s post-Chuck Long development.

Can’t trust star RB

In the 2010, then General Manager AJ Smith traded up 16 spots in the first round to take Fresno State running back Ryan Matthews with the 12th overall pick in the NFL Draft. Matthews was talented to be sure, with plenty of speed and big play potential. Durability, however, was a major question mark. But then again, coming out of the University of Oklahoma, durability was a major question mark for Adrian Peterson, now of the Minnesota Vikings. That worked out OK, and the Chargers needed a feature back with the departure of the aging LaDainian Tomlinson. At the time, it seemed like a worthwhile gamble.   [Read more…]

Peters: ObamaCare Will Work if We Let It

by

Extremist elements in Congress are preventing reasonable solutions to real problems.

By Andy Cohen

The Affordable Care Act—pejoratively known as “ObamaCare” until its namesake took ownership of it—is happening, despite the best efforts of the law’s opponents to stop it. On October 1, the heath care exchanges set up either by the individual states or by the federal government will begin selling health insurance policies, and there doesn’t seem to be anything that the opposition can do to stop it.

The law is hardly a perfect one, much like Social Security and Medicare before it—social safety net programs that were likewise met with open hostility yet have become a part of the bedrock of American society—nor is it the ideal solution that many Americans would like to have seen enacted. But, as many would argue, and reasonably so, it was the best we could do under the circumstances, and there is always room for improvement. Start with a foundation and make it better as we go along, just like with Social Security and Medicare.

The basic premise of ObamaCare is a simple one: Provide health coverage to the nearly 40 million Americans currently without it; make healthcare something more akin to a right rather than a privilege reserved for those who can pay for it. But while the law falls short of that goal, it does expand coverage to a projected 30 million people. it does this in two ways…..   [Read more…]

David Alvarez Officially Enters the Fray

by

Democratic Councilmember declares his candidacy for Mayor of San Diego.

By Andy Cohen

City Councilman David Alvarez officially entered the special election for the vacated San Diego mayoral office yesterday with a press conference in Presidio Park adjacent to Old Town. Alvarez joins 30 other potential candidates as listed by the City Clerk’s office, but becomes only the third “major” candidate, joining City Councilman Kevin Faulconer and former State Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher as top contenders for a runoff. A potential candidate is someone who has filed a “Candidate Intention Statement” with the San Diego City Clerk’s office.

The special election is scheduled for November 19. If no candidate wins more than 50 percent of the vote, a runoff between the top two candidates will take place within 49 days of the primary. The winner will complete the term of departed former mayor Bob Filner.

“The City has neglected the needs of neighborhoods and vital infrastructure, and has focused instead on giving taxpayer subsidies to well connected special interests. The City has been beset by corruption, conflict and scandal,” Alvarez said in a prepared statement.

“I’m running for mayor because I believe that San Diego is bigger than the special interests. That by coming together around our shared values we can solve our problems. That working families, not well connected businesses, are the heart of San Diego.”   [Read more…]

©2010-2017 SanDiegoFreePress.org

Code is Poetry