This year I skipped going downtown to watch the election results. Instead, I watched Ugly Delicious, Chef David Chang’s Netflix show putting the food we eat into a historical and cultural context. It was a lot more fulfilling than orbiting the floor at Golden Hall watching people waiting for results.  

And now that I think of it, the term ‘ugly delicious’ is an apt metaphor for the June 2018 primary results.  I’m going to make today’s column a work in progress, posting the results as of Wednesday morning, updating them when it changes the outcome, and adding historical and cultural analysis until late in the afternoon. (So if you’re reading this in the morning and it seems sparse, come back later. I’ll be writing as fast as I can until the caffeine wears off.)

I’ll start with down-ballot contests and move up the political food chain as far as Congressional races, after a couple of general observations. Statewide races, I think, are well covered elsewhere.
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June 5th is here. It’s all over but the ballot counting. And since my subscription to the psychic hotline has lapsed, I can’t say who’ll win and who will lose.

The emergence of competitive contests for usually overlooked and down ballot offices will have a lasting impact on San Diego. A new generation of electoral activists has emerged, and the passion they’ve shown has changed the way people view local government.

There are have been some hard-fought battles among the candidates running for office, along with some impressive get-out-the-vote efforts. For those reasons, I will predict a higher turnout in this election than San Diego has seen in recent off-year elections.   [Read more…]

As the primary election season winds up in California, I want to make a pitch for voters to look past the candidates they do or don’t support and vote according to a higher standard.

I have avoided commenting too much about Donald Trump in recent months because of the need to begin rebuilding democracy at all levels of politics. For me, that meant focusing on San Diego contests. Now it’s time to draw a line between those local elections and the national political scene.

The President of the United States believes he is above the law. He’s said so on Twitter. His lawyers have said so. And apparently, the political party he represents isn’t bothered by the idea of an all-powerful executive.     [Read more…]

As the primary election season draws to a close, voters are being bombarded with slate mailers, a legally recognized way in California to fool some of the people some of the time. More than 80 such efforts are registered with the California Secretary of State. Further down in this column I’ll give a shout out to some of the other hinky happenings this year.

These mailings, which don’t come from political parties, unions, or business groups, typically start of listing a few well-known candidates running for high profile offices.  To the untrained eye, most appear to come from organizations with names suggesting a legitimate interest group or point of view. All contain the legally mandated disclosure explaining the sender is “not an official political party organization.”  Slate mailers sometimes call themselves voter guides and the only way a curious voter can tell the difference is by looking for the legally mandated disclosure.

These mass mailings are funded by selling ‘endorsements’ to various campaigns. Often times candidates buy in as a means of keeping their opponent from gaining exposure. It’s not unusual for the mix of candidates supported by a slate mailer to seem illogical, especially if you’re reasonably well-informed on politics. 
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An Overview

The motto for San Diego County is “The noblest motive is the public good.” Questions to be answered in 2018 will decide if this is possible in the future.

I hold that the government of the County of San Diego is the single biggest factor standing in the way of solving many of the social problems facing the region. Voters have an opportunity to do something about it, starting in June.

Editor’s Note: Starting Line columnist Doug Porter is taking a few days off. Since he’s spent the last six months flogging the importance of the County of San Diego primaries (last day to vote is June 5), we’re reprinting some of his early observations. Updated parts of these stories are in red.    [Read more…]

Editor’s Note: Starting Line columnist Doug Porter is taking a few days off. Since he’s spent the last six months flogging the importance of the County of San Diego primaries (last day to vote is June 5), we’re reprinting some of his early observations. Updated parts of these stories are in red. 

Former Assemblywoman Lori Saldaña is running for termed-out Supervisor Ron Roberts seat, a Republican who managed to get re-elected despite Democrats outnumbering Republicans in the district 2 to 1.

She has a long progressive political pedigree and has maintained a high profile despite not currently holding office through her activism with groups advocating for the homeless, women’s rights, and environmental causes.   [Read more…]

Editor’s Note: Starting Line columnist Doug Porter is taking a few days off. Since he’s spent the last six months flogging the importance of the County of San Diego primaries (last day to vote is June 5), we’re reprinting some of his early observations. Updated parts of these stories are in red. 

Omar Passons is a first-time Democratic candidate running for termed-out Supervisor Ron Roberts seat. The retiring Republican held that office since 1995, managing to get re-elected each time despite Democrats outnumbering Republicans in his district 2 to 1.

He’s a construction/land-use attorney lawyer and long-time North Park community activist running a campaign based more on ideas than partisanship.   [Read more…]

Editor’s Note: Starting Line columnist Doug Porter is taking a few days off. Since he’s spent the last six months flogging the importance of the County of San Diego primaries (last day to vote is June 5), we’re reprinting some of his early observations. Updated parts of these stories are in red. 

Democrat and former Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher is running for termed-out Supervisor Ron Roberts seat in District 4. The outgoing Republican held that office since 1995, managing to get re-elected each time despite Democrats outnumbering Republicans his district 2 to 1.

Fletcher dropped out of politics a few years ago after a couple of angst-filled losses while taking flack for switching political parties. Most recently he was working for Qualcomm and teaching a class at UCSD. The urge to serve returned along with a long-term opportunity to end the GOP’s monopoly at the County level.   [Read more…]

A regular reader of this column has developed an app allowing voters to compare side by side recommendations of five organizations, make a choice, and generate a list to help in filling out the ballot.

The five groups included are San Diego Free Press (yay!), Democrats for Equality, the San Diego Democratic Party, Equality California, and Planned Parenthood. Further info on candidates and ballot measures, sans recommendations, is available via the SD Indivisible Voter Guide link on the left side of the page.   [Read more…]