As I’ve said for many months now, there are no more important election contests on June 5 than the various County of San Diego positions. The news over the past couple of days, starting with the Board of Supervisors’ pandering to nativists, to scandal after scandal with the Sheriff’s office and bs going on all the way down to the Assessor’s office proves my point.

The County Board of Supervisor met in closed session yesterday and voted 3-1 (Cox voted against, Roberts was absent) to submit an amicus brief in support of the Trump administration’s lawsuit challenging California’s legislation on deportations.

Considering that the deadline for submitting such a brief passed on April 6, you could easily say this was just some posturing. Someday–if the lawsuit gets appealed–the document might be useful, except that courts generally ignore these filings.   [Read more…]

The San Diego City Council is moving to close a term limits loophole allowing incumbent District 2 Councilwoman Lorie Zapf to run for a third term in the upcoming elections.  Current law allows sitting council representatives to reset the clock on term limits when their districts shift due to redistricting.

The Council’s Rules Committee voted lasted week to have the City Attorney draw up a charter amendment closing the loophole for consideration by voters in the November elections. If approved, it would take effect in 2020.

Councilwoman Lorie Zapf would not be eligible for a third consecutive four-year council term if the proposed change was already in place. It’s been more than 25 years since an incumbent councilperson has lost an election in San Diego.   [Read more…]

National City’s ballot measures for the June 5 election have become a battleground for competing groups in the labor movement, as a splinter labor group led by UFCW President Mickey Kasparian injected $50,000 into the contest in support of a measure extending the tenure of Mayor Ron Morrison.  

There is a gendered subtext to this development, as it can easily be argued this support comes from an organization led by a man with a controversial background and will be used to deny political power to progressive women.  

The monies will be used in support of Measure B, which sets term limits for City council members but creates a loophole resetting the incumbent Mayor’s tenure, allowing him to continue past a voter-approved limit set in 2004. Kasparian’s union put up $25,000, for the effort as an Independent Expenditure PAC, and an equal amount came from Laborers International Local 89.   [Read more…]

San Diego’s interim District Attorney Summer Stephan has received an award from Crime Victims United as their Southern California District Attorney of the Year on Monday.

Local media coverage at CBS8, the Times of San Diego, and KUSI consisted of lightly edited versions of the press release issued by the public relations staff at the District Attorney’s office.

Not noted in the local coverage of Stephan’s award was the campaign being led by the awarding group to place a measure on the ballot rolling back portions of criminal justice reforms enacted by the legislature and California voters in recent years.   [Read more…]

Gore Tells Reporters He Wants to Fire Opponent; Stephan’s Supporters Under Fire

There are developments in the crucial June 5th contests for County Sheriff and District Attorney. Incumbent Sheriff Bill Gore’s management abilities are under the microscope. And appointed District Attorney Summer Stephan’s campaign has its own problems.

I’ll start with the San Diego Sheriff Department, which is turning out to be a real little shop of horrors. Top dog Bill Gore apparently still feels entitled to his job, even as claims against the department mount.

What the Department did or didn’t do after warnings about the San Bruno shooter continues to be a mystery. Los Angeles Times crime reporter Richard Winton posted a Tweet saying, “@SDSheriff remains silent on what the Dept knew about Nasim Agdam and Youtube after father says he warned them about her YouTube issues.”   [Read more…]

Not long ago the Big Fear was no Democrats would make it past the primary to the general election. There was some serious infighting going on, and only late-entrant Christina Prejean was willing to take one for the team in the 49th Congressional District, leaving four candidates ready to go the distance.

A disaster was in the making; a general election amid a Blue Wave and two Republicans to chose from. Certainly, things couldn’t get much worse.

Then the Republicans stepped up and said, “Hold my beer.”   [Read more…]

“In the age of Trump, brave reform-minded prosecutors are more important than ever. Geneviéve Jones-Wright will be just that.”

There’s big news to report on the race for San Diego County District Attorney. The cavalry has arrived, namely the Real Justice Political Action Committee. Co-founder Shaun King formally endorsed Geneviéve Jones-Wright on Wednesday.  This means experienced and reform-minded boots on the ground are coming to town. 

Bleating about outside influence began months ago, with appointed incumbent Summer Stephan’s political consultant, Jason Roe, sounding the alarm via Twitter about liberal donor George Soros’ Democracy Alliance taking an interest in the DA’s race.

Real Justice isn’t funded by Soros (it’s Silicon Valley money), but the Greek billionaire has been known to fund similar contests.   [Read more…]

Three incumbent Democrats. Zero controversies. No surprises expected on June 5.  I thought this snapshot would be the most boring of all the election pieces I write pre-primary. But it wasn’t. I learned some stuff, and you will too.

The Democratic Party has a majority of registered voters in each of these Congressional Districts. There are no challengers from the more progressive wing of the party taking on the center to center-left incumbents.

My assumption was that I’d find a bunch of minor GOP functionaries and a smattering of whack-a-doodles in the opposition. They’re there, but there are also a few compelling stories to be told along the way.   [Read more…]

First in a series

The filing deadline has now passed for candidates seeking office in California, so it’s time to take a closer look at who’s running, what we know about them, and how they measure up as what needs to be done to end the reign of error also known as the Trump administration.

Incumbent Republican Duncan D. Hunter occupies what should be one of the safest seats in the House of Representatives. His father had the position until 2008. Political consultants say they believe many residents of the 50th Congressional District still think they’re voting for Duncan L Hunter (papa).

Republicans (+11) and white people (58.6%) are dominant parts of the electorate in a district encompassing the mostly rural east and north parts of San Diego County, along with a sliver of Riverside County. Duncan D.won his last two general elections by 70,000 or more votes.
  [Read more…]