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The Environmental Justice Argument Against Measure A

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The campaign for Measure A was busy this week sending one mailer to Democrats greenwashing their flawed initiative by citing an Astroturf “environmental coalition” that popped up just in time for the election, while in another mailer to Republicans they signaled that conservatives should vote for A because environmentalists and labor oppose it. Welcome to dishonest, doublethink business as usual politics in San Diego brought to you by moneyed interests.

Of course the reality is, as anyone who has paid attention to this column knows, that progressive labor and nearly all of the serious organizations that care about climate and environmental justice oppose Measure A. A few weeks ago, I published a column I co-wrote with Nicole Capretz of the Climate Action Campaign and Nick Segura of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers outlining Measure A’s fatal flaws from a progressive perspective. This was followed in subsequent weeks by columns on Measures A’s deep inadequacies with regard to sustainability and climate by Jana Clark of the Cleveland National Forest Foundation and Save Our Forest and Ranchlands, and David Harris of SD 350 and Ruben Arizmendhi of the Sierra Club San Diego.

This week, I am pleased to share this space with Diane Takvorian, the Executive Director of the Environmental Health Coalition who will make the environmental justice case against Measure A.   [Read more…]

Meanwhile, in REAL News

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Trump Galvanizes ‘Nasty’ Women Voters with Extreme and Incoherent Abortion Stance

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Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton was applauded for her compassionate defense of women’s rights

By Lauren McCauley / Common Dreams

Donald Trump’s misogyny was once again on full display Wednesday night, with the Republican nominee going so far as to call rival Hillary Clinton a “nasty woman” during the final presidential debate. But, the candidates’ answers regarding abortion and the Supreme Court were the most revealing in terms of who would work to uphold the rights of women and would prove to be their “worst nightmare.”   [Read more…]

This Is It Folks, We Have to Vote!

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By Gwen Pierce / The Chocolate Voice

If there ever was an election where voting was important — this is it.

Today we have the first viable woman candidate running for president, Hillary Clinton, who in my personal opinion is running against Donald Trump, someone who’s far less qualified and temperamental to say the least. After witnessing his temperament in all three debates, the man is a loose cannon. There, I said it.

I vaguely recall the very first presidential election that I voted in. I was barely out of my teens and hadn’t long moved to California, my residence now for over 35 years. It was the year that President Jimmy Carter who was referred to back then as the peanut farmer out of Alabama, was running for a second term against a movie star by the name of Ronald Reagan. We all know the outcome of that election. Carter lost and Reagan went on to serve two terms as the President of the United States.   [Read more…]

Trump Donor Stench Wafts Over District 9 Council Race

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Attack mailers alleging District 9 City Council candidate Georgette Gomez is under “investigation” for “failing to disclose finacial interests” paid for by the Encinitas-based Public Safety Advocates PAC appeared in mailboxes this week.

Despite the committee’s name, it’s historically been funded by development interests. Local Democrats were quick to point out the $15,000 in contributions to the group came from individuals who are also funding Donald Trump’s campaign for president. Trump donors supporting the PAC include Republican mega-donors Tom Sudberry and Lance Waite.

Public records indicate that a second mailer from the PAC is in the works, along with another mailer paid for by the San Diego Police Officers Association. The San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce has also ponied up $25,000 to support the anti-Gomez effort.   [Read more…]

Dear Hillary Clinton, I haven’t been your biggest fan

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I haven’t been one of your biggest fans and I still think that the DNC used some dirty tricks to defeat Bernie Sanders in the primaries, but today I’m ready to put that behind me. Until Wednesday night, my only reason to vote for you over Jill Stein would have been to make certain that Mr. Trump is not elected president of our country.

Since I live in California, I thought I had the luxury of waiting to see how the election was going in the rest of the county before casting my vote. And that was my plan – to wait until the last hour to choose you or Jill Stein. Since California is not a swing state, it was highly likely that I could have used my vote as a form of protest without risking Trump winning.   [Read more…]

The Third Debate Is Over. So Is the Race for President.

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(Unless YOU don’t vote!)

The third debate was by far the best of the three. Not that it was fun to watch. Or that voters were offered substantive policy ideas. As was true with all the debates, questions about climate change were left on the cutting room floor.

Moderator Chris Wallace ran a tight ship for the most part (more on this later). Donald Trump lasted for 30 minutes before his blood sugar crashed. And Hillary Clinton showed some real passion on a woman’s right to choose.

There were quips–“nasty woman”, “bad hombre.” There were slips– can somebody please explain GDP to Trump? And there was the drip, drip, drip of Hillary Clinton making the case that her opponent simply wasn’t fit for the job.

In the end, the debate will be remembered for Trump’s refusal at the end to commit to accepting the results of the election.   [Read more…]

Measures K and L Make Sense for San Diego

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Measures K and L are changes to the City Charter submitted through the efforts of the Alliance San Diego Mobilization Fund and the Independent Voter Project. Both groups have local experience in encouraging voter turnout.

These measures were championed by City Council President Sherri Lightner and placed on the November 2016 ballot by a vote of the City Council.

What they do in a nutshell is to shift the final decision making in elections to November. Measure K says the top two candidates as determined by primary voters for Mayor, City Council seats, and City Attorney advance to the general election. Measure L says citizen-sponsored initiatives and referendums belong on the November ballot.   [Read more…]

Measure J: The Mission Bay Park Money Shuffle

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Measure J seemed like another non-controversial proposal at first.

It extended the lifetime of an earlier ballot measure dedicating a portion of revenues from leases on properties at Mission Bay Park and shuffled the formula for allocating funds to include other regional parks.

The idea was for these revenues to pay for bonds to be used in capital improvement projects for Mission Bay Park and regional parks, including Balboa Park.

Needless to say, Balboa Park groups existing amidst crumbling buildings and other infrastructure shortcomings were thrilled.   [Read more…]

A Progressive Argument FOR Measure A

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Eds Note: Portions of this article appeared in Voice of San Diego By Michael Beck  It’s high stakes campaign time and you’re inundated with conflicting ballot arguments.  Measure A is no exception.  Following are the progressive, environmental, verifiable facts about Measure A. Climate change: Measure A would fund the most progressive transportation plan in the […]

Measure I Pits Balboa Park Advocates Against San Diego High’s Future

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Measure I started out as a seemingly non-controversial deal to maintain the status quo with two venerable San Diego institutions.

Now it has split the community between those who want to maintain the current location of the City’s oldest high school and those who say it should no longer occupy dedicated parkland.

The City Council placed Measure I on the ballot along with a package of reforms to the charter. It changes the language found in Section 55 of the foundational document governing the City’s use of dedicated parkland to allow a simple majority public vote to allow the existing use of that site to continue.   [Read more…]

Why Measure A is Bad on Climate and Bad for the Region

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Last week I ceded my column space to Jana Clark, a board member of both the Cleveland National Forest Foundation and Save Our Forest and Ranchlands who explained why environmentally-minded San Diegans should vote no on Measures A and B for a sustainable future for our region.

This followed a piece I co-authored with Nicole Capretz of the Climate Action Campaign and Nick Segura of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 569 explaining why progressives from labor, community, and environmental groups should say No Way to Measure A.

This week, I am pleased to share my usual spot with David Harris from SD 350 and Ruben Arizmendi, Chair of the San Diego Sierra Club, who will explain how Measure A is a manifestation of a “planning as usual” mindset that gave our region a transportation plan that “flagrantly disregards the State’s GHG [greenhouse gas] reduction mandates.”   [Read more…]

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