Beware the Common Sense Candidate in SD's District 2 City Council Primary

Richard Bailey's Common Sense turns out to be Nonsense. We've seen this before, right?

It should be an axiom by now that candidates for office framing their platform around the words “common sense” are going to use misrepresentations as the basis for their campaigns. After all, San Diego’s already experienced Carl DeMaio as a Councilman, and exactly nobody refers to those times as the ‘good old days.’

In this year’s primary for San Diego City Council District 2, former Coronado Mayor Richard Bailey is offering up “Commonsense Policies for the Good of SD”. He’s a Republican who has dropped the party brand (one day before he declared), trying to run a campaign on “policy, not partisan solutions.”

In his years in office in Coronado, he was a behind the scenes cheerleader for a panoply of right wing causes like the anti-masking crowd during covid, and not afraid to use the implied endorsement of the Coronado city government to further those causes.

My personal favorite was his self-promotion as the mayor who ended homelessness. Fox News’ Tucker Carlson gave him exposure to a national audience for this made-up accomplishment, running a twin screen of homeless encampments in other cities supposedly serving as examples of what he’d prevented.

There’s just one teeny-tiny problem with Bailey’s brag: Coronado has never experienced homeless encampments. The city has no services for homeless humans because the geography surrounding Coronado is generally prohibitive of migration. On the ground among advocates in San Diego, it was well known that the city had no problem with giving unhoused humans cab fare across the bridge to Father Joes.

In the 2024 election, Bailey mailed his “Election Recommendations” on letterhead appearing to be from his office (an altered logo was all it took) for Coronado City Council, school board, county and statewide propositions. Along the way in the communique, Bailey took time out to disparage Coronado Council candidates who’d expressed opposition to his actions. In small print at the bottom of his choices were the words “Not Mailed With Taxpayer Money”.

Now that he’s moved to Point Loma and running for City Council in San Diego, he’s already drawn the ire of Congressman Scott Peters for using his image to imply support for Bailey on campaign materials.

• I do NOT support Richard Bailey for San Diego City Council District 2. He does NOT have permission to use my image on his campaign materials, which implies my support.

• The photo he published of me without authorization was taken when he came to my congressional office seeking support for the city of Coronado. In the House of Representatives, it is an ethics violation to use images taken in a Congressional office for a campaign.

• I have endorsed Josh Coyne for San Diego City Council District 2. Josh is the kind of leader San Diego needs right now. He understands people are tired of excuses and want a City Hall that delivers safer neighborhoods, reliable services, affordable housing and real accountability. Josh will get things done for the people he serves and I’m happy to support him.

Shades of Carl DeMaio, recently rebuked by the State GOP for Reform California’s “Official” Republican Voter Guide. Oh wait! Bailey’s one of their endorsed candidates!

Bailey’s San Diego campaign has built support by putting his face in front of groups of people legitimately unhappy with city actions, including paid parking in Balboa Park and charges for residential trash collection. I just question whether implying that a single council member can make the kinds of savage cuts he says are needed to resolve the city’s budget issues.

The so-called “bracing clarity about city hall dysfunction is desperately needed” in the Union-Tribune endorsement of Bailey refers to the Lincoln Club-ish trope about reforms in the budget, namely that “years of irresponsible financial and management decisions” (made in large part by GOP mayors) are responsible for the city’s budget deficit.

Spending and management reforms in this scenario come first, which translates into “repeal all the fees and no new taxes! Cut everything!” The funny thing about this line of thinking is that it does NOT actually ‘fix’ the budget. My fellow writer, Jim Miller, (see tomorrow’s edition of this publication or today’s The Jumping Off Place) played that game:

• My result: even though I cut $92.3 million, I added $157.2 million by rolling back fees while not raising taxes. Consequently, the budget gap grew from $118 million to $182.9 million. If I keep the parking and trash fees and cut everything, I still have a $23-million deficit.

Of course, any aspiring not-a-Republican candidate must be seen as willing to crack down on the unhoused population. Bailey made an Instagram type video while walking down National Avenue in a Padres jersey with encampments in the background, expounding on the city’s inability to enforce sidewalk encroachment laws.

It was obvious Bailey’s common sense solution was to further victimize the victims, namely put them in jail for not accepting housing that doesn’t exist. Except that our jails are already overcrowded and are already the placement of choice for mentally ill persons deemed to be anti-social. Going further down this gauntlet of hypocrisy, ‘common sense’ tells us Bailey will end up advocating for yet another set of government subsidized detention camps.

I guess it’s all just part of Making America Great Again, right?

District 2 includes the communities of Clairemont, Midway, Mission Beach, Mission Bay Park, Old Town, Ocean Beach and Point Loma. Its voter registration numbers are 43.6% Democrats, 24.6% Republicans, and 23.3% nonpartisan. City Council elections are non-partisan, which in practice means no political party is mentioned on the ballot.

The four leading candidates are:

Nicole Crosby | Website | Facebook | Instagram| Endorsements: San Diego Democratic Party, California Working Families Party, California Women’s List, San Diego-Imperial Counties Labor Council, SEIU Local 221, San Diego County Building Trades Unions, AFSCME Local 127, Drywall Finishers DC 36, Democratic Clubs: Young Democrats, Clairemont, Coronado, Equality, Tritons, Labor, Progressive, Uptown, PB, AAPI

Josh Coyne | Website | Facebook | Instagram | Endorsements: Rep. Scott Peters, State Senator Catherine Blakespear, Assm Chris Ward, SD City Council Stephen Whitburn, La Mesa Vice Mayor Lauren Cazares, YIMBY Democrats, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, Downtown SD Partnership PAC, AFSCME Local 127, Labors Local 189,, LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, Moms Demand Action

Mandy Havlik | Website | Facebook | Instagram| Endorsements: The OB Rag, Point Loma and OB Democrats, SD Democratic Woman’s Club

Richard Bailey | Website | Facebook | Instagram | Xitter | Endorsements: The San Diego Union-Tribune, former Mayoral candidate Larry Turner, Reform California

I’m Pissed Off About….

Rededicate 250, billed as a “National Jubilee Of Prayer, Praise and Thanksgiving”.

It was organized by the White House-backed Freedom 250 group. House Speaker Mike Johnson appeared in person, while Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pre-recorded messages. A three-minute video aired Sunday was the same footage President Trump recorded in April for a separate event called America Reads the Bible.

With the exception of one each ultra-conservative Catholic and Jewish faith leaders, the event was run by evangelical protestants who praised the proposed East Wing ballroom at the White House, told listeners that the US was founded as a Christian nation, and that the country was endangered if it turned away from their notions and dogma.

Via Brad Willis at Perspectives:

• Rejecting our foundational principles of separation of church, House Speaker Mike Johnson claimed our nation is to be governed by “Divine Authority,” and that critics have distorted the truth of the Declaration of Independence.

• MAGA pastor Robert Jeffress claimed that the Founding Fathers, who deliberately separated church and state, “would be called Christian nationalists today,” while evangelical Eric Metaxas claimed that God waited 200 years to “raise up” Donald Trump — so he could finally build his dream White House ballroom.

• “Cowboys for Trump” founder Couy Griffin read the same passage he delivered on the steps of the U.S. Capitol during the January 6 insurrection, suggesting that overturning democracy for Trump was obeying the Lord and that his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results were not an attack on the country, but rather an act of obedience to God.

Perhaps the most significant aspect of the event was the evidence displayed nationwide in legacy media of just how in control of messaging the MAGAts are these days.

Trump-backed prayer festival on National Mall draws thousands: ‘We welcome Jesus!’

…was the gist of headlines, even though ‘thousands’ on the National Mall is arguably less than the number of tourists visiting the site daily from any of the nearby states. Reuters News published photos of rows of empty seats in front of a stage during the screening of Trump’s address.

The National Mall can hold more than one million visitors. Via Raw Story:

• Despite the visibly empty rows, Trump allies declared the event a triumph. Teen influencer Bo Loudon claimed D.C. was “filled to the brim with patriots honoring God,” while Deputy Assistant to the President Sebastian Gorka boasted of a “huge crowd.”

The President skipped the event to golf in Virginia, posting in all caps on Truth Social: “I HOPE EVERYBODY AT REDEDICATE 250 IS HAVING A GOOD TIME.”

Good Trouble, Sign Waving, and Truths

Speak out! San Diego City Council Budget Hearing (Monday, 4:30pm - till…) 12th Floor Council Chambers, 202 C Street, Downtown. Join us to speak out against major cuts to the Energy Independence Fund, street safety, youth services, and libraries/parks. We’re joining other organizations to raise our voices, and ensure that the community isn’t ignored in this process. RSVP

ICE OUT OF ESCONDIDO (Tuesdays, 1030am-Noon) 1485 E Valley Pkwy - (in front of Starbucks; between Harding & Rose), Escondido. Exercise the power of the people on Tuesdays for as long as you can stay, and demand ICE OUT OF ESCONDIDO SIGN UP

La Mesa Protect Social Security Rally & Protest (Tuesdays, 10:30 -11:45am) Social Security Administration Offices, 7961 University Ave La Mesa. We’ll be on the sidewalk in a relatively sunny location, so a hat will make a big difference. RSVP

Mira Mesa Demonstrate for Our Democracy (Tuesdays, 4-6pm) Corners of Mira Mesa Blvd and Westview Pkwy D+ www.BlackMountainDemocrats.org/

Feet on the Streets - Tuesday morning edition (Tuesdays, 10-11am) Otay Lakes Road & Bonita Road, Bonita. CONTINUE BRINGING YOUR SHELF STABLE PANTRY ITEMS in 2026! We help our community by making sure they are FED and have a safe place to pick their food up!** SIGN UP

Bannering Visibility Brigade Downtown (Mondays, 4-5:30pm) 6th Avenue over 1-5 RSVP

Bannering Change Begins With ME (CBWM) Overpass Alliance (Mondays, 3 - 4:45pm) Clairemont Drive overpass above I‑5 RSVP

Bannering Change Begins With ME Overpass Alliance- (Wednesdays, 4-5:30pm) Clairemont Mesa Blvd overpass at I-15 RSVP

Bannering Visibility Brigade - Weekly Bridge Banner Protest over Highway 94 (Wednesdays 7:30-9:30am) 22nd St. Bridge over Hwy 94 F Street & 22nd Street For GPS, use 2202 F St. San Diego SIGN UP

Bannering College Ave. I-8 Overpass Visibility (Wednesday, May 20, 4-5:30pm) Bring your flags, banners and signs. Show those drivers that you are concerned about the corruption, graft, waste and illegal WAR! Our economy needs your help! Come join us! SIGN UP

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