Looking At Problematic San Diego Politicians As 2022 Approaches
Who's Running for What in Chula Vista, a Congressman for Life, and Deja Vu All Over Again Downtown.
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned sometimes it’s better to keep my powder dry when it comes to loading up the old journo musket to take pot shots at politicians who could be considered friendlies.
There are exceptions to this personal maxim, namely when elected representatives lose touch with reality, when they make blatant and consistent moves (potentially) weakening the social safety net, and when the stench of corruption becomes overwhelming.
An example of exception #1 would be Ammar Campa-Najjar, who started out as a good guy willing to fight daunting odds (two races in the 50th CD), and now looks like a ridiculous opportunist. Yes, he went to high school in East Lake. Yes, he was part of the Obama campaign in the South Bay. But has he ever been to a city council meeting?
His current run for Mayor of Chula Vista, where he has no political history, is a bad idea at best. South Bay politics are complicated by various political camarillas with long histories and deep hostility to outsiders. There is an even chance the city will end up with a Republican Mayor.
His mayoral campaign website says "coming soon." There are reasons to doubt his commitment.
So maybe it shouldn’t be surprising that a “Draft Ammar” campaign exists for the 50th CD, which will be taking a more centrist direction should the proposed redistricting maps be adopted.
And, while I’m sure there’s some distance between Campa-Najjar and this (primarily) social media campaign, it doesn’t help matters when the non-candidate hits the ol’ “like” button. There are also many Democratic activists in the district who wouldn’t be thrilled about a repeat candidacy, given the candidate’s clumsy flirtations with the right.
But wait! It gets worse! Again I’m sure Campa-Najjar has nothing (wink, wink) to do with the public opinion survey measuring his electability versus Steve Padilla for the State Senate 40th. A guy with no elected track record is testing the waters about running against a four term (openly gay)city councilman, who was the first Hispanic mayor in San Diego’s second largest city in a region with long standing political alliances… really?
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Exception #2… When it comes to expanding or even maintaining our (government subsidized) health system, nobody is more disappointing than Congressman Scott Peters. He’s got excuses, and maybe even strongly held personal beliefs, but the guy’s Third Way attitude toward Obamacare and negotiating drug prices (yes, I know there was a compromise) for medicare makes him a frenemy at best.
However, despite my ongoing differences with Peters (and his staff’s dust up with the well-meaning folks in Indivisible). I’ll end up endorsing him. All I can do at this point is complain and hope that at some point he sees the light.
Why? Consider the alternative. His opposition in 2022 is Coronado Mayor Richard Bailey, a flat earther Republican.
From the Union-Tribune:
As mayor of Coronado, Bailey was at the forefront of opposing COVID-19 restrictions as the virus spread across San Diego County last year.
“Enforcement of these provisions is not in the public’s interest,” he wrote in an opinion piece published by KUSI-TV last year.
“These orders are an abuse of power that infringe on basic civil liberties and defy common sense while putting the health of the public and enforcement officers at risk,” he wrote.
So it’s ‘get real’ time when it comes to Scott Peters. Beating him from the left (or any part of the spectrum for that matter) would require grass roots organization and massive fundraising against a guy who votes the “right” way most of the time. And I just don’t see activists willing to do the hard work needed to make that happen.
Unless there is a scandal or otherwise unpredictable event, the seat is his, even as the center of Democratic politics moves left.
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Exception 3#... Which is the reason I started this essay in the first place.
It’s starting to look like history will repeat itself in not good ways at San Diego City Hall. The whiffs of smoke emanating from the 101 Ash Street saga have turned into a --cough, cough-- layer of smog.
I can’t tell who’s right from who’s wrong at this point. If we get lucky, either the feds or an ambitious grand jury will help sort this out.
The worst case scenario could see big time donors for both parties, the former and current mayors, a city attorney or two, and numerous other city officials facing a jury someday. Or not. Everybody denies everything and/or says they weren’t involved.
At this point, the behind the scenes maneuvering for a much needed project (a consolidation of city offices) doesn’t come off as very sexy when it comes to the short bursts of exclamatory news reading needed to gain public attention.
The dance done by former Mayor Kevin Faulconer to distance the deal from kingpin Doug Manchester, the absence of due diligence, the simply outrageous cost, and the payoffs to various actors along the way may end up being legal.
The folks at La Prensa San Diego have gone all-in to report this story, even after NBC7 News dropped the ball. The apparent amount of effort that’s been made to tamp down this reporting should be a clear signal that something is rotten. Enough dirt has emerged for the Union-Tribune to report that there’s something awry.
But it’s complicated.
Here’s one string, via investigative reporter Jeff McDonald in today’s Union-Tribune:
Lobbyist Christopher Wahl failed to appear for a deposition in a lawsuit alleging the city’s lease-to-own agreement for the Ash Street building is illegal because it indebted the city without a public vote.
Wahl is a partner at Southwest Strategies, which has raised tens of thousands of dollars in support of City Attorney Mara Elliott, Mayor Todd Gloria, various city council members, and the Democratic Party.
Wahl’s attorney is currently in court on a matter in Orange County, and attempted to negotiate another date. The Union-Tribune quotes the lobbyist as saying plaintiff’s attorney Mike Aguire “retained the deposition schedule so he could inform the Union-Tribune if Wahl didn’t come to the deposition.”
At this point if you were playing bingo you’d have Republicans Manchester and Faulconer and Democrats Elliott, Gloria, etcetera, along with a (contentious) former City Attorney (Aguire) on your card. As an added bonus La Prensa’s Attorney, Cory Briggs, ran a heated campaign against Elliott last year.
Confused yet? You betcha!
Who are the good guys here? Is anybody going to jail? Will San Diego ever get the office building it needs to make its government more efficient? Can somebody arrange for an errant satellite to crash into 101 Ash Street? Will it still be boarded up in 2030?
And, most of all, how are pundits supposed to evaluate city candidates with this hanging in the air? Can you imagine "vote for candidate X, unless they get indicted"?
Hey folks! There’s a change coming to Words & Deeds in 2022. I’ll be moving from Wordpress to Substack, which hopefully will mean just a few changes in formatting. Stay tuned for exciting details.
Email me at WritetoDougPorter@Gmail.com
Lead image by Jon Williams