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The fiction of majority vote
Guest Commentary
by Fred Schnaubelt
Who Speaks For You? – Who Speaks For The American People?
The “American people” want compromise says the New York Times. The “American people” want a balanced budget say the Republicans. The “American people” want free medical care, free college tuitions, free contraceptives, free food stamps, free mass transit, free immigration, and free or partly free housing say the Democrats (and Democrats want Republicans to go along to get along). Everyone with an agenda claims to speak for the “American people” — or is it the “American peepul?’
Fletcher Wins Race For Most Klout
Politics & Media Mashup
I wrote a post six months ago comparing the Klout scores of San Diego mayoral candidates, council members and a few others who know their way around Facebook and Twitter. It generated a little buzz.
Tony Krvaric, Todd Gloria and others compared their scores on Twitter. Former U-T San Diego columnist Tom Blair mentioned the post in one of his columns and it was the subject of a short 10News story.
Klout is not without problems, so I took a little ribbing.
With public opinion tilting against public employee unions, the California Republican Party says D7 council candidate Mat Kostrinsky (D) does not want voters to know of his career interlude with the influential local SEIU chapter. And a check of the Biography Page at Kostrinsky’s campaign website does not mention the SEIU. SEIU press releases or agendas from Local 221 identify Kostrinsky as an SEIU official here in 2010 and again here in 2007 .
CRP mailing aids Scott Sherman in the “open” San Diego 7th City Council District
The California Republican Party sent this mailer in support of District 7 native Scott Sherman, the endorsed D7 city council candidate. District 7 is ”open” since incumbent Marti Emerald fled relocated to the new 9th District drawn by the Kangaroo Court Redistricting Commission in 2011. Patrick Henry High School football veteran Scott Sherman is a successful local businessman. And yes, Sports Fans, where you went to High School still matters in District 7 ! Sherman is also endorsed by former D7 Councilwoman Judy McCarty (1985-2000), Kevin Faulconer, Lorie Zapf, Jerry Sanders, Nathan Fletcher and State legislators Joel Anderson and Brian Jones.
Gonzalez punishes Gloria and Lightner
Lorena GonzalezPolitics & Media Mashup
There was a short but very telling story in Friday’s U-T San Diego. On the surface, “Labor gives ‘F’ grade to five on S.D. council” does not look like much more than a few inches on B2, but the story highlights how cutthroat politics can be at City Hall.
The piece, written by Jen Lebron Kuhney, says only two council members, Democrats Marti Emerald and David Alvarez, received passing grades. Each received a B.
Council candidate says DeMaio pressured him to drop out
San Diego mayoral candidate Carl DeMaio tried to pressure 7th District City Council candidate Rik Hauptfeld into ditching his campaign in an apparent effort at improving fellow Republican Scott Sherman’s chances of winning the seat, Hauptfeld said today in an exclusive interview with San Diego Rostra.
DeMaio’s campaign manager, Ryan Clumpner, issued a statement denying the allegation.
“He met with Rik once, and was very clear that he was not asking him to drop out of the race,” Clumpner said.
Judy McCarty, who spoke for District 7 at the SD City Council from 1985 to 2000, is endorsing GOP busiessman Scott Sherman for the same Council job. It is fair to say Judy McCarty’s blessing is the single best any D7 candidate can receive: a decade after leaving office, she still commands affection and respect in the older neighborhoods like San Carlos, Allied Gardens and Del Cerro, where memories are long and loyalties run Deep. A major coup here for candidate Scott Sherman. [Councilwoman-in-Exile Marti Emerald recently fled the redrawn District 7 in order to seek a new term elsewhere].
…. JUDY MC CARTY EXPLAINS HER ENDORSEMENT
GOP Ready for Prime Time in SD Council Races — Ray Ellis and Scott Sherman report solid early Fundraising
2012 shapes up as the most-important SD Council election year since the 1990s, and GOP hopefuls Scott Sherman and Ray Ellis are out of the starting gate at a gallup. Scott Sherman is the favorite in District 7 (from which Marti Emerald has fled) and tallied over $55,000 in support by the Dec. 31st cutoff date. Fellow businessman Ray Ellis (opposing the incumbent Sherri Lightner in D1) floored eveyone, reporting beter than $150,000 collected! Victories by Ellis, Sherman and Mark Kersey in nearby District 5, would give Republicans a 5-4 majority next year.
…… REACTION FROM RAY ELLIS
GOP Unity Team completed …. Mayor Sanders endorses Scott Sherman in pivotal 7th San Diego Council Dist.
Mayor Jerry Sanders backed Scott Sherman this week, increasing GOP chances of recapturing the long-Republican 7th district which elected Larry Stirling, Judy McCarty, Jim Ellis and Allen Hitch starting in 1961! [Marti Emerald decamped for other pastures!] Successful business owner (5th Avenue Insurance) Scott Sherman grew up in District 7, lives near his childhood home, and played football for the mighty Patriots of Patrick Henry High. And yes, sports fans, where you went to High School still matters in San Diego!
……G.O.P. TEAM IS NOW SET FOR ‘COUNCIL BOWL’ 2012
Does Maas miss good journalism or is ‘Sinko DeMaio’ his real end game?
Your weekend news aggregator leads off with the most interesting local stories of the week and includes links to stories about statewide politics, presidential politics and social media.
A DeMaio Documentary might surface if there is any decent dirt to dig up on San Diego mayoral candidate Carl DeMaio, said Republican developer Fred Maas.
The project is in the infant stages and stems from a dearth of investigative journalism, Maas said. He insists this is not about him and Carl. The two have sparred publicly and you’re never going to see a “DeMaio For Mayor” sign in Maas’ yard, which is why some people aren’t buying Maas’ spin.
Who has more Klout?
Viewing the San Diego Mayor’s Race Through Klout’s Lens Shows Fletcher On Top
Klout assigns a score to everyone who uses social media sites like Twitter and Facebook. Scores range from 1 to 100.
If San Diego’s mayoral race was based solely on social media influence the winner would be Nathan Fletcher.
That’s not going to sit well with some people, so allow me to explain.
In the past, one’s social media influence was measured by the number of “friends” on Facebook and “followers” on Twitter. Today, services like Klout assign a score to your social media influence.
Latest Political News
Recent items of interest…
Voice: Morning Report: Jackson Not Running in 2012 for SD Unified
NCTimes: Stocks again in line for SANDAG chair — Our own Rostrafarian, Jerome Stocks
SDNR: And then there was one — Emerald running unopposed in District 9
SDUT: Little intrigue in county supervisor races
SDUT: Mayoral candidate Fletcher served in Iraq, Africa
SDUT: For Bilbray, no sign of shift to center
Patch: La Mesa Councilman Dave Allan Plans Run for AD 79
Please send links for our consideration to info@sdrostra.com
Wrong, SD GOP . . . Sigh
This is not how Republicans should be making the news . . .
From the San Diego Union-Tribune:
Twitter accounts of county GOP, chairman yanked
A good (old fashioned?) cyber-spat between San Diego County’s Republican and Democratic parties has broken out on — where else? — Twitter.
On Wednesday, local Democratic Party Chairman Jess Durfee issued a press release about the social network suspending the accounts of the Republican Party of San Diego County (@SDRepublicans) and that of its chairman, Tony Krvaric (@TonyKrvaric).
New York Times Continues To Dodge The Truth On Eric Lichtblau’s Issa Story – UPDATED
(Update in section toward the end about the alleged golf course view.)
As most Rostrafarians probably know, the New York Times has corrected two more errors in its article implying improper financial dealings by Rep. Darrell Issa. But the paper is still far from admitting the truth that the story is rotten at its core, and refuses to retract it.
Doesn't it gleam -- just like the Emerald City?
Much more about that — and a correction to the NYT’s bizarre pretension of what’s “cool” — in this post.
Cool in San Diego -- Symphony at Salk - click photo for more
Calling San Diego Taxpayers: Oppose the “Jobs Tax”
The San Diego County Taxpayers calls upon San Diegans to voice their opposition to a proposal by the San Diego City Council to double the so called “linkage fee” charged to construction projects in the City of San Diego. This fee is yet another short-sighted job killer and SDCTA is strongly opposed to this increase.
The Council will also consider setting this fee on “auto-increase” going forward, a sneaky little maneuver which no longer requires a vote of your elected officials to increase this job-killing tax. This action may be taken despite a historic recession and without regard for the concerns voiced by business leaders that this would further hurt jobs creation and economic recovery in San Diego.
Some Politicians Are Real Twits
The Huffington Post reported last week on President Obama’s appointment of Jesse Lee to the position of “Director of Progressive Media & Online Response” to work with new media and serve as the White House’s liaison with the online community starting this week, working on outreach, strategy and response. He’s got a shiny new social media sword with which to do battle, his new Twitter account. Follow him at @jesseclee44 So far, he’s got a way to go to acquire more influence. I’ve got twice the followers Mr. Lee does. Maybe he should ask Charlie Sheen for some tips.
Today (May 23) Republican Party of San Diego Chairman Tony Krvaric filed suit in SD Superior Court, seeking to correct publicly-revealed problems with the current SD Redistricting Commission process. City voters approved a non-partisan commission in 1992 (61% yes) proposed by then-Mayor Maureen O’Connor, and backed by then-councilman Ron Roberts. The first Commission (2000-01) faced very little controversy, and the map they drew produced competitive, close elections through the last decade.*
As documented on SD Rostra, and elsewhere, there has been little else but controversy this time around for a variety of reasons. Stay tuned to SD Rostra for further coverage of the wide-ranging issues involved.
Let’s put aside for the moment the well-debated controversies over the partisan backgrounds of some of those holding the reins of the City of San Diego Redistricting Commission.
After all, it still comes down to the maps the Commission is to consider, whether pulled out of their hats, drawn by a consultant, proposed by the community, or some combination thereof. Even if labor interests in San Diego are behind a Commission stacking effort, are those commissioners and their rookie executive capable of a corresponding map-drawing operation without some coordinated effort from allies in the community?
The Political Kettle was boiling in January, Feb. and March 2010…and SD Rostra was right there, adding spice, taking notes and reporting the results to you. Our ”Cooks” who served you in those months included: Richard Rider, Marie Waldron, Bob Siegel, “Sunshine”, Lani Lutar, Steve Baldwin, Gayle Falkenthal, Carl DeMaio, Barry Jantz and Jim Sills.
Here are the best Dishes from our Winter Menu for 2010:
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(01-06-2010) Steve Danon continues to build support in Supervisor District 3 …. Father Joe, Brian Bilbray, Jerome Stocks, The Chairs of the Lincoln Club and New Majority San Diego all came on board. And yes, Steve Danon will be running in 2012! http://sdrostra.com/?p=2252 Barry Jantz had the story.
Time to look back at SD Rostra’s first year and salute those who won for us the SD Press Club award for ”Best Topic-based Blog” in San Diego! This post looks at Rostra’s best from October to December 2009.
More, from 2010, follow this week. Please read them over and let us know which are your favorite articles.
Excelling in Oct. – Dec. 2009 were: Greg Larkin, Mr. Murphy, Criticus, Barry Jantz, Buck Turgidson, Gayle Falkenthal and the Mighty Thor. The top 15 Stories of that period are reprised here in chronological order...
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Don’t Mess With the Big Guy in the Red Suit
San Diego Rostra is our region’s leading political blog with several breaking news items to our credit and some swell awards, translating to an impressive growth in readership.
So it’s no surprise to this member of the blogpen to learn that Santa Claus himself is one of Rostra’s loyal followers. He’s asked to sit in as a guest blogger with his own Rostra “Naughty or Nice” contribution. Who am I to say no to the big guy in the red suit, especially if I want some swag for Christmas. So here it is – and remember, Santa wears a RED suit for a reason, boys and girls.
DeMaio: Making Redevelopment Agency Pay Back Taxpayers
City Attorney Provides Legal Opinion Justifying DeMaio’s Proposal to Transfer Convention Center Debt Service to CCDC
Councilmember Carl DeMaio today joined three other City Council Members to form a voting block to advance a proposal to transfer debt service on the Convention Center from the General Fund to the Redevelopment Agency. DeMaio is joined by Councilmembers Marti Emerald, Todd Gloria, and Kevin Faulconer.
“I applaud my colleagues for taking advantage of this opportunity to achieve permanent savings in the General Fund – and to earmark the savings to protect police, fire and lifeguard services,” concluded DeMaio.
A Telling Answer to a Simple Question
Leaders (and I use that term loosely) who pushed for Proposition D now know that there won’t be a hike in the already high sales tax in the City. The question for Jerry Sanders is: Are you still a Republican and if so, why?
It’s a good question that I’d like somebody to ask him for two reasons. First, Jerry spit in the eye of many people who fought for him and defended him during political and policy battles in the past and in my opinion, he needs to apologize to the people who supported him and whom he betrayed. He should especially apologize to the two Republican Council members whom he publicly attacked and ridiculed in a mean spirited manner during the campaign.
What Has Been Going Through Emerald’s Head The Last Few Days
Councilwoman Marti Emerald was shocked at the results of District 6 a week ago. The day of the election she was smilingly predicting a Wayne win, if not walk over. What would a Wayne win have meant? With just two seats in GOP hands and another resounding labor victory, it would have meant a disheartened small business community that would finally cave into the Chamber of Commerce ‘corporate welfare’ types who long since gave up the fight. A Wayne victory in D6 would have meant an easier re-election campaign for Emerald. Now, of course, the small business community and the local GOP smell blood in the water.
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