On Thursday, August 18th mayoral candidate Nathan Fletcher sent a mass email unveiling the first part of his plan to “bring San Diego’s business practices into the 21st Century.” Fletcher declared that, “we must look at everything we do with fresh eyes and new ideas.”
The only problem is that every component of his plan appears to be lifted from proposals already released by DeMaio and his team – there are no original ideas.
DeMaio campaign spokesman Stephen Puetz explained, “After reading the email several times, I concluded that Assemblyman Fletcher’s reference to fresh eyes and new ideas must be a veiled compliment to the work Carl has done on this issue over the past two years — after all, imitation is the ultimate form of flattery. We look forward to seeing future policy positions by Mr. Fletcher and recommend he review additional initiatives from Carl for continuing inspiration.”
The Pathway to Prosperity is DeMaio’s detailed and comprehensive plan to get San Diegans back to work. The plan includes an initial seven reforms to cut red tape and attract businesses to San Diego. DeMaio plans a series of Town Hall Forums over the next four months to refine and expand these proposals with input from business owners and the public.
“If Assemblyman Fletcher has any further questions, we’d be happy to get together with him and explain the Pathway to Prosperity in greater detail,” added Puetz.
“Fixing San Diego requires a mayor who will outline bold and fresh ideas – and who can build consensus to implement those ideas,” said DeMaio. “Even my mayoral opponents cannot resist the common sense reforms I have outlined in my detailed plans and I appreciate their support.”
See the chart below for the full comparison.
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PERMIT REFORM |
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Carl DeMaio, 8/4/11 |
Nathan Fletcher, 8/19/11 |
| “San Diego must dramatically reorganize and overhaul its entire process for handling permits.” | “The City of San Diego must change a number of its business practices – and step one is the first place a new business goes before hiring people: getting the permits necessary to open or expand a business.” |
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ONLINE PERMITTING |
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Carl DeMaio, 7/21/10 |
Nathan Fletcher, 8/19/11 |
| “The City of San Diego is woefully behind the times in using the Internet to interact with small businesses. Within five years, the City of San Diego should achieve the goal of conducting 95% of all permit and license transactions online.” | “New business permits are the first stop on the road to new jobs. Lets make it easy and online. “ |
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CONSOLIDATING THE PERMIT PROCESS INTO ONE DEPARTMENT |
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Carl DeMaio, 7/21/10 |
Nathan Fletcher, 8/19/11 |
| “Currently, (permit) information is not easily accessible online for business owners because it is distributed across various departments.” | “Oftentimes, permit approval for both business and personal projects requires the approval of multiple City departments.” |
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SELF-CERTIFICATION FOR PERMITS |
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Carl DeMaio, 8/4/11 |
Nathan Fletcher, 8/19/11 |
| “To streamline the number of permit actions that require a full-scale city review process, DeMaio proposes to pilot ‘Self-Certification’ Permitting for select projects.” | “Modernization will include… moving more towards ministerial and self approval, increasing e-filing of permits.” |
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SPECIAL EVENT PERMIT REFORMS |
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Carl DeMaio, 7/21/10 |
Nathan Fletcher, 8/19/11 |
| “The City should overhaul its processes and costs for special events conducted within the city… and allow for the waiver of City service cost-recovery fees for special event organizers.” | “The city requires a Special Event Permit. The $150 fee for the event is just the beginning of a long list of requirements to secure the city’s approval.” |
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JOB SECTOR COORDINATORS |
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Carl DeMaio, 8/4/11 |
Nathan Fletcher, 8/19/11 |
| “The Job Sector Coordinator would serve as an ombudsman to trouble-shoot problems and address problems that businesses in that sector are having with city departments and regulations.” | The City should “implement a business regulatory case management service. This service will make it quicker and easier to open a new business by assisting entrepreneurs with the permitting process.” |
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