Say the name Mike Aguirre and it conjures up images of long pompous diatribes, public shouting matches laced with profanity, and bullying anyone who disagreed with him. The political farce surrounding Proposition D has shown us that Jerry Sanders can fairly be compared to his one-time nemesis, Mike Aguirre. Various reports throughout San Diego paint a disturbing picture of the Mayor and his recent behavior.
Jerry “mike-like” Sanders has seemed very agitated at a number of events. Perhaps he assumed that between his new-found alliance with laborphiles and his ability to sway the business community, the first $103 million was as good as in the general fund. And then the Lincoln Club bus showed up to screw with his carefully scripted campaign kickoff. Since that day, Mike… er I mean Jerry, has been arguing for the sales tax in long disjointed monologues without discussing any merits Yes on D may have. Instead, he pulls at folks’ emotional heartstrings and asks everyone to “TRUST ME, TRUST ME.”
Even worse, he responds with personal attacks and cursing tirades at opponents of the sales tax, all of whom he’s worked with in the past. At meetings of the Chamber and AGC, which are made up of Jerry Aguirre’s friends, he has turned various shades of red as those same friends say no to supporting Prop D. Seeing a one time leader reduced to begging would be sad were it not for the Aguirre-esque threats that accompany those pleas. Even with the many business groups saying NO on D, many more traditional Jerry supporters can’t come out directly against it because of threats to affect their business before the city.
Maybe Jerry is falling apart because he sees the writing on the wall. Like Mike Aguirre, Jerry Sanders is quickly becoming insignificant politically. He’s delusional if he thinks his hammer-turned-fly swatter will be effective in extracting reform from the Labor goons on the Council post November. The reality is, if Prop D passes, all the power to meet the conditions lie with them.