Kristine Alessio just left the Republican Party. She claims that it’s because of Trump and that the local Republican Party “bullied her.” I ain’t buying that. Kristine s running for County Supervisor in 2020. Her mentor doesn’t like Joel Anderson and he’s devising a strategy to build a coalition of “Dianne Jacob Republicans” in East County.
State Senator Joel Anderson is the likely Republican candidate in the 2020 open seat. The Republican Party of San Diego County (RPSDC) endorsed him to challenge Dianne Jacob (who has held that seat since George H.W. Bush was President). This challenge infuriated Alessio’s mentor.
Alessio is a firebrand who fashions herself a “principled thinker.” That would be believable if she didn’t sign pledges, prior to elections, then break them after she won. Alessio ran as a Republican and has sought the local committee’s endorsement. That endorsement is powerful in East County where the voter registration skews right. The two conditions of a Republican Party of San Diego County endorsement are: (1) oppose any and all efforts of new taxation, and (2) don’t endorse Democratic candidates who are running against endorsed Republicans.
Why are those conditions in place? Holding the line on new taxation is about the only issue on which all San Diego Republicans can agree. The second “condition” is simple. If we want to advance the first issue, we stick together. Note that the condition offers elected officials an opportunity to endorse Democrats when there is no Republican running. It doesn’t prohibit them from endorsing one Republican over another. It simply recognizes that, if you want to be on the team, you agree to be a team player.
Q — If your mentor is grooming you to succeed Dianne Jacob as County Supervisor, and the local Republican Party is overwhelmingly supporting State Senator Anderson, how are you going to get elected in the deep red East County Supervisor District?
A — You pick fights with the grassroots Republican volunteers. That’s what Alessio is doing and THAT is why she is leaving the Republican Party. She’s motivated by practical politics rather than firm principles.
It might be a smart strategy. Calling members of the local committee “bullies” is their game now. Her mentor called me a bully for asking her why she don’t oppose the SANDAG ballot proposition for the Sky Gondola tax. Alessio has called local GOP Chairman Tony Krvaric a bully (recently) for questioning her endorsement of a Democrat for an open school board seat.
This is all kabuki theater. Alessio was honored by Republican Party of San Diego County (RPSDC) at the 2017 Lincoln-Reagan dinner for her eventual opposition to the SANDAG Sky Gondola Tax. She led the opposition by convincing the La Mesa City Council to vote for a resolution OPPOSING the tax she publicly argued with me about. She’s endorsed a Democrat (who got whomped in the election) to get Krvaric to publicly fight with her.
Her mentor is one of the smartest guys I’ve met, so I’m not surprised he came up with this strategy. He’s got Jacob lined up to endorse Alessio for Supervisor but RPSDC is backing taxpayer champion Joel Anderson. Alessio has to run AGAINST the Republican Party, in an overwhelmingly Republican district. Since she won’t get the local Republican Party endorsement, she left it…
…just like Nathan Fletcher did.
Alessio is running for Supervisor but she won’t announce it until she can say that Jacob requested her to run. Until then, she’ll be picking fights with Republicans to improve her name recognition. Expect the San Diego Union-Tribune to have a story about her “courage” within days. This isn’t “courage,” it’s a political stunt.
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ROSTRA gets most of it right again! Good solid reporting. We need someone who represents less bureaucracy and a streamlined smaller building department. 1,500 new regulations every 2.5 years in the building industry and people wonder why the homes cost so much and are unavailable! And let’s get that Bradley Bridge started already!
As an “East County Republican”, a Trump Delegate to the Convention and a staunch supporter of Joel Anderson, I couldn’t agree more. Jacob has endorsed those who were unable to get the County Republican Party endorsement, much as Alessio has. In the final analysis, Jacob has done, all these years, what is/has been good for Jacob while Joel has done what is good for all of East County. As with any organization composed of humans, the County Republican Party has made some missteps but not in this case. While we should all assume that Alessio will cater to particular East County Republicans, I know for a fact that Joel will stand up for ALL of East County in the Republican way, e.g. with lower taxes, less regulation, support of the Second Amendment and adherence to conservative values in ALL issues. An endorsement by Jacob holds no enticement for the majority of East County while one by Joel is valued because everyone knows he endorses on merit.