The Bob Filner fiasco certainly has local media scared. I noticed it in the special Mayoral election when they asked Faulconer and Alvarez the silliest of interview questions. The media are worried they might not properly vet candidates, so rumor, innuendo, and accusations get reported first and investigated later.
Mike Slater thought differently when he refused to air an accusation by a former Carl DeMaio aide last June. That aide told a story which was part Ben Hueso and part Bob Filner. That story, released days prior to the June primary election, couldn’t be verified so Slater passed. Months later, the accuser brought the story to CNN and local media jumped on it. The San Diego Police investigated the claim and passed it on to the District Attorney — it was dismissed because, like Mike Slater decided in June, it lacked evidence.
Yesterday, just days before a very tight race in the 52nd Congressional District, another unsubstantiated accusation was levied at Carl DeMaio by a former staffer. This one is different though because it appears the first accuser and Scott Peters’ campaign manager, MaryAnne Pintar, coordinated the attack. Predictably, local media have swarmed like bees to honey and are broadcasting the claim loudly. The local media are missing something though; DeMaio’s first accuser and Peters’ campaign manager were in cahoots.
It is reported that the accuser, an insurance salesman and Navy veteran, was upset that DeMaio’s original accuser “outed” him on Twitter last week after Pintar forwarded his name along. He’s out of politics and lives thousands of miles from San Diego today.
The damage is probably already done. This close to an election, it is virtually impossible to verify the credibility of the attack. But the media, nervous as they are about blowing a big story, might press Pintar a little harder today. DeMaio’s opponent and first accuser have played them like a fiddle thus far.
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Shoot the Messenger. I guess that is the only strategy left.
It is amazing to see the local Republican party stand with DeMaio and his claim to the end that these are ALL “vile, outrageous lies” and “a smear by my opponent!” Brian, you and your party leaders will lose credibility and moral compass by continuing to support DeMaio.
Doesn’t everyone remember how difficult it was to get rid of Filner? You are willing to help another likely sexual predator get elected? Does it not matter if there are more victims, your Republican volunteers and supporters, along the way?
The GOP is losing the business community over this — from startups, to BIOCOM to the Chamber of Commerce — you can read my and StartupCircle’s personal take on DeMaio here and we are NOT coordinating with any campaign, trying to smear anyone, just describing our personal experiences with DeMaio, who we WANTED to like and support at the beginning:
http://t.co/XLY6Siz5C4
and you can see what biotech entrepreneurs think here: http://conta.cc/1A53eXv
Gotta get back to work, but wanted to also share my comments to a UT reader, David Wimberly, who said he “couldn’t believe how low and disgusting you and your beliefs are … to wait for the last-minute to throw this allegation…”
“David, your biggest concern in all of this is that a young man who did not want to be a part of any of this finally got the courage to step forward and try to prevent what is most likely a predator from being elected? The ‘last minute’ is most important and offensive to you?
You would look this young, dedicated Republican VETERAN in the eye and say ‘you might be telling the truth and I’m sorry DeMaio did this to you, but how dare you wait until the last minute to put your name out there to be attacked by people like me, by DeMaio’s political operatives and by the national media.’
Todd Bosnich, another dedicated Republican young man tried to tell the public about his incident with DeMaio months ago, and I guess you would also look him in the eye and tell him he is disgusting.”
So Rostra community, before you run off and deflect blame onto MaryAnne Pintar, or whoever else gets caught up this DeMaio Disaster, please realize what you are doing to your own young party members who wanted only to help elect Carl and further your GOP ideals.
Good luck, I hope you all do the right thing. I believe that as parents, neighbors, loyal San Diegans above party, you will. Thanks.
Brian, me and Justin are life-long Republicans who both worked for Carl DeMaio. We are trying to do the right thing, in addition to saving the party the embarrassment of electing it’s own Bob Filner. This has nothing to with Scott Peters. It’s sad and unfortunate that unlike most Republicans you care more about “winning” and power than doing the right thing. Carl DeMaio is unfit for any elected office and is a disgrace to everything the Republican Party stands for
I’d like to spend all day arguing about how ridiculous the notion that this issue was manufactured by Maryanne Pintar, but Scott Lewis did it pretty succinctly via the Socratic method in less than 260 characters on Twitter:
Scott Lewis @vosdscott: Honestly asking: The theory is @ScottPetersSD was able to convince @carldemaio staffers to fabricate lies that he sexually harassed them?
Scott Lewis @vosdscott: Or is the theory that a staffer got fired, fabricated tale about harassment & then got another, who left on good terms, to concoct his own?
Scott Lewis @vosdscott: All in service of the rival campaign?
I would just add, Todd and Justin both have pretty good backgrounds as GOP political workers. Justin even worked on Mayor Faulconer’s campaign, I was told. What in heaven’s name caused these two and a third staffer (who’s working on a GOP state legislative campaign in Ohio) to turn against Carl DeMaio, risking their political futures and bringing unsavory publicity upon themselves?
Now, I find Maryanne to be a very likable and persuasive person, but I don’t think she could convince me to tell a vicious lie about a former boss.
And what are the three former staffers allegedly getting out of this? Were they a sleeper cell of Dem operatives all along?
If so, why is Alison still employed by her GOP candidate? Why has not a single elected official come to DeMaio’s defense?
Sounds like it’s not just Maryanne who needs to be challenged by local media.
Gabriela,
http://t.co/XLY6Siz5C4 pretty much captures what 1000s have know of or about DeMaio. I was involved in the Jorgensen campaign; DeMaio used numerous false avatars to deceive investors and fund-raisers, where he attempted to misrepresent Jorgensen’s tax position. He was caught red-handed where he used Tax Fighter Richard Rider’s email to try to deceive a former GOP supporter , Claire Reisse. Jorgensen called Rider out on it, yet he still supports DeMaio even after DeMaio used his name and falsely represented him and Jorgensen’s positions..it was shocking and despicable. This is what the RPSDC, willing or not, is supporting. We have seen Mayor Sanders call out DeMaios “BS”, and seen (via video evidence) Carl sneaking around trying to vandalize opponent campaign material, signs, etc..
I began to speak up and immediately ran into the “Obama-esque” attacks when criticizing Carl’s positions..on this blog, I have been vilified as a “homophobe” and “intolerant” anytime I called out the RPSDC’s shift in Life and Marriage. I, and many others, have railed against DeMaio’s proven unethical antics..but , like the Progressives that they appear to be, many New Generation “GOP” -ers found it easier to attack Conservative Republicans and aggrandize themselves with papa Doug, Boss Tony, then it was to cut their losses and acknowledge, perhaps like many did with Filner, that DeMaio was just a poor choice.
Keep the faith; The RPSDC is NOT the heart of Republicanism…you, me, and 10Ks of others in the 52nd are.
Todd,
you and Justin have displayed tremendous bravery…they would label you a “homophobe”, but that doesn’t fit their narrative, so you and Justin are just “liars, disgruntled employees, disloyal turncoats..”
Carl is just the symptom. The rot starts at the top…The political, media, and finance powers in SD decided over a year ago that Falconer would be mayor and DeMaio would be CA 52CD rep. The RPSDC leadership has burned numerous bridges, split the party, abandoned key constituents, and lost some wealthy and charitable donors; but they don’t care…they have an agenda.it is unrepresentative, un-American, and unethical in its approach. This has been a longstanding allegation against the senior leaders and many of their approaches in the RPSDC for years now.
I’m saddened to see good, loyal, dedicated young men, like yourselves, fall victim to the leviathan that is the cronyism, nepotism, and Tammany Hall style graft and corruption of the RPSDC..if DeMaio looses, the leadership will have a lot to answer for…to quote a local GOP personality, perhaps that will be the time to start #plotting… 🙂
Todd, for the record, it’s not about winning. I personally just do not believe you. Nothing you’ve claimed has panned out.
Unless you present some kind of actual evidence or sue for damages or do anything other than just try to take revenge on someone who fired you…I’ll continue to not believe you.
@Todd How did Carl DeMaio’s campaign plan end up in the hands of the Peters camp?
“I personally just do not believe you.” Nice reaction to someone who has the courage to report sexual harassment on the job. How very 1950’s of you.
Would your reaction have been the same if it was a woman claiming sexual harassment on the job?
Actually, it’s a reaction to someone who threw out some allegations after he got fired for plagiarism and after he became a suspect in a break-in. It’s a reaction to someone who had months to come forward and give proof. He didn’t come forward until it was most damaging to DeMaio’s campaign and he still has no proof.
It’s a reaction to someone whose evidence has been thoroughly refuted.
If all the facts are the same and the accuser’s case was as thin and so obviously untrue, my reaction wouldn’t differ no matter the gender, heritage, or skin color of the accuser.
I judge people based on the content of their character. It’s the Democrats who categorize based on skin color.
“Fired for plagiarism.” “A suspect in a break-in.” Any proof that he was responsible for either? In fact, the timing of the sexual harassment claim came before he was fired. Explain that.
As for the plagiarism, even if Mr. Bosnich was the author, and there is no proof of that, isn’t that still the candidate’s (Mr. DeMaio’s) fault? After all, you accused Congressman Peters of gay-bashing because of one word (that he certainly didn’t write) that was found on his website.
This is a wobbly house of cards that the Republicans are using to store their credibility.
Author
“It’s sad and unfortunate that unlike most Republicans you care more about “winning” and power than doing the right thing.”
That’s quite an assumption Mr. Bosnich. As recently as three weeks ago, I said this:
“Last week, Todd Bosnich accused the former San Diego City Council Member and U.S. House candidate of sexual harassment. If true, DeMaio has no business holding public office.”…and…
“Bosnich gave an interview to radio show host Mike Slater in June. The unedited audio file of the interview suggests that Bosnich is not crazy. He sounded reasonable, measured, and passionate about the Republican Party.”…and…
“Sexual harassment and bribery are serious accusations though. As a Republican, I don’t want our endorsed candidates harassing their staff members. As an American, I don’t want any elected official engaged in this type of behavior”
http://sdrostra.com/?p=39423
Many committee volunteers wondered why you chose to approach a Democratic Party paid-operative, over Republican committee members, if you cared about the Republican Party. Can you see why I might think your actions appear to be inconsistent with your words?
I wish you would have initiated discourse with me in May (rather than wait until today) and not with the assumption that I cared more for power than doing the right thing. I sincerely hope my actions have demonstrated that I am much more interested in the latter than the former.
HQ…NOW you are interested in proof?
Anyway, I have no “proof” he was responsible for either. Nor did I claim he was responsible for either. What I said was that he was fired for plagiarism and was a suspect in the break-in.
“Would your reaction have been the same if it was a woman claiming sexual harassment on the job?”
Would your reaction have been the same if he weren’t gay?
Michael,
Notwithstanding why he was fired, Mr. Bosnich claimed the sexual harassment BEFORE he was fired.
Would my reaction have been the same if he wasn’t gay? You know it would. Harassment is harassment and I made the mistake once of not wanting to believe the victim because I didn’t want it to be true. I guess you will have to learn the hard way too. I can tell you that it is not a good feeling knowing that you let your political goals trump your common decency.
Michael,
What was Justin’s motivation for reporting Mr. DeMaio’s inappropriate behavior?
HQ-
…and quit 2 days after the incident, leave sunny San Diego to return “home” back east and leave the GOP after having been a loyal and dedicated supporter of the campaign?
For some, Dem or GOP, “loyalty” takes on a surreal and almost pathological air..because the alternative; DeMaio is as creepy and immoral as many have claimed, the last year of defending, fending off sorted details and the drip-drip of increasingly challenging allegations plus the lingering accusations of previous unethical antics and practices makes a whole lot of influential, powerful, and invested people looking like fools…nobody likes to look like a fool…
As a left-leaning sort, you understand the GOP has taken shots from the Dems for years about tolerance, unfriendly to minorities, and gays…Carl is the much-sought hood-ornament the GOP desperately wants to muffle those indictments about “tolerance” etc..However, Carl is a poor choice..many have acknowledged that, but he is now the investment the major players have made and can’t imagine cutting their losses regardless of how many people come forward with details and allegations of his apparent proclivities.
The real challenge is not him losing; for all these establishment GOP enablers, the challenge is that he will have won…a proverbial “character grenade” in the seat of power, representing not just the 52CD, but all those sycophants and table-scrap nibblers that got him over the finish line, and now have to wake up everyday hoping DeMaio hasn’t pulled the pin today and isn’t really what many have alleged for years…unfit to represent…
I, on the other hand, will sleep like a baby…:)
the ONLY loser in the District 52 race is the people who live there….again we are given an election that can only be called “lesser of 2 evils vote” and we have to hold our nose which ever way you vote.
The accusations are troubling but unverified but we all know Carl and how he is…it is what makes him potentially a very good person to send to dysfunctional DC as well as a scary prospect as well.
Peters is Peters….a do nothing politician 1%’er looking for a hobby to get him out of the house….if he had any record he would have run on that instead of Tea Party this Tea Party that……
UGH, is this really the best we can do????
MaryAnne,
Council President, Port Authority Chairman of the Board and now Congressman – Doesn’t exactly sound like a “do nothing politician…looking for a hobby to get him out of the house.”
“Do-Nothing” must be right because you don’t seem to be able to name one single accomplishment……that is the Scott Peters we all know….
MaryAnne,
Let’s start with the fact that City Council President Peters worked with Mayor Sanders to enact pension savings that far exceed the reforms in Prop B. Don’t believe me? I challenge any actuary to contradict me.
As for his two years in the house:
Bills introduced:
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/browse#sponsor=412523
Bills sponsored:
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/browse?sponsor=412523
Of course there is some fluff there and I am sure some bills you don’t agree with, but there is enough of substance there to have garnered Congressman Peters the endorsements of the Biotech Industry and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Congressman Peters is far from a”Do-Nothing” elected official.
http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/DeMaio-Accuser-Arrested-for-Assault-on-an-Officer-282356991.html
Hey Frank, here’s a great story about your brave victim.
After reading Michael’s linked story, I have to agree with Pintar on one point; Mr. Bosnich is a troubled man.
It’s clear to me that she was the real predator here.