The first time I met Pete Kanelos was a few years back at a political function. Within the first several seconds of meeting him I was at first startled, then cracking up, and quickly thereafter thinking to myself, “This guy is a real breath of fresh air.” Everything with Pete is vivid, so it’s fitting I remember our first encounter …
Gaspar rolling in endorsements — Faulconer, Chavez, Zapf, Sherman, Kersey, Cate
Just the last few days… Wednesday, from Kristin Gaspar: “Assemblyman Rocky Chavez made it official with an endorsement of my campaign for Supervisor. “I am so honored to have Rocky’s support. His commitment to public service, distinguishing himself in the Marine Corps and then recommitting himself to public service as an elected official is truly commendable, and I look forward …
Short Term Rentals and the Zapf Proposal
Single family housing that are used for short-term vacation rentals through web services such as Airbnb or VRBO have gotten negative attention here in San Diego of late. Even though the complainants point to specific behaviors they dislike, the underlying tone of the discussion is that they don’t like the sort of people who come to America’s Finest City to …
Thank you for your support
After a long and very personal campaign, I am so happy and humbled to have been elected to the District 2 seat on the City Council. Thank you for your support, and a special thanks to everyone who volunteered and helped out on the campaign. We knew it would be difficult to win in June with four people on the …
Zapf Raises Over $485,000 For Re-Election to District 2
Today San Diego City Councilwoman Lorie Zapf announced she has raised $485,231 for her re-election bid to City Council District 2. Based on the most recent fundraising disclosures due today to the City Clerk, Zapf raised an impressive $159,135 over the two-month period of March 18, 2014 – May 17, 2014. This exceeds the total amount raised by Zapf’s …
Unions Fund Libertarian
. . . Campaign Flyer. Who’d a thunk it? This flyer showed up at my house. Unions are getting involved in the San Diego City Council District 2 race and spending money to help the Libertarian candidate, Mark Schwartz. Let’s be clear, Schwartz has no chance of being elected. If you read the fine print at the bottom, you will …
Sarah Boot – Progressive?
Oh yeah, and by progressive, that means a person of the left as opposed to a person of pallor. Sarah Boot is running against quasi-incumbent Lorie Zapf for San Diego City Council in District 2. For full disclosure, recent redistricting moved my home from District 6 to District 2, like Zapf. I am very interested in this race. San Diego City Beat …
New City of San Diego Sales Tax Coming?
Sounds like it if the new Council President Todd Gloria gets his way. The North County Times reports: New SD Council President Pitches Tax Increase Neither new mayor nor council offer immediate reaction to $900 millon proposal The new president of the San Diego City Council — rising Democratic star Todd Gloria — said he wants to put before city …
At Least the Fleece Awards Were Cute: SDCTA Hands Out 2012 Goldens
Smart governing decisions saving taxpayer dollars and collaborative initiatives took top honors, while cavalier attitudes and lost opportunities were called out and shamed at the San Diego County Taxpayers Association (SDCTA)’s 17th annual Goldens Awards Dinner, held at the Town and Country Resort & Convention Center in Mission Valley. Remote controls were nowhere in sight as the evening’s theme “Taxpayer …
Faulconer pushes to bring City technology into 21st century
Are you reading this using a computer system from the 1980’s? You’re probably not firing up a Commodore 64 each morning, yet much of the City’s information technology network still uses decades-old systems. This morning Council President Pro Tem Kevin Faulconer joined Mayor Jerry Sanders and Councilmember Lorie Zapf to unveil the potential savings from two competitively bid IT services contracts. He called on …
WWFD? What Would Fletcher Do?
In the back and forth over Assemblyman and mayoral candidate Nathan Fletcher’s post Let’s be honest. Let’s be truthful. And let’s be direct., Rostrafarian Steve Rider posted an honest, truthful and direct question about this “leading by example” business. This brings up an interesting question. One can only assume that on the off chance CPR is defeated either in the …
“It’s In The Voters’ Hands” — Comprehensive Pension Reform Qualifies For San Diego Ballot
One hundred fifteen thousand nine hundred ninety one. That’s how many San Diegans signed the petition to qualify Comprehensive Pension Reform for the June 2012 ballot, the City Clerk confirmed today. The initiative’s authors — Mayor Jerry Sanders, City Council President Pro Tem Kevin Faulconer and City Councilmember Carl DeMaio — joined the Lincoln Club, San Diego County Taxpayers …
Bipartisan City Council Coalition Vows To Cut Red Tape So S.D. Businesses Can Create Jobs
“Time is money.” It’s an all-American saying that every small business in San Diego lives by. Today, City Council President Pro Tem Kevin Faulconer joined Council President Tony Young, Councilmember Lorie Zapf, the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce and Building Industry Association of San Diego to committ to helping businesses spend less time navigating the City bureaucracy so they can focus …
Acceptance is the First Step
The first seven months of my term has been an incredible learning experience. Many of you are aware that I never intended to be a politician; I am a business owner. But I ran for City Council because I was fed up with how the mismanagement of taxpayer dollars was dramatically affecting my quality of life. I believe that, while …
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 …
Confident, Determined San Diego Pension Reformers hold productive Thursday night meeting in Mission Valley
Kevin Faulconer set the tone last night, telling a crowd of civic leaders, “This is not about Republicans and Democrats. This is about what is good for San Diego neighborhoods.” Faulconer gestured to a chart showing that, if left unchanged, local residents will one day pay $500 million-a-year for a “defined benefit” pension system. “If we act now, we can save $1 …
Redistricting Proposal — A Power Grab by Democrats and Labor in the City of San Diego
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. …
Zapf, Sanders and a Shiny New City Hall
The question of whether to put a new civic center on the ballot is beyond premature. We should not even be asking the question of council versus ballot for a new city hall, instead the Council and Mayor should be focusing on fixing our budget and pension problems.
Faucett out. Hansen in.
San Diego City Hall will soon welcome Katie Hansen, of Restaurant Association fame, as City Councilman Kevin Faulconer’s new Chief of Staff. Hansen, who earns a best actress for her role in the overwhelming defeat of Proposition D as well as best supporting actress for her parts in the David Alvarez and Lorie Zapf victories, will be replacing Faulconer’s outgoing …
Three Types of Lies
Pollster John Nienstedt’s discussion on polling and the reasons polls fail to accurately gauge voter behavior (and what polls can and CANNOT do) has been a hit on the post-election poliwonk social circuit. Among the topics on tap, Nienstedt has provided his insight on the variance in results among the polls conducted over the past few months on Prop D, …
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