So the new City Council has selected a new Council President: Tony Young.
I had always assumed he was part of the union-beholden Democrat bloc on the City Council.
But then the conservative Lincoln Club backed Young, a Democrat, in his re-election bid for City Council. Maybe this meant he was a bit to the left on social issues but fiscally conservative? Of all groups, I’m sure the Lincoln Club grilled Tony on his position toward tax increases and business-friendly policies before granting their endorsement, right?
Well, Young voted to put a sales tax increase on the ballot. And his decisions over the past couple weeks have done nothing to inspire confidence that he’ll be any better than out-going labor thug Ben Hueso as Council President. Taxpayers, beware:
1. Wal-Mart: Young went out of his way to phone in from Denver to register his vote to allow the City Council’s de facto ban of Wal-Mart superstores before the new City Council was seated. 10 News reported:
“The vote was held just days before two members of the council who support the ordinance, Donna Frye and council president Ben Hueso, leave office…Union labor made up most of the pro-ordinance crowd, while community leaders from District 4 (Young’s district) made up most of the opposition…Councilman Tony Young, who was in Denver and participated via telephone and an Internet feed, backed the law but said he would support an appropriately sized Wal-Mart in his southeastern San Diego district, and might even approve of a superstore.”
As Voice of San Diego notes, however,
Independent Budget Analyst Andrea Tevlin said that last provision could effectively ban superstores from the city because the opening of any new store necessarily creates competition and takes business away from nearby retailers, regardless of size…But Young’s critics in southeastern San Diego say the area already has so few businesses to protect, and many out-of-work residents would prefer a low-paying job to no job at all.
The unemployed would like to work there even though the unions haven’t taken over and sunk Wal-Mart yet? Imagine that, the free market can work! Young’s participation in this union power grab, and the fact that he bent over backwards to enable the legislative shenanigans of rushing the vote through show where his true allegiance lies. Perhaps the only positive in this is the backlash from his constituents.
2. City Council Committees
Yesterday, Young absolutely gave Republican Councilmembers Carl DeMaio and Lorie Zapf a giant slap in the face. As the new Council President, he gave a Council newcomer, Democrat David Alvarez, a committee chairmanship while not giving one to DeMaio, put Todd Gloria in charge of the Budget & Finance Committee, and gave Lorie Zapf only two committee assignments. By comparison, he gave Gloria 5 Council committee assignments.
Oh Lincoln Club, why did you have to give this guy any credibility as anything but another Democrat disaster on the City Council. He appears well on his way to picking up where Hueso left off. Help us all.