Brian did one for San Francisco, so now it’s my turn. I’ll defer to the Calitics endorsements for contested state and federal races and focus on a few collected locals. I’m skipping the unopposed races, I’ve done varying amounts of research on these ranging from “exhaustive” to “I trust this one guy’s opinion” and as usual, I speak only for myself, not Calitics or the Editorial Board.

Superior Court 19: Garry Haehnle

Superior Court 45: Evan Patrick Kirvin

San Diego Prop A: Yes

San Diego Prop B: Yes

San Diego Prop C: No (The Mayor should not appoint his/her own auditor)

San Diego Mayor: Floyd Morrow. While this is almost certainly a Sanders/Francis race, this is more than a protest vote. It’s important to force this race into a runoff, otherwise most (maybe all) leverage is lost with the Mayor’s office from here until the end of the upcoming term. Squeezing at least a few more months out of it would be great.

San Diego City Attorney: Mike Aguirre. I have serious reservations about all of these candidates and Aguirre is certainly no exception. His personal squabbling with the Mayor has often been counter-productive and reckless and I don’t overlook that lightly. But flawed as he may be, I haven’t seen any other candidate distinguish themselves as interested in being quite the rabid counterweight to a “strong mayor” that’s already proven itself a failed model. That role doesn’t have to be filled by the City Attorney, but I’m not yet convinced it’ll be handled anywhere else.

There are also a number of people who I would like to vote for if I were in other parts of San Diego, but this is who I’m voting for.

Anyone inside San Diego or with a fleeting interest in San Diego issues, feel free to share your own voting plans or simply beat me into submission for the insanity of my picks.

So today, I received the latest volley of Steve Francis mailers (it’s been an average of two a day for the last two weeks).  Today, there was the regular Francis stuff, but also another one that would seem to be clearly targeted at people who think (for a change).  This one only mentions Steve Francis in the return address.

It has a big picture of Mayor Jerry Sanders standing next to George H.W. Bush, with the caption “Why has the Republican Party endorsed Jerry Sanders for Mayor?”  It goe on to answer with statements such as “Because Sanders has no plan to protect the environment . . . Because Sanders gives favors to fat cat developers . . .” and so on.

This is really funny to me, because as I understand it, Francis is a Republican too (we do have a rather pathetic set of options this time – but I can’t blame anyone for not wanting the job anyway).  You really would think the Democratic Party, or a labor union made up this mailer.

At this point, I am inclined to think that Steve Francis really does not have any ambition beyond Mayor, because I can’t think that clowns like Ron Nehring will ever forgive him for something like this.

In any case, it is the first time I’ve actually seen proof of a Republican (and yes, I know that it’s a nonpartisan office – LOL) actively running against GWB in this way.  I frankly have been skeptical that any Republican would actually violate St. Ronnie’s commandment about speaking ill of another GOPer, but there it is.

Is it really a trend?  Has anyone else seen something like this?  This really is a remarkable election year.

I work for the Courage Campaign

The City of San Diego has decided against issuing a certificate of occupancy to Blackwater (pdf):

Dear Mr. Bonfiglio,

The City will not issue a certificate of occupancy for the above referenced project pursuant to Section 129.0114 of the San Diego Municipal Code (SDMC). The portions of the building identified for use as a shooting range and vocational/trade school shall not be occupied until a certificate of occupancy has been issued for this change of use or occupancy pursuant to SDMC Section 129.0113.

Which basically means that Blackwater can’t open up shop until going through a full public review process as ordered by the Mayor (replacing the previously planned stop-work order).  In the meantime though, San Diego’s development services director Kelly Broughton continues to play dumb, telling KPBS “I don’t see that I would have had any other choice but to approve it because it complied with our municipal code and the California Building Code.” Of course, it doesn’t comply at all, which is why Rep. Bob Filner, several members of the City Council, the City Attorney and Mayor have all now stepped in to correct the flawed process.

For his part, Blackwater spokesman Mike Neil is grasping almost laughably at straws in response:

Neil said Blackwater’s own analysis shows that the company is entitled to occupy the Otay Mesa facility and a delay could jeopardize Blackwater’s long-standing contract with the Navy to train sailors in anti-terrorism tactics. A delay could damage the company’s business reputation and “cause harm to national security.”

I’m really not impressed that Blackwater has decided that Blackwater is right. And if Blackwater is so concerned about hanging onto this contract, they might have wanted to engage in this process honestly. But at least they continue to blow off even the pretense that this would be a vocational school.  Not even lip service to the notion.  Finally, for all the lame bluster about the threat to national security if Blackwater loses this contract, let’s not lose sight of the fact that, even if this were true (obviously it’s not true and is in fact absurd), it’s not a good thing.  Blackwater’s contention is that San Diego should break its local government because the military can’t handle its own training.

Well that’s exactly what Donald Rumsfeld had in mind back in 2001 when he decided it was time to save the Pentagon from itself by privatizing everything in sight.  As I remember it, the ensuing years have demonstrated that Donald Rumsfeld is not right about very much, and this is one example. So even if Blackwater were right that its vital to military readiness- that would just be all the more reason to put the training back in the hands of the military. Blackwater has been nothing but trouble, and cementing any “necessity” for them would be wrong on so many levels. Good for their bottom line- which is what they care about- but not good for San Diego, the U.S. military, the country overall or the world at large.  Less Blackwater is the goal.

Full disclosure: I work for the Courage Campaign

[Update] The Union-Tribune reports today that Mayor Sanders has ordered all work to stop on the Blackwater site. Brian Bonfiglio (somewhat ironically) is complaining about the politicizing of the issue in an election year, even though nobody EVER wants Blackwater and he knows cause this isn’t his first time around this block.

Yesterday the Union Tribune reported that according to Kelly Broughton, San Diego’s development services director, Blackwater’s city permits could not be appealed.  The article held out one glimmer of hope though- that Mayor Sanders’ call for investigation could bear fruit:

Broughton said yesterday that the internal review could lead to Blackwater’s permits being revoked, after a public hearing, if it turns out that staff made mistakes or relied on bad information.

Certainly one compelling bit of “bad information” might be the use of Southwest Law Enforcement and Raven Development Group on the permits instead of Blackwater.  Another might be…you know…blatantly lying about the planned use of the property in Otay Mesa and what would be installed there.  Well today City Attorney Mike Aguirre weighed in on exactly that, calling for a stop work order to be immediately issued and establishing the need for environmental impact study:

The City Attorney issued a legal opinion on Friday indicating that a series of building permits issued by the City of San Diego’s Development Services Department to a subsidiary of Blackwater Worldwide, a global security firm whose work in Iraq has fallen under criticism, were obtained improperly and a more rigorous permitting process should be completed. The City Attorney opined that a stop work order should be issued immediately and a more rigorous application process undertaken.

Southwest Law Enforcement Training Enterprises, a subsidiary of Blackwater Worldwide, obtained permits for tenant improvements to an existing warehouse in Otay Mesa the area of the City of San Diego. The permit applications specified that the building was to be used as a “training facility.” The original building was formerly used as a warehouse. One of the three applications filed by Southwest Law Enforcement stated that the proposed use of the building as “same (no change).”

As a result of the representations in the permit application the permits were issued under the DSD’s “ministerial” process, which meant no City Council or other discretionary approval was required.

More recent tenant improvement application submitted by Southwest Law Enforcement Training Enterprises was to construct an “indoor firing range.”

The legal opinion issued by the City Attorney’s Office also states that California Environmental Quality Act is also necessary in order to address the environmental impacts of a firing range

Which is a long way around to smacking down Blackwater on about every point that’s been raised by the locals objecting to the project.  Local NPR on the way home earlier reported that Mayor Sanders was on board with some or all of the City Attorney’s opinion, still waiting to get an official response from Sanders.

Full disclosure: I work for the Courage Campaign

Blackwater made its way into the big time here in San Diego today, with mayoral hopeful Steve Francis picking up on the issue and savagely beating Jerry Sanders over the head with it.  There’s no love lost between these two (as you may remember or enjoy viewing), and they know that whether it’s on June 3 or in the November runoff, they’re in direct competition with each other for roughly the same political real estate in this mayoral race.  So when Francis is kind enough to adopt the Courage Campaign frame in his press release entitled Blackwater Permit Issue Raises Serious Questions. Which makes Blackwater a defining issue as both Republicans try to stake a claim to the center-left.

Full text and further analysis on the flip.

“Once again, it appears that the too-cozy relationship between Mayor Sanders’ administration and his lobbyist supporters may have led to an outcome that is not in the best interests of the people of San Diego. And once again, we see the corrosive effects of too much secrecy and not enough transparency in the dealings of our government.  Right now, the Blackwater permit issue raises more questions than it answers. In light of the Blackwater West controversy last year, the fact that permits were sought using the names of Blackwater affiliates and not the Blackwater name itself raises serious questions. Was this a deliberate deception? How was a permit for a “vocational training school” given to a paramilitary training facility? Why was this matter not handled in an open and transparent way with public hearings and public comment period? Did Sanders’ supporter and lobbyist firm Carpi and Clay receive preferential treatment for their client, Blackwater? How many times did Mayor Sanders and/or his top lieutenants meet with Carpi and Clay in 2007 and 2008 and what were the topics discussed at those meetings? What did Mayor Sanders know about the current permit issue and when did he know it? Due to the long track record of this Mayor in regards to special access for his lobbyist supporters, it is simply not credible for his Administration to investigate itself. I call on Mayor Sanders to invite an external investigation into this matter so that the citizens can be assured of the integrity of the process.”

Francis reinforces some issues and broaches a few more in this release.  First of all, the Carpi and Clay connection.  The local lobbyists are playing about 18 different sides in this mess. Among their many local clients are the County and Port of San Diego. Nikki Clay was a registered Blackwater lobbyist during 2006 and 2007 while they were pursuing their Potrero facility. Her husband Ben Clay was recently nominated by Mayor Sanders to the local Stadium Board. Both are campaign contributors to Sanders’ campaign and PAC in the past.  One of the major criticisms of Sanders is that he’s far too beholden to contributors and far too cozy with lobbyists. So that’s the new.

The reinforced is that this is not a partisan issue, but rather an issue of fundamental government functionality and decency.  We have a GOP mayor and his GOP challenger now battling over who can be tougher on Blackwater. Because Blackwater is simply bad no matter how you cut it. The only way for them to open a new facility is to obscure their identity and true motives, which breaks local governments.  And that’s without even getting into the community impact on local schools and security having lying mercenaries running around.  The underlying issue that Steve Francis lays bare here and which goes beyond local issues is this: What they say they’re doing is not what they’re permitted to do.  If this is allowed to slide, they aren’t bound by what they say they’re doing. The floodgates are open and they can do anything.

The door needs to be slammed now, and hard.  Francis and Sanders are racing towards the center-left in this election; Francis on transparent government, Sanders on marriage equality and no-nonsense finance. And now, they’re both racing on Blackwater. Cause nobody wants to be the one opposed to functional government.

Full disclosure: I work for the Courage Campaign

Local leaders gathered today outside the office of Mayor Jerry Sanders to present him with more than 2,500 signatures to the letter from San Diego Democratic Party Chair Jess Durfee calling for an investigation into Blackwater’s permit process.  There was a somewhat unexpected air of celebration to the event as it was announced yesterday that Mayor Sanders is calling for the city’s Chief Executive Officer to conduct a full review of the Blackwater permit process (of course now we’ll see what comes of it).

The stage was shared by Jess Durfee (who noted he knows a few things about vocational schools courtesy of a Master’s degree in vocational education), Courage Campaign’s Rick Jacobs, Humberto Peraza- district Chief of Staff for Rep. Filner, Francine Busby and Ray Lutz from Citizens’ Oversight Projects.

All the parties involved have been instrumental in the rapid and effective response to this new Blackwater situation.  Remember it’s been barely two weeks since the news originally broke of this new facility, yet here everyone was gathered to mark and celebrate a significant people-powered success story.

Today was a great opportunity to cement in no uncertain terms the coalition to Block Blackwater which has formed rapidly and forced action from the Mayor.  And we’re just getting warmed up.  There have been recent revelations that Blackwater is looking to expand operations at current facilities and open a new training facility in Idaho.  Why? Because they see the writing on the wall.  They know that Iraq isn’t going to last much longer, partly because they’ve behaved so criminally and partly because the war is such a debacle.  They know that their survival depends on diversifying and establishing new roles in a post-Bush/Iraq system.  It’s why they’re looking for a few good hundred million in new investment capital.  It’s because there’s no natural place for them to exist once they can’t get anymore handouts from the Bush Administration and their cronies.

Today was a victory. Tomorrow we’ll likely need another. But we’re developing the methods that win.

Full disclosure: I work for the Courage Campaign

Mayor Jerry Sanders got what he asked for when he was elected in 2005. Not just the office, but unprecedented “strong mayor” control over the city’s operation. He’s had two and a half years, and as he runs for reelection, we have to ask whether he’s lived up to the responsibility.

At a recent debate, Mayor Sanders let his frustration get the best of him over the substance, or perceived lack thereof, in the current campaign.  Well if he wants to talk about issues, Blackwater is a good one.  Steve Francis, a leading contender for mayor, has accused Jerry Sanders of “presiding over the largest pay-to-play system the city has ever seen.”  If Mayor Sanders wants to get substantive and prove that the good of the community is is his top priority, it’s time he get involved in the absurd permit process that has- thus far- allowed Blackwater to waltz into the city and start unpacking within spitting distance of the border.

Earlier today, Courage Campaign partnered with Jess Durfee, the Chair of the San Diego Democratic Party, to introduce a petition calling on Mayor Sanders to launch a full investigation into the questionable process that’s brought Blackwater to the City of San Diego.  He asked for this responsibility- he still wants this responsibilty. It’s time to deliver.

On the flip is the email that Jess Durfee sent to Courage Campaign’s San Diego members today.

My name is Jess Durfee. I am the Chair of the San Diego County Democratic Party.

The Courage Campaign asked me to write this message to the people of San Diego about Blackwater’s shocking new plan to build a base of operations in Otay Mesa, just three blocks from the Mexican border.

False pretenses. Bait-and-switch. Trojan horse. Take your pick of descriptions to explain Blackwater securing a city permit for its “vocational training school” — a “school” that won’t be open to the general public.

That’s simply Blackwater’s way of doing business. By using trojan-horse corporate shells like “Southwestern Law Enforcement” and “Raven Development Group” to obtain their permit, Blackwater is using false pretenses to evade public scrutiny.

The worst part? The “Blackwater bait-and-switch”: Using Iraq profits to subsidize a base of operations in San Diego with millions of your tax dollars.

Enough is enough. It’s time for San Diego’s elected officials to take a stand and kick Blackwater out of San Diego County for good. If the people of Potrero can do it, so can we.

The one man standing in the way of Blackwater is Mayor Jerry Sanders. He has the power — under San Diego’s “strong mayor” system — to launch a full investigation into the false pretenses Blackwater used to obtain a “vocational trade school” permit for their 61,600-square-foot facility.

I have written a letter to Mayor Sanders that asks him to take action immediately. To get the Mayor’s attention, I am urging the citizens of San Diego to join me in signing it no later than TUESDAY AT 9 AM.

The sooner you sign on and spread the word to your friends, family and neighbors, the more signatures we’ll have when we present this petition to Mayor Sanders on Tuesday:

http://www.couragecampaign.org/SandersLetter

We all know that Blackwater is the “Enron” of private security contractors, more than willing to exploit Californians in the pursuit of profit. Do we really want these notorious mercenaries as our neighbors, bait-and-switching San Diego with an eye to eventually landing border security contracts?

As I wrote to Mayor Sanders in the letter linked above:

“This isn’t the first time that Blackwater has tried to hold itself above the law, and it probably won’t be the last. As ABC News recently reported, ‘Blackwater has been accused of tax fraud, improper use of force, arms trafficking and overbilling connected to its work for the U.S. government in Iraq. A grand jury, federal prosecutors and congressional investigators are all currently probing allegations against the company.’

The letter goes on to ask Mayor Sanders to stand up for San Diego so we can stand up to Blackwater before they set up shop a stone’s throw from the Tijuana International Airport. Please sign our letter today and ask your friends, family and neighbors to sign it as well before TUESDAY AT 9 AM:

http://www.couragecampaign.org/SandersLetter

As many Democrats, Republicans and Independents agree, Blackwater is undermining our troops in Iraq and our security at home. And now it appears to be using false pretenses to establish a dangerous foothold inside our community to privatize our border security operations. The only way we’ll know is if our Mayor launches a full investigation immediately.

It’s time for Mayor Sanders to stand up for San Diegans by standing up against Blackwater.

Please sign this letter to the Mayor today and tell your friends. Before it’s too late.

Thank you for everything you are doing to make sure San Diego continues to be “America’s Finest City”.

Jess Durfee

Chair

San Diego County Democratic Party

P.S. Thank you to all the folks in San Diego who came out last Friday to Congressman Bob Filner’s rally and press conference at the site of Blackwater’s planned facility in Otay Mesa. We had a great turnout in what could be the beginning of a movement to finally kick Blackwater out of town for good and change San Diego politics forever.

To make this new era for progressive politics in San Diego possible, we need your support for our letter to Mayor Sanders. Please sign on and spread the word as soon as possible before we present your signatures to the Mayor on Tuesday:

http://www.couragecampaign.org/SandersLetter  

With everyone off doing presidential stuff around the country, I’m gonna sneak in some local fun.  For the first time since 1979, the City of San Diego is reviewing and updating its general plan for growth and development.  The report is more than 300 pages long and not even I am nerd enough to read it all (ok, not yet), but it’s kicking up quite a stir as it recommends a rather dramatic shift to infill, redevelopment and other building up instead of out priorities.  Why the shift? Well, there’s no more room.  As the U-T points out, only 4% of San Diego remains open for new development.  Which means it’s time to start thinking like an actual city instead of neverending suburbia.

This notion has of course stirred up plenty of controversy.  Some of it is legitimate, like Councilmember Donna Frye’s concerns about infrastructure and services keeping up with increased density.  Some of it is mostly just people just trying to cover their own butts without regard for the broader picture.  I’m all for making sure that the projects are executed correctly, but criticisms along the lines of “if it’s done wrong, it’ll be bad” really don’t help me much.

Calitics has, on many occasions, discussed the need to change the way California thinks about development.  Robert has led the way on the notion that building density and a non-car based transportation system is key to the next generation of planning.  So while I’m cynical like many people around town who say “The plan has these wonderful platitudes but on every page,” I’m also encouraged by just the notion of setting a goal of building forward-thinking urban density.

On the flip is a brief rundown of the ten elements that the plan promotes and a bit of local intrigue that, not surprisingly, is getting caught up in this.

The proposed new blueprint for San Diego is guided by 10 principles. They are:

An open-space network formed by parks, canyons, river valleys, habitats, beaches and ocean.

Diverse residential communities formed by the open-space network.

Compact and walkable mixed-use villages.

Employment centers for a strong economy.

A regional transportation network of walkways, bikeways, transit, roadways and freeways that link communities to each other and to employment centers.

High quality, affordable and well-maintained public facilities.

Historic districts and sites that respect San Diego’s heritage.

Balanced communities that offer opportunities for all San Diegans.

A clean and sustainable environment.

A high aesthetic standard.

Mayor Jerry Sanders, in a serious battle with fellow right-winger Steve Francis (hitting from the left and the right cause there’s no major Dem in the race) for November’s mayoral election, is dusting off his anti-labor credentials by complaining about the promotion of living wage regulation for low-wage industries like, say, tourism.  Center for Policy Initiatives has coincidentally (not at all a coincidence) reminded San Diegans this week that the local economy has not exactly been churning out the big bucks (pdf).  Via email:

In San Diego County, two-thirds of all jobs created since 1990 are in the bottom third of wage levels — with median pay of $24,500 a year. Research from the California Budget Project shows that even a person living alone needs $28,000 a year to meet basic living expenses in our county.

Nice. So San Diego is producing jobs that pay too little to live in San Diego, thus the living wage is a bad idea. Clearly. Living is bad. Affording to live in San Diego is bad for the local economy. Jerry Sanders is an economic mastermind.

But where this really will start hitting problems is when people have to pay for it.  Not because people are unwilling to pay for good stuff, but because of the near-toxic combination of politicians who demonize government inefficiency (that they contribute to), the media that laps up the notion (because it’s easier than being a legitimate watchdog), and the years of (to put it nicely) crap government in San Diego.

But as Planning Commission Chairman Barry Schultz puts it, “if we want to have this vision we have to be willing to contribute our part.”

Exactly.

Cross posted at San Diego Politico

In what should come as little surprise given San Diego’s general strategy of not looking past its own proverbial nose in most planning issues (plus hey, we’re in California right?), a report out today finds that San Diego’s perennial budget shortfalls aren’t going anywhere as long as fundamental flaws to the budgetary structure aren’t fixed.  As it turns out, one-year bandaid fixes don’t seem to make the underlying failures disappear:

The problem, Tevlin said in an interview Friday, is that the city, which by law must balance its budget, continues to approach the spending plan on a year-to-year basis rather than examining the underlying causes of the shortfall.

“If you solve 2009,” Tevlin said, referring to the coming budget year, “you solve part of the problem, but new things come up in later years.”

First of all, how can it possibly take a full examination to reach these conclusions?  Really? I have to plan ahead when I run a city? Well hell.  But this goes well beyond the obvious, and even beyond the sort of discussions that Robert has been having here about how we view budget and revenue.

It fits in with an issue I first addressed in the context of the Beach Booze Ban.  San Diego’s development model over the past ten years has broken down cohesive community units, encouraging people to move around without regard to neighborhoods or the value of developing community cornerstones, both social and economic.  The turnover leads to a lack of collective knowledge and investment in the city, and so nobody pays attention and nobody cares.  San Diego is a place for people to visit for a few years, because the development has been centered on the notion of replacing everything with new money every few years.

Turns out, after a boom comes a bust, and while San Diego’s budget problems stretch back through the fat years, it’s a lot harder to address the problems of an overdeveloped city with less money.  So what’s a city to do?  The article dutifully notes that everyone hates taxes, and notes that just asking the public what to cut might be the answer:

Voters have had a say in the matter. They defeated two attempts to increase the city’s hotel tax in 2004, and Councilwoman Donna Frye made a sales-tax bump part of her failed mayoral run in 2005.

snip

She notes, however, that the city could engage the public in a discussion of spending priorities and singled out a Bay Area city that set a three-year deadline for ending its own long-term deficit.

San Jose will attempt to meet that goal, Tevlin said, while going through a process to figure out how the city should handle revenues, spending curbs and delivery of services and cuts.

Well asking is a nice idea, but people are going to suggest what’s best for their own ass because that’s what they’ve been trained to do in this town.  And asking people if they want to pay higher taxes is rarely going to work in a vacuum.

So who wants to lay money on this leading to increased privatization?  And wouldn’t it be nice if there were actually a Democrat running for mayor in the fall?  Seems like it could be a nice notion.

So I just got back from a McCain rally here in San Diego and aside from feeling dirty, he’s definitely a bit worried about California.  He brought out every gun he’s got, big, little, whatever.  He was introduced by Mayor Jerry Sanders, former CA SoS Bill Jones and Governor Schwarzenegger (McCain “will say ‘Hasta la vista’ to wasteful spending in Washington.”).  On stage but silent were locals such as my councilman Kevin Faulconer and County Supervisor Ron Roberts.  Along for the ride on the plane and the photo ops were wife Cindy, mother Roberta, and his murderers row of pseudo-moderates: Governor Crist from Florida and Senators Richard Burr, Lindsay Graham and Joe Lieberman.  They didn’t say anything but they stood there very moderately.

And then Senator McCain went ON AND ON about the evils of radical Islamic extremism (radical extremism? Is it also exceptionally unique? Largely big?).  He told people that it’s a titanic struggle against people who want to destroy everything and that there is nothing more evil than what we’re up against.  He gave “my friends” plenty of “straight talk” about…evil.  Troops aren’t coming home because that would be surrender (does that mean that we can’t win if the troops come home?).  He said that he was the only one who knew Rumsfeld’s plan would fail and the Petraeus plan was necessary (presumably not even Petraeus knew).  Spent about two seconds on making tax cuts permanent and saying that it’s bad when Congress spends money (just like the Constitution says. Oh wait…).  

Closed things off trying to roll around in the filth of the Reagan legacy and then noting that $35 billion in earmarks could have gone towards $1000 for every child in the country.  How much would the $2 trillion in Iraq money have translated into for the kids? McCain was mum on this point (the answer because I like math is…a whole lot more).

Point is, McCain is desperate to make everyone scared because he’s scared of Romney.  Rally in San Diego seven hours before the polls close to talk about fear? Hm.