Election

The ‘Angels in the House’ Will Decide the 2024 Election, Part 1

October 9, 2023 by Source

By Colleen O’Connor

Chaos reigns.

Emergency declarations of war (Israel v. Hamas, Ukraine v. Russia); earthquakes in Afghanistan, massive migration across borders, global economic uncertainty, gun violence, mayhem in the U.S. House of Representatives with the “’first in history’ ouster of the Speaker, at least 538 mass shootings reported so far this year in the United States, and seemingly no one able “to navigate through ambiguity, be adaptable to change, and ultimately create structure where it doesn’t exist.”

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Best Idea: Neither Biden nor Trump — Part 3

September 25, 2023 by Source

Colleen O’Connor’s views continue to be her own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Rag’s.

By Colleen O’Connor

The “Neither Biden nor Trump” idea has gained serious momentum in less than a month. Excruciatingly bad poll numbers for both presidential contenders have reinforced the theme.

Saturday morning’s Washington Post/ABC News poll: Headline: Trump edges out Biden 51-42 in head-to-head matchup. Summary: “The president’s job approval rating is 19 points underwater.” Why? 

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The War on San Diego’s Planning Groups

September 19, 2023 by Source

Editordude: The following is by Kate Callen who is a candidate for the District 3 seat on the San Diego City Council.

By Kate Callen

Imagine if all democratically-elected officials had to “apply” to keep their jobs. And the candidates they defeated were invited to apply for those jobs. And the “winners” were chosen behind closed doors.

This is called “overturning elections,” and it’s exactly what is happening to San Diego’s 53 community planning groups, including District 3’s five groups: Downtown, Greater Golden Hill, Mission Valley, North Park, and Uptown.

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Biden’s Age

September 15, 2023 by Source

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The Very Latest in the Internecine Warfare Within San Diego’s Democratic Party

September 15, 2023 by Source

By Ken Stone/ Times of San Diego /Sept. 15, 2023

Days after balking at demands that she apologize to Rep. Scott Peters and others, former Assemblywoman Lori Saldaña on Tuesday sent San Diego County Democratic Party officials an 830-word memo titled “Re:Social Media statement corrections.”

In short, she apologized.

“I am writing to apologize for using incorrect and misleading punctuation in a social media post in July,” she told the party’s Ethics Committee and executive board. “As a retired teacher, I understand the importance of using correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation in any writing, for clarity and accuracy.”

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Today Is ‘Democracy Day’ — KPBS Looks at How Well It’s Doing in San Diego

September 15, 2023 by Source

By Amita Sharma / KPBS / September 15, 2023

As the world marks Democracy Day today, the United States’ system of representative government is under attack.

Despite dozens of court rulings to the contrary, nearly 70% of Republicans still believe the 2020 presidential election was stolen. In the last 10 years, more than 29 states have passed legislation making it tougher to vote. Censorship is on the rise. A growing number of Americans, from both parties, believe political violence is justified.

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Far-Right Politicians Try to Muscle In on Citizens’ Revolt Over San Diego Housing Policies

September 13, 2023 by Frank Gormlie

Needless to say, but this summer witnessed a citizens’ revolt over San Diego housing policies, most noteworthy the showdown at the August 3 San Diego Planning Commission hearing on Senate Bill 10. (The Commission voted unanimously against the proposal and Mayor Gloria stated he was taking SB10 out of his housing package – although SB10 opponents won’t rest until it’s formally removed from the Housing Action Package.)

Yet, once the dust settled, one of San Diego’s most far-right politicians emerged to take credit for SB 10’s defeat. Enter Carl DeMaio. His team has since sent out an email to his followers which claimed:

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The Best Idea: Neither Biden nor Trump — Part 2

September 11, 2023 by Source

Colleen O’Connor’s views are her own and do not necessarily reflect those of the OB Rag.

By Colleen O’Connor

Earthquakes happen.  Geological (Morocco), Economic (Crashes), Environmental (Cat 4 hurricanes), Medical (pandemics) and even political ones.

Each manifest fault lines that presage potential disaster and prompt the wise to prepare.

It is in that vein that “Neither Biden nor Trump” Part 1 was written.

The political fault lines in both leading candidates and their respective parties are well known.  The consequences of not preparing for an obvious political earthquake is imprudent at best.

Hence, the need to find an escape route and prepare ahead.  Just in case.  Surely, it merits a discussion.  Even if for beyond 2022.

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The Best Idea: Neither Biden nor Trump

September 7, 2023 by Source

Colleen O’Connor’s views are her own and do not necessarily reflect those of the OB Rag.

By Colleen O’Connor

In December of last year, I posted a prediction: “Neither Biden nor Trump will be elected the U.S. President in 2024.”

I stand by those postings.  Now some very prominent politicians and strategists are beginning to agree. New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu said, “there’s a ‘good shot’ neither Biden nor Trump will be on the 2024 ballot.”

Add Senator, Tim Kaine (D-Va.) who declared that there is a “powerful argument” to be made that the 14th Amendment disqualifies former President Trump from even running in 2024.

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Latest Results in Special Election for County Supervisor Race

August 18, 2023 by Source

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Montgomery Steppe to Face Reichert in November Run-Off Election

August 17, 2023 by Frank Gormlie

It appears that Democrat Monica Montgomery Steppe will face off with hard-right Republican Amy Reichert in November’s runoff to resolve who will have the supervisor seat for District 4, according the latest from the County Registrar of Voters.

Montgomery Steppe came in with the top vote at just over 40%, holding an eleven-point lead over Reichert’s 29%.

The other Democrat in the Special Election to replace Nathan Fletcher, Janessa Goldbeck, came in at 25.3%. And the other Republican, Paul McQuigg, garnered 5%. McQuigg didn’t run any visible campaign.

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Trump Wins Again

August 15, 2023 by Source

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Monica Montgomery Steppe for County Supervisor

August 11, 2023 by Source

By Mat Wahlstrom

As a rule, I rarely endorse anyone for public office — as when they invariably disappoint, as holding office tends to do, the mud may splatter back on one’s petticoat. And while I always assess a field of candidates and express my thoughts if asked, I tend to keep my own counsel.

I have not met any candidate or been contacted by any campaign. But after the barrage of disinformation and dirty tricks I’ve seen being used to rig the outcome of the special election this Tuesday for the District 4 seat on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, I must speak out.

If you choose to vote, the only person running who deserves it is Monica Montgomery Steppe.

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History Must Record Trump’s Plan for a Nationwide ‘Kent State’ Massacre

August 10, 2023 by Source

By Thom Hartman / Daily Kos and Economy for All/ August 4, 2023

Although it’s generally only mentioned in passing in the mainstream media, there are two particularly chilling passages in Jack Smith’s indictment of Trump.

Both, to my mind, invoke Kent State, but on a much larger scale.

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Finally! Trump Indicted for His Coup Attempt – This Is the ‘Most Important Criminal Prosecution in American History’

August 2, 2023 by Frank Gormlie

Finally, the Department of Justice has indicted Trump for his coup attempts, which included of course the armed insurrection and attack on the US Capitol by his supporters on January 6, 2021. The indictments also cover his and his cronies’ other efforts to overturn the election in various states.

No where in the indictment is the word “coup,” but we know what he did — we witnessed it on live television.

It was a federal grand jury that indicted Trump on Tuesday, August 1, for his attempts to overturn the 2020 election. Six unnamed co-conspirators were also indicted. Trump is charged with four counts:

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The San Diego Police Union’s Misleading Attack Ads Against Montgomery Steppe in Special County Board Election

August 2, 2023 by Source

Reporter Jill Castellano at inewsource has written that the San Diego Police Officers Association and a group sponsored by County Deputy DAs have published misleading attack ads against Monica Montgomery Steppe, a candidate in the upcoming San Diego County Board of Supervisors special election on Aug. 15.

She reports that “Law enforcement unions have funneled more than $160,000” into the race. Their ads claim Montgomery Steppe, a Black woman, is a threat to public safety.

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State Court of Appeal Upholds Ruling Against Gloria and Campbell’s Measure ‘E’ in 2020

June 27, 2023 by Frank Gormlie

On Friday, June 23, the local state Court of Appeal upheld Superior Court Judge Katherine Bacal’s ruling that the city should have studied the environmental impacts of taller buildings more than 30 feet before putting Measure E in front of voters back in 2020.

However, the appeals court decision does not to apply Measure “C” — the so-called “do-over ballot measure” — which passed in November2022 with a bare margin of a 51 percent approval. It is also being contested in court.

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‘Are They Old Enough?’

June 20, 2023 by Source

By Joni Halpern

Almost everyone is talking about Joe Biden’s age.  Is he too old to serve as President again?  Did you see him stumble?  Did you hear him mix up his words?  Look how stiffly he walks.

Biden is old, but there’s another question to be asked of all the younger persons running:  Are they old enough to know how to run a world power?

Maybe they have silver tongues and limber bodies, quick minds and spring in their step, but do they know how to identify what is important to the security and health of this country

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Election 2024: A Cautionary Tale — Look Beyond Trump and Biden

May 15, 2023 by Source

By Colleen O’Connor

Last December, I wrote a column and predicted that neither Biden nor Trump would be the next President. Then it was an outlandish suggestion. Much less so now.
Why? Things are exponentially worse. Trust is lacking. Solutions non-existent.

Increased anger over gun violence, immigration surges, abortion restrictions, financial corruption, inflation, homelessness, war, a pandemic, climate change, the dark web, and global rise of dictatorships, etc., has unleashed a rare form of political and social near-insanity

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Senator Diane Feinstein’s Worth is Priceless

April 18, 2023 by Source

By Colleen O’Connor

Let’s be blunt.  Senator Diane Feinstein is worth more than a dozen GOP Senators. Worth more than millions of California votes that elected her to office decade after decade.

And worth more than all the naysayers popping up on talk shows and opinion pieces attempting to drive her from office.

Feinstein’s worth is priceless. And I, for one of multi-millions of California admirers want her to STAY PUT.  PERIOD. She can do more for the state than any replacement on the horizon.  And she only needs to stick around for about a year.

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Original San Diego Community Planning Board in Ocean Beach Struggling Because of City’s Axe and Lack of Interest Locally

April 7, 2023 by Source

By Geoff Page

Writing this account of the Ocean Beach Planning Board’s March 2023 elections as certified by the Board Wednesday, April 5th, feels like writing an obituary, for several reasons. The news just is not good for the original San Diego community planning board.

What is happening may well be the result of the Community Planning Group “reforms” the city adopted last September to put an end to community input on land use.

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Do You Know What District You Live In?

March 15, 2023 by Source

Know Your District?

[Slightly edited from Peninsula News]

If you live in Point Loma or Ocean Beach, you probably know which City Council District you’re in. (2)

You might know what County District we’re in. But that’s been tricky.

For a long time the northern part of Point Loma and OB was in District 4, and the southern Peninsula was in District 1.

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Night of the Living Woke Mind Virus

March 14, 2023 by Source

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Incumbents Re-Elected for OB Planning Board

March 6, 2023 by Frank Gormlie

The most recent annual election of the Ocean Beach Planning Board witnessed 8 incumbents re-elected and one new member elected to the community volunteer panel.

Chris Peregoy was the newly elected member and will represent District 4. And Christopher Chalupsky, a member since 2019, changed seats and was elected as an At-Large member.

Otherwise here is:

Your 2023 OB Planning Board as of March 2nd, 2023:

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Here Is a Better Idea: Bill Walton for Mayor

March 2, 2023 by Source

By Colleen O’Connor

Why not? Todd Gloria is unpopular. City residents are unhappy with his tenure. And most San Diegans want a “new direction” with a new leader.

For an in-depth accounting of Gloria’s scandals and misdeeds, read the recent column, “Sins of San Diego Mayors Part 2.”

Then look at the obvious decline of the City once dubbed, “Camelot by the Bay.”

The Mayor and City Council, “Cannot maintain. Cannot Sustain. Cannot deliver.”  Where are the improvements they promised?

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Poll Shows Mayor Gloria Vulnerable in Re-Election Bid

March 1, 2023 by Source

By Arturo Castañares Editor-at-Large / La Prensa / Feb. 27, 2023

A new poll conducted in the last month suggests that a majority of San Diegans are looking for new leadership at City Hall just as first-term Mayor Todd Gloria starts gearing up his re-election campaign for next year’s election.

“Nearly six-in-ten voters (59 percent) think the city has gotten off on the wrong track,” the poll analysis states. “Only 36 percent say it is heading in the right direction.”

The negative view of the City’s direction was highest among older voters, with 72% of voters over 45 years of age saying the City is heading in the wrong direction, and the lowest percentage believing so being among young and liberal voters.

The poll also suggests that the blame for the City’s wrong direction lies with one person: current Mayor Todd Gloria.

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Voting Begins for Ocean Beach Planning Board; Runs through Wednesday, March 1

March 1, 2023 by Staff

Voting for the eight seats up for election at the Ocean Beach Planning Board has begun and will run through Thursday, March 1 at 8pm. Online voting began on Wednesday, February 22.

In person voting will take place at the OB Recreation Center on March 1 from 8am-10am, then again from 4pm – 8pm. Mail-in and drop off ballots will also be accepted. The drop box will be at the OB Business center.

Results will be announced Thursday, March 2, 2023 via OBPB email and social media.

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OBceans and Peninsulans – Vote at Your Local Planning Boards Before the City Dismantles Them

February 28, 2023 by Frank Gormlie

Annual elections for local planning boards are coming up fast – the Ocean Beach board has its election on Wednesday, March 1, while the Peninsula Community Planning Board has theirs on March 16.

But, OBceans and Peninsulans need to be aware that the City is making lots of noise these days to dismantle the volunteer citizen panels that have, for some at least, been around since the mid-1970s.

OB Rag writers, particularly Geoff Page and Mat Wahlstrom, have been sounding the alarm for weeks and months. The city of San Diego is coming for the community planning groups with schemes to make volunteering on the boards so onerous that no one will want to put themselves through the process.

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Candidate Forum March 9, Election March 16 for Peninsula Community Planning Board

February 28, 2023 by Staff

By Geoff Page

The Peninsula Community Planning Board’s regular monthly meeting, Thursday, February 16, was a relatively bland affair.

Elections

The upcoming planning board elections was probably the most important topic of the meeting. The election information is posted on the PCPB home page here.

There are five board positions open for this election. Anyone wishing to run for a seat must fill out an application that can be found on the Elections page titled “2023 Board Member Application.” The titling is a bit odd as it was always was called a Candidate Application in the past.

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Councilmember Gloria to the Rescue – The Sins of San Diego Mayors – Part 2

February 22, 2023 by Source

By Norma Damashek / NumbersRunner / Feb. 22, 2023

Councilmember Gloria Bounds to the Rescue (2013–2014)

According to the City Charter, the presiding officer of the city council has limited authority to act as mayor in the event of an unplanned vacancy in the mayor’s seat. With a wink and a nod from City Attorney Jan Goldsmith, Councilmember Todd Gloria put his feet up on the mayor’s desk and immediately got to work reorganizing city government in his own image.

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