Bonnie Dumanis Uses Quotes from the OB Rag in Attack Ad Against Nathan Fletcher

Bonnie Dumanis, former DA and now candidate for the Board of Supervisors, recently used quotes from the OB Rag – who is no friend of Dumanis – in an online attack ad against Nathan Fletcher.

Both Dumanis and Fletcher are running for the same District 4 seat on the San Diego Board. Fletcher is the most-well known Democrat and will probably be endorsed by the County Democratic Party and Dumanis is the Republican establishment’s candidate (she was slammed in the special mayoral election a few years back).

In a mock pro-Fletcher ad, called “I (heart) Nathan”, the GOP-funded cartoonish piece, declares: “What they’re saying…” and then publishes disparaging quotes on Nathan Fletcher from the OB Rag, the San Diego Union-Tribune, Mickey Kasparian, Gay and Lesbian News, and even believe it or not, Karl Rove. And of course, we at the OB Rag did not give permission to the GOP or Dumanis for use of our articles.

There are 4 quotes from the OB Rag, all from an April 24, 2012 post by Jim Miller, one of our regular columnists. And yes, Miller and the Rag did take Fletcher to task. Yet, that was over 5 years ago, and there’s been a lot of water under the bridge since then, as Doug Porter said over at San Diego Free Press ; our online partner published Miller’s article as well. Here’s Porter:

I’m not going to attempt to go back and re-write history. Those SDFP/OB Rag quotes … were relevant at the time they were published. A lot of water has passed under the bridge. …

Without endorsing his candidacy, it is fair to say Nathan Fletcher has evolved politically. Tens of thousands of people have left the GOP in recent years. Many of those folks say the GOP left them. Some of them have become Democrats.

And linking him to his wife, who authored (and got passed) some of the best progressive legislation in California this year, seems flat-out strange. … Is there a hint of misogyny is the air?

There are some Democrats who feel compelled to endorse Nathan Fletcher at this early stage in the election cycle. I’m told the County Democratic Party central committee may move to make an endorsement this week, which, if true, explains the timing of the first GOP salvo aimed at Fletcher.

There are some progressives who strongly dislike Nathan Fletcher. I respect that. You don’t work in politics in San Diego for years without burning a few bridges, and I suspect this is at the root of their animosity. However, I don’t respect promoting Republican propaganda on social media, which, unfortunately, I saw this morning. (If you lay down with the dogs, you’re gonna get some fleas…)

There are also some political activists in town who are refusing to endorse any of the Democratic candidates. They’re building a coalition to make sure the public knows just how bad a candidate Bonnie Dumanis is. … I’ve had beefs with Fletcher candidacies in the past, and we’ll likely have them again in the future. For now, I’m all-in on making sure Dumanis retires from politics in 2018.

Porter places the blame for the smear piece on a local Republican operative, Jason Roe, who’s running Dumanis’ campaign. Roe is “the guy tasked by the Chamber of Commerce and their associates for derailing minimum wage in San Diego.”  He got his start in San Diego politics by working for Carl DeMaio.

Plus blame it on demographics and desperation. In County District 4 – which includes most of the City of San Diego, Republicans are down 17% compared to Democrats in registered voters.  So Dumanis, the GOP, the Republican Lincoln Club, are all going after the Democrat in this particular race with the most name-recognition – Fletcher – and hope to turn some progressives off to him by quoting from the progressive pages of the OB Rag and SDFP.

[Here’s more on Jason Roe from Porter – My quotes .]

Dumanis is once again trying to hide her true self – this time with a distracting smear campaign against an opponent. She’s been able to fool people over the years to believe she’s a “feminist” (she was endorsed by Run Women Run in 2014), a “moderate” – some even think she’s a “Democrat”. Those who believe she fits any of those labels just haven’t been paying much attention.

As Porter reminds us:

The last thing Republicans want discussed is Bonnie Dumanis’ actual record: medical marijuana pot busts, coverups of malfeasance, racial animus, negligence on domestic violence, and –lest we forget– hanging out with rich guys/now convicted felons looking to turn San Diego’s waterfront into another Miami Beach.