There’s an unofficial and underground tussle going on right now between the OB Rag and the Bonnie Dumanis for Mayor Campaign. It is subtle and you have to look literally between the lines.
But it involves vague threats against Doug Porter, our OB Rag reporter, who published an article about Dumanis’ “secret” campaign with a comment referring to an Ocean Beach fundraiser for the District Attorney on Thursday, September 22nd.
First, Doug wrote his post about the lack of public appearances by Dumanis during this segment of the San Diego mayoral campaign, in fact calling her efforts a “non-campaign”. Dumanis is refusing to join the other candidates on the campaign trail, she cancelled her appearance at City College, she passed up the first mayor debate held on September 17th at Politifest, and is limiting the appearances she is making, as Doug points out:
Dumanis appears to be staking her political future on a campaign that seemingly involves meeting as few actual voters as possible. Unless they have cash.
And then Porter drops his other shoe with more criticism:
Her public appearances for the coming month include fundraisers, cocktail fundraisers and more fundraisers, including one this Thursday (September 22) in the 4500 block of Del Monte Avenue, overlooking Ocean Beach. The suggested minimum donation for all these events is a mere $150. No word on whether there will be drug testing at the OB event.
Porter had obtained his information from the Bonnie Dumanis for Mayor website, easily accessible by and to the public.
Doug then cites sources of opposition to the Dumanis for mayor train:
The Dumanis non-campaign is, in part, dictated by ongoing and very vocal opposition to her practices as District Attorney regarding medical marijuana co-ops (actively prosecuting) and domestic violence towards women (alleged indifference). Opponents aligned with both causes have vowed to actively campaign against her Mayoral bid, ….
And then a commenter at Doug’s post, who was not happy with how DA Dumanis has prosecuted recent domestic violence cases, wrote:
… Thanks for the info on Bonnie in OB on Thursday night. Maybe a few NOT DUMANIS friends can get together with our bullhorns, signs, and James Gang NOT DUMANIS T-shirts to have a little fun? God Bless the OB Rag!
And Doug responded:
gosh, what a grand idea to welcome Bonnie to OB. here’s the link to the invitation. (The link provided is no longer valid)
Again, all Doug did, was copy the link from the “Event” page of the Dumanis for Mayor website. The link went to the invite published below.
Here is the invite to Bonnie's Ocean Beach fundraiser, copied right off the Dumanis for Mayor website on September 20, 2011. The entire invite has since been removed.
And then the proverbial – using the vernacular – “shit hit the fan.”
A couple of things happened: someone named “Ashley” left a comment to Doug’s post alleging that she was posting his home address, as a sort of seemingly retaliatory measure to get back at him for posting the location of Thursday’s fundraiser. Well, first of all, it was an incorrect address for Doug – and we have to apologize to whomever’s address it really was – it has since been removed.
And then more. Thursday night’s fundraiser in Ocean Beach is being hosted by a number of people, including an OB resident Kelly Spoon. We have found out that “Ashley” appears to be related to the Spoons.
Kelly Spoon – who apparently works for high-powered lawyer and Democrat Lynn Schenk – fired off an email to the OB Rag vaguely asserting that we had posted :
“information on your site that directly effects the safety of personal property and individuals. I request that you take it down immediately.”
In a reply email to Spoon, we asked what information she was referring to. And she answered that we had listed the block number for the fundraiser, and that block only had 7 houses on it, implying that it would not be difficult to find. (We checked – the block has at least 14 residences on it – many McMansions.)
Meanwhile, sometime during the evening of September 20th, while Doug was at an OB Rag meeting, Kelly Spoon left this threat on facebook:
Kelly Spoon
Mr. Porter, You have personal [sic] created a situation that could cause harm to my families property and/or physical person. Your style of journalism is completely unprofessional and I will talk to everyone I know about it.
Now, granted this is a vague threat against Doug. Yet it’s a threat by the executive assistant to a well-known Democrat (turn-coat?) about his supposed unprofessional style of journalism, and that she “will talk to everyone [she] know[s] about it.” Presumably, this means her boss as well. And Lynn Schenk, her boss, does know a lot of influential people. She was a member of Congress, worked for Gov. Davis, and staged an unsuccessful run for the state Attorney General. So, the vague threat has some weight behind it.
Early this morning, a commenter – wanting to assure everyone that no “violence” at the fundraiser was being contemplated – left this:
Sorry to see Doug get embroiled in all this drama about addresses. I would like to assure everyone that if a few ND [No on Dumanis] protesters do go over there, we promise to conduct ourselves with the utmost of care. We promise not to wave picket signs right in people’s faces, keep our yelling to a friendly level, & not call anyone there a “WHORE” unless Bill “Whore” Gore shows up. I am so looking forward to debuting my new James Gang NOT DUMANIS T-shirt at this event.
This is a residential area and I grew up on that hill right around the corner. I am sorry to see that the neighborhood has changed so much in the wrong direction. This address is a McMansion- an ugly house built out to the very edges of the property line but it does have a lovely, unobstructed view of the Pacific. If Bonnie does still show up, and the protesters remain on the public sidewalk, without creating too much of a noise disturbance – we are well within our rights to protest this evil, wicked woman supping in Ocean Beach with misguided hosts. The homeowners SHOULD be ashamed that they have the temerity to invite DIRTY DUMANIS into the good karma, bohemian enclave of Ocean Beach-home of DOUBTLESSLY many medical marijuana patients.
The OB Rag Legal Department responded to Kelly Spoon’s last email:
Nothing in Doug Porter’s post or in the subsequent comments was “private” information. The address, location and time of the Dumanis fundraiser is clearly accessible to and by the public on her website. If you have any further questions, don’t hesitate to contact us.
Spoon answered:
… I am co-hosting the event and a friend of Ms. Dumanis. The event is not on the website of the campaign and if it was it was put there by mistake and has since been removed. This is a PRIVATE event my family has been a living in the community of Ocean Beach for over 20 years and has always been a strong community advocate. We shop local businesses we promote to our friends in San Diego how wonderful it is to live in Ocean Beach and to come visit. As a community neighbor it would have been gracious of your reporter to contact us to see if blogging our address was okay with us. I would like the line in the article removed about the specific block if at all possible. Thank you for all your prompt responses. I am a reader of your Rag. So you can label me as an uppity woman.
While we appreciate Spoon’s backhanded endorsement of the Rag and of Ocean Beach, we still have to say that Porter originally obtained all his info off the Dumanis website – which at the time – was clearly accessible by anyone.
But we did go once more to the Dumanis website, and sure enough, ALL the addresses of the private residential fundraisers for Dumanis had been removed. A couple to be held at restaurants still had addresses. The remaining information on the different “invites” clearly had the addresses lifted – as the blank space attested to this last minute “editing”. The invite page to the OB fundraiser was missing in its entirety.
So, we are on the edge of a new segment of the Dumanis for Mayor Campaign, the stealth segment where now even information about her appearances at fundraisers is being limited, so the public doesn’t get to see her at all.
Question: Do the people, the voters, of a community have a right to know who is holding a fundraiser within their community for a politician – who is not well liked by many in that community – who is running for public office but who is at the same time avoiding the very public she purports to serve?
{ 29 comments… read them below or add one }
If it goes live on the internet then it is probably considered public information and you can use it to your own benefit AS LONG AS you don’t alter the original content. That includes not removing phone numbers, addresses, et. al. If you removed the content then you altered it and are therefore liable. You’re the lawyer Frank so you should know that- in my dealings with some unsavory individuals my old attorney gave me that info.
Ever since they made computers “idiot-proof” it seems that there’s more idiots who use them and an even bigger supply of morons backlogged.. If you don’t know how the internet works then stay off of it. Ignorance is no longer an excuse.
Thanks Bill Ray. Nothing altered, nothing removed.
OMG, this is SOOOO JUICY! The OB Rag & citizen activists totally drew Bonnie and her thug friends out from under the rocks they dwell beneath & made them look like fools! There is SO MUCH DRAMA! LEGAL THREATS! I love it! Dear OB Rag, if there is any blog or rag that some corrupt public official should NEVER threaten, it is you guys! The OB Rag, beyond a doubt, PROVED it’s mettle today, & no hotshot politician better EVER diss this most righteous of online newspapers!
Poor Bonnie D. She took that guy to court over harassment and besmirchment and found out that there’s not a damn thing that could be pinned on him. There’s not been one conviction under the following: Cal. Penal Code §§ 422, 653.2, 653m.
I had a guy ruthlessly harassing me for months and it still goes on; I know who the guy is but according to SDPD and the FBI there’s nothing that can be done because proving intent is next to impossible.
If you use an anonymous remailer out of Russia and a TOR client to mask your IP address then one can feasibly pipe out vile filth to anyone they so choose to. This is common knowledge and until there’s a law against it such harassment will occur.
Who can I get a Not Dumanis shirt from? Also “Ashley” is Spoon’s daughter, so I’ve deduced from my intrepid investigative journalism.
@Mike,
James Gang printed me one for $15 (25% coupon from this week’s Beacon newspaper.) I used the color artwork off the photo from the NOT DUMANIS Facebook page. I literally have Bonnie’s despicable face plastered all over me with a big red circle around it. Eugene D. told me he is looking to get some funds to print more T-shirts that we protesters and picketers can wear as the Mayoral campaign heats up and Bonnie comes out of her cave & actually begins to “campaign.”
For my money, Doug’s suggestion that “we should welcome her to OB” while posting the address of a private residence is not appropriate behavior. It lends itself to neither civilized discourse nor political activism, but is rather the kind of thing that incites people to throw bricks through a window, as unfortunately happened to that labor leader a few weeks ago.
I assume that there will be plenty of opportunities for people to make their points in a more civil fashion during this campaign. As a voter, I’m more interested in hearing why I should vote FOR a particular candidate, rather than against someone else.
Seth, just wish to remind you of a great old American tradition: showing up at the houses of disgraced politicians who refuse to meet with their public. If you can’t show up at their house, go to a house where someone is throwing a lavish money raiser for them. And here in OB as the article says, there are lots of residents who probably don’t like her for the very reasons mentioned in the article – lack of respect for medical marijuana outlets and failure to prosecute well-know domestic violence case. I’m sorry Seth, but in all due respect, we in OB do have a right to know who is throwing these lavish displays of monied power right here in our own town.
Right on, Joe, but I see nothing that nefarious about a political fundraiser.
Here are my unsolicited thoughts on this election…
It’s telling that progressives are not talking about their own fundraisers right now. Perhaps it is because they don’t have a candidate. No offense to Bob Filner — to the extent he even meets the definition of a progressive candidate — but he strikes me as a good man that has all the charisma of a piece of french toast.
Far from me to be an East Coast snob, as we all hate those kinds of transplants, and San Diego is so preferable in so many ways, but in Boston, where I am from, we do “politics, sports and revenge” as good as anyone. It’s shocking to me to see a Mayoral field of such horrible candidates. This is the only thing that even gives Dumanis a chance, in my view, as she does not appear to have a political bone in her body.
Speaking of Boston politics, she reminds me very, very much of one of their worst candidates, Martha Coakley. You might remember her as the one who lost the easiest Senate race of all-time to Scott Brown a while back, costing Democrats their super-majority in Congress, despite being a liberal running for “Ted Kennedy’s seat”.
By all accounts, this lady was a fine upstanding person who had worked tirelessly as a DA to protect women and children. My uncle worked for her for more than a decade, and my stepfather campaigned for her. She was even at my grandmother’s funeral. Everyone spoke very well of her, even off the record. But damn if she wasn’t the worst political candidate of all-time once the lights came on. She went out of her way to avoid campaigning at all costs, and even famously asked as her campaign was falling apart, “What am I supposed to do? Go sit outside Fenway Park in the snow and shake hands?”
Yes, nitwit. This is exactly what you are supposed to do in a political campaign.
How aloof. How entitled. When informed of this quote, Obama apparently thought it was a practical joke, as he grabbed Axelrod’s arm and said, “Please tell me she didn’t [expletive] say that!?”
Anyhow, I digress here because the lesson to me in that story is that people that campaign like this do not get elected. Beyond being inappropriate, there’s really no need to go after the campaign supporters of this rather unelectable candidate.
Would strike me as a better use of time and energy to find a progressive candidate that actually has a chance of beating DeMaio, or in a longshot, Nathan Fletcher. Bob Filner does not strike me as that guy.
Without getting into the earlier debate, Filner is that guy.
I will dutifully vote for him if no one more compelling enters the race, but I don’t like his odds very much.
Seth, I respect that opinion and wish voters did not have to behave inappropriately to get the attention of their politicians.
I don’t like it much either but it must be done in light of the serious disconnect between the will of the voters and our lawmakers.
Make way for the will of the people, and the media that has the guts to cover it.
Doug was SO NOT being inciting by posting what he did. The OB Rag has a RESPONSIBILITY to alert OB residents if there is a terrible thing going on in it’s midst. Doug Porter should be COMMENDED and given an award (and a raise) for his high-minded and noble obligation to the TRUTH and NOT BEING AFRAID of vicious, back-stabbing, corrupt public officials who will stop at NOTHING to advance their careers. These objectionable East Coast carpet-bagging politicos think they (or their lackeys that live up on a nearby hill) can INTIMIDATE the OB RAG, of all newspapers?
The answer is NO! And Seth, go cry into your lacy hanky, if you feel offended by the VERY EXCITING war of words (and great FREE publicity) that is now occurring!
Doug – you do deserve a raise. Well, we’ve granted you one. Please pick up your check at our counter next time you drop by.
Team Dumanis erasing the residential address reminds me that one can never document information off the web enough by “printing” whole web pages as PDF documents, then posting them to web space where they are very unlikely to be erased.
Please feel free to contact me for suggestions.
These people should not be angry with anyone except Dumanis for putting their home address on her web site without permission and while self promoting.
And why would you want to open your home to support someone who you were concerned if people knew you were doing it……and you knew “your candidate” just cancelled a public appearance due to friends of a stalked & murdered woman planning to be there to question “your candidate” about her terrible record when it comes to protecting women and children?
I bet I can guess who is going to be there. “Well behaved women rarely make history” (or become crusty old, compromised, politicians).
http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2011/feb/02/cover-well-behaved-women-history/
Sharon, what happened to that woman is beyond horrible. My heart goes out to her family and friends, truly. But exactly what motivation would Dumanis have for not prosecuting that case at that time, other than thinking she did not yet have a good enough case to win it?
I am sure there are others on here that can answer that specific question better than I. The woman was extremely fearful for her life and her family had gone to Dumanis for protection. As I understand it, they never let her out of their sight and could get no help from the DA.
I think a better question is: what DOES motivate Dumanis to investigate? There is the military wife who was found guilty of murder – who now has a $20M lawsuit, while Bonnie boycotted judges who said she was wrong. There was Joe Ryan, who ran against Hunter. She put him in jail for attending a campaign forum. He had to go to trial. He won. There is the indigent man in the North County who used a word that rhymns with “wussie” at a city council meeting – she pursued him to the fullest. There was the BOD member at Tri-City Hospital who was character assasinated by her fellow members and accused of taking a bribe. There was nothing to it. There was a case in the NC where they arrested the wrong guy and then hid the evidence. It destroyed his family’s income/life. There was the workers comp insurer fraud in Poway that she did not investigate while the car dealership that would not take care of its injured workers, was then given $3M in redevelopment funds to build a new building. There are the justices (who I bet are at the shindig tonite) who rewarded the use of criminal perjury by an author of medico-legal policy for the US Chamber, while aiding massive insurer fraud. Bonnie did nothing. There was the policeman in the Gas Lamp who was sexually harassing women. She did nothing until ten women were assaulted and the police themselves complained. There are the medical marijuana people she put on trial, only to take their time and money. They won. And those are just the one that I know of. I hardly hang out at the DA’s office. I would venture to bet there is much more of Dumanis only going after matters when it is in her political best interest – or continuing when her errors would be exposed if she stopped.
I’ve sat through numerous court proceedings against medical cannabis patients and have seen first hand how Bonnie has persecuted patients. She drags them into court and then fights very hard to keep juries from seeing documentation proving their legitimate use of cannabis. Juries are not told that these people have their doctors’ recommendations because Bonnie uses unethical tactics to keep this information from them.
I know of several cases proceeding right now, in which legal patients with no dispensary ties are being prosecuted for simple growing medical cannabis. And yet, Bonnie claims to support medical cannabis. She is hiding because she is a liar.
I’ve also seen patients threatened and their children taken away for merely using the safest medicine on earth (not ONE death, ever) all under the tyranny of Bonnie Dumanis.
Bonnie is a terrorist to patients. I think the OB Rag did the right thing by warning a community about the fundraiser.
I
The esteemable Political Science Professor Lacey Forman, who moderated the Teach-In this morning at City College about domestic violence and the Diana Gonzalez murder let slip a VERY INTERESTING FACT….that ties Bonnie Dumanis in WITH THE MEXICAN DRUG CARTELS!
The killer ex-husband of Diana had strong ties to the Sinaloa drug cartels. When he was initially jailed, he told his cellmate that when he got out, HE WOULD KILL DIANA, THEIR BABY, & HER MOTHER. (The D.A. did not tell this to the family until after Diana was killed) This thug jailbird had already been in jail before & had a police record a mile long-including previous domestic violence charges. WHY WOULD BONNIE NOT THROW HIM BACK IN JAIL AFTER HE KIDNAPPED, RAPED, BEAT, & THREATENED DIANA’S LIFE? WHY WOULD THE D.A. REFUSE TO ORDER THE BORDER CLOSED THE NIGHT OF DIANA’S MURDER, when all indications were, this guy would flee to Mexico? THE FAMILY OF DIANA BEGGED THE D.A. to close the border, but she refused to do so. BONNIE LET THE SINALOA DRUG CARTEL KILLER GET AWAY! (Perhaps he KNEW too much about what goes on somewhere up at the top of the Hall of Justice? Or the cartel made a payment to Bonnie to let their guy go?) Something is very fishy here and it is not just the reeking smell of Bonnie about to come beg for money in Ocean Beach tomorrow!
Separate from everything; I wonder where Ashley went to school.
She should should have written “affects” not “effects.”
…There goes the neighborhood!
I hope I’m in the mayoral voting line behind Cynthia Sommer.
http://tinyurl.com/20110625a
Dumanis is mean and incompetent, and does not serve the general public. Other Mayoral candidates need to get their messages out, instead of talking about Dumanis. The public is here to help.
DUMANIS ISSUE 1 – DIANA GONZALEZ’ SUPPOSED LACK OF EVIDENCE.
http://www.truecrimereport.com/2010/10/diana_gonzalez_had_protection.php
DUMANIS ISSUE 2 – Former Police Officer Anthony AREVALOS – CURRENT CASE.
http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/data-drive/article_0d043848-9e07-11e0-9d71-001cc4c03286.html
DUMANIS ISSUE 3 – CYNTHIA SOMMER – Petty Behavior to a wrongly accused Marine widow .
http://www.freecynthia.com
DUMANIS ISSUE 4 – Prosecutors and DA’s Petty Boycotting of Superior Court Judges and Violations of Constitutional Separation of Powers Doctrine.
http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/government/article_b3a6e368-16b2-11df-87c5-001cc4c03286.html
DUMANIS ISSUE 5 – Superior Court Judge Einhorn – Boycott by Dumanis’ Peremptory Challenge. Dumanis and her office of Prosecutors Boycotted Superior Court Judge Einhorn because he refused to agree with Dumanis that the La Jolla Bird Rock Bandits are legally considered a gang under the law. Judge Einhorn did not allow Dumanis to prosecute for extra charges of murder during gang activity.
DUMANIS ISSUE 6 – MEDICAL MARIJUANA RAIDS. Intimidation. No Trust for Non-Profits Collectives .
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n1155/a07.html
COUNTY ISSUES MEDICAL MARIJUANA IDS. Advocates Say Fear, Cost Keep Many From Applying.
The Reader has noticed our predicament:
O.B. Rag Takes Stand on Publishing Location of Dumanis Fundraiser
As far as I can tell: WE DROVE BONNIE AWAY! I cruised by the Spoon party house precisely at 5:30-6:00 p.m. tonight-when the money grab…I mean cocktail reception was to begin: NOTHING! No excessive cars, no loud noise, no funky music, no parade of mindless followers…excuse me, patrons of Bonnie! The Spoons were keeping it low-key. I am happy to say that they must have had a moment of clarity and realized they would forever be branded as traitors to Ocean Beach, if they brought that assault to all that is good and decent-Bonnie Dumanis- into O.B. The poor Spoon woman who works for that no-good rascal Lynn Schneck was probably only trying to score some brownie points with her boss by hosting Bonnie. Perhaps the family originally being from Montana or somewhere like that, means they are a little bit country, and might not realize how the cool people do things around this way.
Hopefully, Ashley Spoon has not been traumatized over the misdeeds of her parents and can continue to hold her head up high, as the parents did the right thing and BOOTED BONNIE BACK to Hillcrest! Amen.
Recon Babe – apparently there was an event. Please see our report from Brittany Bailey at the top of our news.
Could it possibly be that they did not get enough RSVPs and that is why they cancelled? That would make sense of why Bonnie put the event and their address on her website – hoping to get some “walk up” supporters off of the Net.
Could it be that they took it off the website – not because of the OBRag – but because the event was cancelled from low turn out?
If I were Mr. and Mrs. Spoon, I would be quite angry at Bonnie for advertising my home as a place where anyone in the world could come (and take whatever they want!)
Sharon Kramer has a good point. It will be even more difficult for Bonnie to troll for money at these “cocktail parties” now that her campaign has removed all the info from the Bonnie for Mayor website. I am not holding a grudge against the Spoons-I believe that they were innocent pawns used to make inroads into the OB area by the crafty old politico Lynn Schank and her Yiddish pal, Bonnie.
The OB Rag is to be commended for the high-minded way they handled this bit of contretemps this week. Just the THREAT of a NOT DUMANIS protest outside an event and the ever-examining eyes of the righteous OB (and Reader) press is enough to send Bonnie and her gangsters running away with their tails stuck up their…I mean… between their legs!