By Lorena Gonzalez
Local elections rarely matter to the rest of the state. We all are facing so many challenges in our own regions, that paying attention to another part of the state is often just an after-thought. But, once in a while, there is a local politician with such dangerous beliefs, tactics and immense corporate backing, that it warrants statewide attention. Such is the case in San Diego today.
I came of age as a young San Diegan at the same time Pete Wilson left our City Hall to become a U.S. senator, and then governor of California. And, as harmful and antagonistic as a Governor Pete Wilson was, he was mild compared to Carl DeMaio, one of four high-profile candidates vying for San Diego’s top spot this June.
DeMaio sharpened his sword at the libertarian Reason Foundation before landing in California’s second largest city. He purchased three houses and polled endlessly until he found a Council District he could win just four years ago. Since being elected, he has led the way on forcing the privatization of public services and the elimination of the defined benefit pension plan in our city. He has also attempted to eliminate our living wage ordinance, attack prevailing wage, ban project labor agreements, and starve the city government of much needed revenue. He even refuses to work with city unions to ensure workers are re-entered into Social Security. He actually advocates for no retirement safety net at all for public employees.
Where would a politician come up with such a radical anti-worker agenda? For Carl DeMaio, the answer lies in his connections to extremists like Grover Norquist, Newt Gingrich and the Koch Brothers. And, like so many anti-worker extremists, he has the personal wealth to drive an agenda.
That’s why we’ve launched DirtyDeMaio.com, a one-stop-shopping hub for voters, unions and community allies who want to know the full story about candidate Carl DeMaio.
If he’s elected mayor, you can count on DeMaio to continue that extremist legacy, using his office to grandstand in hopes of becoming California’s most anti-union governor ever.
Tough to believe someone this extreme could be elected mayor of California’s second-largest city. But DeMaio’s slippery whenever anyone tries to hold him accountable for his past or even his political record. Most San Diegans have never really looked at everything piled together in once place and seen just how troubling DeMaio’s full record is.
Article after article, campaign filing after campaign filing, report after report, the mountain of evidence paints only one picture: A self-serving, ambitious career politician relying on hypocrisy to push an agenda far too extreme for San Diego. But you don’t have to take my word for it – that’s what DirtyDeMaio.com is for.
This is obviously going to be an important election for San Diego’s workers, but we know that union members up and down the state are watching what happens here too. So check in with us at DirtyDeMaio.com or follow the campaign on Facebook or Twitter too to see what dirt surfaces on Carl DeMaio.
Lorena Gonzalez is the Secretary-Treasurer of the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council, AFL-CIO. The Labor Council includes 133 affiliated local unions representing more than 192,000 workers in the region. The Labor Council’s mission is to advocate for more jobs, better jobs and better lives for all workers, union and non-union. Learn more at www.unionyes.org.
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