Today, we’re having fun and games with Richard Bailey, a candidate for District 2 of the San Diego City Council.
First, a new PAC for Bailey has just been announced. This is serious stuff. But it’s also a game. Steven Richter, a semi-retired tax attorney, is the principal officer for ‘SD Policy over Politics’, the new PAC.
Here’s Arturo Castañares’ write up about the new PAC, published April 13. Castañares is the editor at large of La Prensa.
A longtime Point Loma resident has launched a new political action committee (PAC) to support a candidate in the upcoming election for San Diego City Council, according to documents filed with the California Secretary of State last week.
Steven Richter, a semi-retired tax attorney, is the principal officer for ‘SD Policy over Politics’, a new PAC formed to support Richard Bailey, a candidate for District 2, which includes the communities of Clairemont, Midway, Mission Beach, Mission Bay Park, Old Town, Ocean Beach and Point Loma.
Richard Bailey — Last month, Bailey announced his candidacy for City Council to replace termed out Councilman Dr. Jen Campbell.
“I want to help elect someone with the right experience and vision to make things better for all San Diegans,” Richter told La Prensa San Diego in an exclusive interview in his home on Sunset Cliffs. “Richard Bailey is a city leader, a business owner in the District, and an economist with real world experience.” …
In 2024, Richter donated to a PAC run by the Lincoln Club, a non-partisan business group that supported independent candidate Larry Turner in his challenge to San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria. Gloria won 55% to 44%, but the margin was closer of any many political pundits had expected.
Richter cites the mismanagement of the City by Mayor Todd Gloria and the current City Council as the motivation to donate to campaigns of independent candidates like Bailey and Turner. “The City has been run into a financial hole by mismanagement, overspending, and lack of leadership,” Richter said. “We really need to make big changes to fix things, not just tax our residents to make up for bad decisions.”
In an interview with La Prensa San Diego during the Mayor’s race, Richter confirmed that he did not have any business interests, real estate projects, or other financial conflicts with the City of San Diego. He reiterated those points again this week. …
Richter is a retired Certified Public Accountant, an active licensed attorney, and serves as a Judge Pro Tem in San Diego Superior Court. He also serves as a Sergeant in the San Diego Police Department’s Volunteer Traffic Patrol. … Richter was a lifelong registered Democrat and became an unaffiliated voter two years ago, but he says he does not support candidates based on their partisan registration.
For more, go here.
And now for the fun.
There’s a new political parody of Bailey out there, an online effort on satire; it’s called “The Bailey Bugle” and here’s a sampling:
Richard Bailey, the former Mayor of Coronado who left office with approval ratings that could make a parking meter jealous, has reportedly set his sights across the bay. Sources close to almost everyone confirm that Bailey can’t get a real job, and after “district shopping” has set his sights on District 2 in San Diego with a platform of free parking, free trash pick-up, free ponies, and free jet-packs for commuting. He’ll promise everything. And now he lies about going from ICE Supporting January 6th Insurrectionist loving MAGA Trump Republican to “independent”. He must be smoking great stuff. Or thinking that you do. One thing is for sure – you’ll never catch Bailey at a No Kings March.
“He wore out his welcome faster than a sand dollar at a souvenir shop,” said one Coronado resident who spoke anonymously to keep Bailey’s flying monkeys from doxxing him. “Between the political mudslinging and the closed beach sewage situation, we’re not exactly rolling out the red carpet for a comeback tour. Bailey couldn’t get re-elected dogcatcher here if he tried. He’s burned the Coronado Bridge, so to speak, and is trying to now jump over it. Beware career politicians with a trail of failures.
Bailey claims to be a “fiscal conservative” but he was KICKED OUT OF San Diego Rotary because he didn’t pay his dues. You don’t want this financial failure to be anywhere NEAR San Diego City coffers. Bailey squandered hundreds of thousands of Coronado TAXPAYER dollars suing SANDAG (and losing in flames), being sued by people who thought his tree-hating “cut the hundred year old Torrey Pines down to save our plastic grass at the bowling green” was stupid (it was, and he lost there, too in court) and his all around arrogance and inability to work across the bridge that harmed the people of Coronado. Bailey loves to squander your taxpayer dollars for his petty grievances against anyone contesting his “King Richard” dictates. His claims of “fiscal responsibility” are 5-star “pants on fire” liar worthy.
Yawn, is this informative outside of partisan? I really don’t care about Bailey in D2, I doubt he’d win given he shot himself in the foot playing this as a step to Mayor. But informative discussion of city issues could be made despite the dogpile. I don’t know why you’re worried about him.
Frank I’ll try not to poke the bear too much but I’ll say this – my restating of who Richard Bailey, a Trump voting Republican Mayor of Coronado who moved to D2 within weeks (days?) of announcing he was running to represent a place he’s never lived in with an ideology completely removed from where he hung his political hat for decades, has been called lies and character assassinations by two of the biggest Bailey supporters around (including one who has now started a PAC supporting him as you see above). These two continue to say, essentially, “pay no attention to who this man has been up until 15 minutes ago”. I simply will not. Yet there’s one way we can put this all to rest!
The Rag is letting all D2 candidates have their moment on this website with a post about who they are and what they believe in. Why doesn’t Richard, who we know lurks here, come out and just say what he believes in? He has the opportunity to lay out exactly who he is, what his politics are and – importantly – who he voted for for president in 2016 – 2024. This is pretty basic stuff that all voters have not only a right to know but are interested in knowing as well! If he declines, like he did with the Voice, then why wouldn’t we believe he continues to be exactly who he has always been? If he’s not making a big statement about turning over a new leaf, then why should we believe anything he has to say? And if we can’t believe anything that he has to say, or that he’ll obviously do anything – including move to D2 and leave behind decades of Republican activism at the drop of a hat – why should we elect someone like that? And if Carol and Lisa say that I’m ineligible to ask these questions, I would love someone to ask these same questions for me. The messenger doesn’t matter but the message does.
For 10 years we’ve been told a constant stream of lies by Republicans and Trump. We’ve been told to not believe what we see. They’ve demanded we think the sky isn’t blue, that 2+2 is five and whatever else Trump and the GOP have demanded. Republican voters may be fine with eating this pile of you know what but I, and other Dems in D2, certainly are not.
Richard Bailey is a Trump loving Republican who moved to D2 to immediately run for Mayor after putting aside everything he believes at the drop of a hat. No one like that should be anywhere near elected office. And I’m wrong about all of this Richard has the opportunity to correct it himself. You all talk about transparency and being upfront with people, it’s time for Richard to do what you demand of others.
Very good points. They complain about your “lack” of transparency, and then defend Bailey, who hides behind his mantra, “Policies not politics.”