Category: Politics

By Rebecca Solnit / TomDispatch.com

I would have liked to know what the drummer hoped and what she expected. We’ll never know why she decided to take a drum to the central markets of Paris on October 5, 1789, and why, that day, the tinder was so ready to catch fire and a drumbeat was one of the sparks.

To the beat of that drum, the working women of the marketplace marched all the way to the Palace of Versailles, a dozen miles away, occupied the seat of French royal power, forced the king back to Paris, and got the French Revolution rolling. Far more than with the storming of the Bastille almost three months earlier, it was then that the revolution was really launched — though both were mysterious moments when citizens felt impelled to act and acted together, becoming in the process that mystical body, civil society, the colossus who writes history with her feet and crumples governments with her bare hands.

She strode out of the 1985 earthquake in Mexico City during which parts of the central city collapsed, and so did the credibility and power of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, the PRI that had ruled Mexico for 70 years. She woke up almost three years ago in North Africa, in what was called the Arab Spring, and became a succession of revolutions and revolts still unfolding across the region.

OB Rag Mid-September Readers Poll on San Diego Mayoral Candidates

The results are in for our latest readers’ poll on the candidates for San Diego’s next mayor. With Lori Saldana on top with a third of the votes, Democrats did indeed sweep the field – not a surprise due to our generally liberal and independent readers.

Bruce Coons came in with a quarter of those responding (24%), and Mike Aguirre (14%) and David Alvarez (13%) fighting for third place.

The lone Republican in the race, Kevin Falconer, placed fifth along with Democrat Nathan Fletcher, both with 7%. Marti Emerald brought up the pack with 3%, “minor candidate” choice received 1%, and the last option, “cannot or will not vote” also got 1% of those polled.

The poll was up for about a week, and exactly 200 readers voted during that time.

Forming the Basis of a Sustainable Neighborhoods Initiative

Part One of a Two Part Series

By Jay Powell

As things stand now Kevin Faulconer, a two term City Councilman, appears to be the choice of establishment Republicans, while Nathan Fletcher, former State Assemblyman and David Alvarez, City Councilman, will be vying for the support of the Democratic Party faithful.

Questions still remain about IF other credible candidates will throw their hat in ring in the days remaining to declare and file as candidates for this accelerated special election.

While we hold our breath, I suggest that those of us who have embraced a platform that was characterized as “neighborhoods first” during the last Mayoral election take the initiative to define what we mean by that phrase.

Did Bob Filner jump? did he fall? was he pushed?

Here’s a link to Part One, A Story About Sex, the Birds and Bees and the Wolfpack

By Norma Damashek / NumbersRunner

Forget you, Nancy Drew. You’re being replaced by Perry Mason, super-sleuth defense attorney from the zero hour this guy would laboriously rise up in the middle of the courtroom and pull a rabbit out of a hat. First he’d say something enigmatic to the judge, then to the jury. Soon he’d turn to the seated onlookers and dramatically finger the real culprit… swindler… murderer… for a histrionic wrap-up to another solved case.

The case against Bob Filner, however, doesn’t lend itself to cheap theatrics. The complexity and political fallout of Bob Filner’s ouster bring his political demise closer to classic tragedy than pulp fiction — not merely for him personally but for the future of our city.

So let’s stick with the diligent approach of Ms Drew to arrive at some answers to this mayoral mystery: did Bob Filner jump? fall? or get pushed? and when the curtains are drawn back will we find a master manipulator slinking around in the shadows?

By Jim Miller

Last Friday evening, after five grueling hours of candidate interviews and spirited debate, the San Diego-Imperial Counties Labor Council overwhelmingly endorsed David Alvarez for mayor.

This decision came after weeks of intense lobbying on the part of former labor leader Lorena Gonzalez, who, along with other powerful Democratic power brokers and money people were seeking to clear the field of genuinely progressive candidates in order to anoint Nathan Fletcher as the “only choice.”

Indeed, while Democratic money bundler Christine Forrester was writing to her well-heeled contacts praising Fletcher as “an astute business leader, worthy of representing and evolving Qualcomm’s business interests” and someone “well-suited to find common denominators between left and right” in order to create a “bipartisan platform from which San Diego can soar,” Gonzalez was repackaging him as a working class hero about whom she said to her list of labor folks, “the more he learned about economic justice issues, the better champion he became.”

by Ernie McCray

The other night while watching tv I heard interim San Diego Mayor, Todd Gloria, mention that it’s “A new day at City Hall.”

Well, I’ve witnessed many a “new day” in my life and what’s going on today in City Hall doesn’t look anything like any one of those days to me. Instead, it looks like the same old same old to the millionth degree.

Oh, but there was a new day at City Hall. Not too long ago. And it wasn’t like any “new day” I have ever experienced before. It was something to behold. True blue. I mean no mayor, as in none, before Bob Filner, had ever cited visions for our city that coincided with mine, a vision that included people like me, many of us South of 8, activists, artists, performers, non-profit folks and business folks of common means, all trying to meet our community’s needs.

It is very clear by now, that San Diego’s Republicans have chosen Councilman Kevin Faulconer to be their standard bearer for November’s Special Election for mayor. Faulconer has represented District 2 – the district for Ocean Beach, Point Loma and much of the beach area in this neck of the woods.

Now, with the withdrawals from the race by Republicans Carl DeMaio and Ron Roberts, there are no more major GOP candidates still standing. And Kevin made it official today with his announcement that he was in the race. Wow! What a surprise.

By Norma Damashek / NumbersRunner

Once upon a time there was a man with an unquenchable impulse to invite women out to breakfast, lunch, or dinner. He seemed oblivious to a fact most other men understand — there are circumstances when it’s okay to sweet-talk a woman and other circumstances when it’s not.

For a man known to be adept and dynamic at public speaking he was oddly banal and unimaginative at the art and practice of seduction: are you married… you are beautiful… your eyes mesmerize me… I want you to have dinner with me.

This man, according to TV and news accounts, routinely crossed the proverbial line. It was reported that he surprised some women with a kiss on the cheek, or forehead, or mouth – even, purportedly, a french kiss. Two or three women said he patted the vicinity where their rear ends reside. There were reports of fumbled attempts to touch a breast. A few recalled provocative whispers in their ear.

By Bill Adams /UrbDeZine San Diego / August 31, 2013

By now, most of the nation is aware of San Diego’s mayoral scandal, which was reported in such national media outlets as CNN, Chris Mathews Hardball, New York Times, etc. and included international legal gadfly Gloria Allred elbowing her way onto center stage. Former 10 term congressman Bob Filner had been Mayor of San Diego only 6 months before it all came to an inglorious and undemocratic end. The conventional wisdom is that the Mayor was accused by 18 women of sexual harassment leading to his resignation.

A former Freedom Rider, he was elected in the 2012 presidential election in one of the widest turnouts for a Mayoral election in the City’s history. It was a referendum for dramatic change, embodied in the policy positions and persona of Bob Filner. He was elected on a vision of prioritizing planning, neighborhoods, transit, affordable housing, labor, and livable city concepts. He was quick to deliver action on his promises . . . perhaps too quick.

The “mystery” woman of yesterday’s Channel 10 news at 6:00pm – Tuesday, Aug. 27 – has been identified. The woman who posted a picture of herself with Bob Filner’s arm around her shoulder. The woman that did not edit out the glass of beer in the Mayor’s hand. The woman that smiled into the lens of the camera as the snap took place. Who, you might ask, was the “mystery” woman? Do I know her? Have I ever met her before? Is she famous? Should I make an effort to get her signature? Might she run for Mayor of San Diego? Is it true that there were over 15 people trying to identify her for Channel 10? Would I have known how to find her if they had contacted me?

How could one picture of a disgraced mayor with a smile on his face and a glass of beer in his hand generate so much interest?

Was this “mystery” woman his new squeeze? Here he resigned only two days before and he is seen in what was described as a “compromising” situation. Who compromised whom?

Editor: Ever since our Widder Curry posted an article with a photo taken showing her next to Bob Filner at a Point Loma Democratic Club party two days after his resignation, abc’s Channel 10 News has been searching for Judi, calling her “the mystery woman”. And they finally found her and conducted an interview with her featured under their headline:

Woman talks to 10News about photo taken with Bob Filner two days after resignation speech

Filner attended Democrats event in Point Loma

By Vanessa Van Hyfte / Channel 10 News / August 28

SAN DIEGO – A woman who posed for a picture with a smiling, beer-holding Bob Filner just 48 hours after his resignation speech spoke to 10News about what led to the photo opportunity.

Staunch Democrat Judi Curry told 10News Filner was not in a celebratory mood and far from the outgoing, gregarious man she has supported for years.

Curry has an older photo of her standing with Filner posted next to her front door.

“They say, ‘Isn’t that Filner? Aren’t you going to take that down?’ I say eventually,” said Curry, a retired business owner and former San Diego school administrator.

By Pete

Something smells awful fishy here in San Diego and I think its the politics. For the past thirty years the Republicans have worked along with the elite developers to spend every dime in & around the downtown area, as the rest of the city went unnoticed. High rise condo’s sit vacant, an over sized & over priced unnecessary library built downtown as libraries around the city closed or went unfunded, A new & over priced Baseball park built downtown for a below average team & lots of talk about a new Charger stadium, again, downtown, for the elite developer friends of the Republican mayors.

When Bob Filner beat the Republican front runner, Carl DeMaio, who was alleged to having been backed by big oil money from the Koch brothers in Texas, it was a shock that traveled through out the city. Filner, not only started his political career here in San Diego being on the City Council representing District Eight, one of the poorest districts in the city, but he also was a United States Congressman for over twenty years, and was returning to where it had all started to finally pull San Diego from the grips of the powerful strong hold the Republicans have been enjoying for thirty plus years.