Analysis: Strong Mayor Vote a Sanders Endorsement
During the Proposition D campaign to make the city’s strong mayor form of government permanent, Mayor Jerry Sanders insisted the ballot measure wasn’t about him. Increases to the mayor’s power — like a...
View ArticleDoes Ballot Language Matter?
With all the debate about language in the city of San Diego’s financial reform ballot measure, now known as Proposition D, a blog in the Sacramento Bee caught my eye. Two political scientists studied...
View ArticleBack to Our Comfort Zone
Early last week, city Chief Operating Officer Jay Goldstone released estimated savings for the reform measures contained in Prop D. For a few days, it made a splash. Activists on both sides offered...
View ArticleFletcher the Coastal Republican
One important purpose of my Q&A last week with local Republican state Assemblyman and potential 2012 mayoral candidate Nathan Fletcher was to get him on the record on a series of important policy...
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Fact Check: How Big Is the Mayor’s Axe?
Statement: “We’ve reduced over 1,400 positions in the city. And that includes 200 public safety people. We’ve cut over $300 million in our budget since ’06, $180 million which are permanent cuts,”...
View ArticleThe Disingenuousness of Prop. D
What bothers me the most about Proposition D is that it is flat-out disingenuous. It purports to be about reform, when it is nothing more than a sales tax hike that serves to delay any meaningful...
View ArticleProp. D Supporters Making Big Last Minute Changes
It’s not too late to change Proposition D, argue the sales tax/financial reform ballot measure’s backers. Proponents of Prop. D are now touting a new plan devised by business leaders that they say will...
View ArticleCouncil, Mayor Endorse Last Minute Prop. D Makeover
With just five weeks to go before Election Day, backers of Proposition D are endorsing a major overhaul of the financial reforms guaranteed by the ballot measure. The overhaul, developed by a task...
View ArticleThe Biz Task Force: They Care A Lot
I have to admit, I wasn’t giving the “Citizen’s Fiscal Sustainability Task Force” (hereafter, the “Chamber”) enough credit. When they came forward with their plan to makeover Prop. D, I mocked it as a...
View ArticleA Stick in the Mudd Plan
A fat red number stands out in the ballyhooed report from a task force of business leaders on the city of San Diego’s budget deficits. Even with aggressive reform and new sales tax money from the...
View ArticleBusiness Leaders Make Prop. D Their Own
San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders called the businessman’s solution to the city’s ongoing budget deficits “our contract with the public.” The City Council accepted the man’s conclusions without question....
View ArticleProp. D, a Shipbuilder’s Take
In the last couple of weeks, Poway businessman Vince Mudd and a team of his peers have given Mayor Jerry Sanders and other supporters of Proposition D a glimmer of hope that the business community...
View ArticleThe Worker’s Case for Prop. D
Murtaza Baxamusa, the deputy director of the Center on Policy Initiatives, sent me a note just now that he and his organization have decided to endorse Proposition D. Remember, Baxamusa and many...
View ArticleWhere’s the Plan, Man?
San Diego City Councilman Carl DeMaio opposes Proposition D. He has a plan of his own to balance the city’s budget without a tax increase. What’s DeMaio’s plan? You won’t see it until after Election...
View ArticleSan Diego Explained: Retiree Health Care Bomb
In less than three weeks, city voters will decide on Proposition D, which pairs a half-cent sales tax increase with 10 financial reforms. One of those reforms is to reduce the city’s retiree health...
View ArticleReality Check: White- and Blue-Collar Job Cuts Could Happen
San Diego is a city I love. It’s the city where I was born, where I grew up, and the city I am proud to serve. As a councilman, I’m not going to tell you what you want to hear. It’s my duty to tell you...
View ArticleWatch NBC 7/39’s Prop. D Debate
Last night, our partners at NBC 7/39 hosted a live debate on Proposition D, which pairs a half-cent sales tax increase with 10 financial reforms. Mayor Jerry Sanders and Councilwoman Donna Frye argued...
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Fact Check: In National Spotlight, Mayor Mistaken
Statement: “We laid off 17 percent of the workforce in San Diego,” Mayor Jerry Sanders said during a March 23 appearance on the PBS television program, The Charlie Rose Show. Determination: False...
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Prop. D’s Reforms Yield Little Savings
San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders and other backers of a temporary sales tax hike made a promise last summer. We’ll make 10 major financial reforms, they said, before we raise your taxes. Together, the...
View ArticleTax Hike Failed, But Public Safety Didn’t: Reality Check
Statement: “We’re going to have to cut services dramatically … And there’s going to be some public safety implications, implications in terms of services throughout the neighborhoods,” San Diego...
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