A liberal mayor takes on the San Diego establishment

[alp227]

Tony Perry, Los Angeles Times, June 2
SAN DIEGO — Under a pro-business Republican mayor, it was a no-brainer: allocating millions of dollars each year to buy national advertising for the tourism industry — a major economic driver in this vacation mecca.

Then Bob Filner got elected, and he had questions: Why couldn't Sheraton and Hilton buy their own advertising? And why should the cash-strapped city lavish funds on an industry that pays low wages to bottom-rung employees like maids and bellhops?

The new Democratic mayor also thought the city attorney should provide him with legal guidance on the matter in private, not in front of reporters.

So he crashed Jan Goldsmith's news conference.

"You not only have been unprofessional but unethical," Filner scolded the city attorney, "and I resent it greatly that you're giving your advice to the press."

Goldsmith, a Republican former judge and state legislator, neither backed down nor rose to the verbal combat.

"He's the mayor," Goldsmith said after Filner left. "He's got his own personality, his own character."

Truer words may have never been spoken about Filner, 70, a former history professor at San Diego State, school board member, city councilman and 10-term congressman.

Since taking office in December, Filner has battled other elected officials, irritated the city's business establishment and infuriated the conservative editorial page of the U-T San Diego newspaper, which has called him a bully and compared him to the Joker in the "Batman" movies.

"San Diego has never had a mayor like this, style-wise," said Steve Erie, a political science professor at UC San Diego. "Filner is San Diego's first really strong mayor, using the bully pulpit and aggressive style to advance his populist agenda."

Confrontation has long been a Filner political trademark. At congressional hearings he regularly derided Veterans Affairs officials over poor care, making him a favorite of veterans groups.

full: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-san-diego-mayor-20130602,0,7526448,full.story
(If you can't see the link on mobile go here: http://archive.is/rkSk2)

The reason I include the archive.is link is that I often get "cannot find an Internet connection" in the mobile version of the site when I try to read Tribune news websites (LA Times, Orlando Sentinel, Chicago Tribune, etc.) on my Android.

[Cha]

1. I use to live all over San Diego County in the 70s and 80s. This

is really good to see.

I know of at least one republicon there, a fox hostage, who is probably hating on San Diego's new Democratic Mayor. My ex husband.

thanks alp and good Luck, Mayor Bob Filner!

[ReRe]

2. K&R

Now that's some good news, alp227! No more "two-martini-lunches!"

[stuffmatters]

3. Mayor Filner has a 50 year Progressive history

He was a student Freedom Rider in Mississippi in the early 60's; he consistently was given highest Progressive ratings in Congress and was so popular with his constituents than he even ran once unopposed. He is a straight talker and a straight shooter who has never lost his populist, democratic idealism. San Diego is so fortunate Filner is our mayor.

Doug ("Poppa&quot Manchester owns the Union Tribune and controls major media feeds here. So Filner's victory over Carl de Maio, a Grover Norquist protege, dripping with Koch/ALEC/"Chamber" funding and ideology, was a pretty exciting win against the tyranny of rightwing
sludging.

Filner's battle for the tourist dollars are to recoup an hotel tax which, if it is declared legal at all, should be distributed through the City not via a cabal of wealthy hoteliers (including Manchester)

Filner is fighting for San Diego's interests above false efforts to tax and privatize the tourism dollars by the largest hotels. Such
tedious and typical Republication narcissism ... their perverted notion that tourists come to San Diego for their hotels not primarily to enjoy the beaches, beauty, friendliness, multicultural history and relaxed safety of our City.

In 2012, we finally got an authentic Democratic mayor, the City Council flipped Democratic, 4 out of 6 Congress critters representing SD County are now Dems. And this is despite Doug Manchester owning the two major papers, all tv stations still treating Filner unfairly (Gene Cubbison actually snarls when he mentions Filner), and internet feeds
coming from equally hostile VOSD Manchester tools. Yet Filner just keeps doing his job, calling it like it is, being optimistic and resoundingly popular. Wonderful to watch Mayor Filner, a professional, idealistic Democratic pro, in action.

[Laelth]

4. k&r for Bob Filner.

The people of San Diego wisely chose him, and it appears he is representing the interests of the people very well.



-Laelth

[blkmusclmachine]

5. No Bipartisan Bullsh!t Here.

[JayhawkSD]

6. A little bit of misinformation flying around San Diego on this

The money in question is a tax on hotel rooms wich was approved by voters on the basis that it would be used for advertising tourism. Now Filner may think that the hotels should pay their own advertising, but the voters of the city of San Diego did not feel that way. They felt that a fund for the purpose of collective advertising would be to our advantage.

Filner withheld money from the Tourism Board because he wanted it used for other purposes, such as direct funding for a Balboa Centennial, and to cooerce higher wages for hotel workers. While I agree that the Balboa Centennial is a good idea,was not the purpose for which the tax was imposed, so Filner was in the wrong. He was trying to withhold the funds to force the hotals to do what he wanted them to do on wages for workers, and while I heartily agree with him wanting better wages for workers, what he was doing is called blackmail, and it is the wrong way to secure a good end. He had to back down on the wage issue because he simply was in the wrong and he knew it.

The Tourism Board agreed to provide 5% of tax revenue to the Balboa Centennila this year and 10% the next two years and Filner released the money. The tax revenue, however has been less than forecast because hotel revenue has suffered due to the economy, so Filner froze it again because they were not providing enough money. The agreed 5% was less actual dollars than he wanted so he came up with some nonsense about how the Tourism Board had not rendered an invoice to the City and he was therefor not providing the money.

The whole thing with Goldsmith is that Filner, like Mayors before him, feels the the City Attorney is the attorney provided to serve the Mayor's needs for legal advice and legal services, while Goldsmith, like City Attorneys before him, feels that his job is to serve the people of the city and not the Mayor personally. You choose. I think the City Attorny is supposed to serve the people of the city and is not supposed to be the personal tool of the Mayor, whether that Mayor is a Democrat or a Republican.

Democrat, progressive or not, Filner is a nasty piece of work whose modus operandi of choice is that of a snarling attack dog. During the final campaign he regularly found ways to indirectly attack the sexuality of his opponent, including dragging his opponent's partner into the discussion and making unfounded accusations of misbehavior against the partner.