Like many San Diegans, I found out Monday morning that Congressional candidate Carl DeMaio would be organizing events for the effort to recall Mayor Bob Filner. This is my shocked font!
Of course, the man who lost the mayoral race to Filner is joining the recall. It allows him to settle an old score and stay in the headlines for his race against Rep. Scott Peters (CA-52).
The more interesting part was his challenge to other local politicians, to “set aside partisan politics and their own political races to help qualify the recall of Bob Filner.” He specifically invited Peters to join him at events or schedule his own.
Where this is going is about as predictable as DeMaio’s support for the recall. If Peters declines, DeMaio will tag him mercilessly as a friend of Filner’s and an enemy of women and equality. Both are ridiculous.
While they share a party and some policy views, Filner and Peters have not been particularly close lately. Filner endorsed Peters, but Peters never returned the favor, even when his primary opponent did. Instead, he mentioned friendships with three candidates: Assemblymember Fletcher, District Attorney Dumanis, and Rep. Filner. Everyone but DeMaio. Ouch.
Since then, Peters has called for Filner’s resignation and, unlike some local Democrats, is on record in support of the recall. He even signed a petition earlier this week. That should be enough to say where he stands and probably end any friendship or political alliance. He doesn’t need to throw recall events to underscore the point.
In his mayoral campaign, DeMaio told KPBS “My role as mayor is to stay focused on the issues, the crisis that the City faces.” One would think, as a congressional candidate, his role would be to focus on the issues Congress faces, and the recall isn’t among them. Reproductive freedom, equality in the workplace and the full repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) will be on the docket, however, and Peters’ record is beyond reproach.
Peters is a co-sponsor of numerous pieces of legislation to advance gender equity, including the Paycheck Fairness Act, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, the STEM Opportunities Act, the Violence Against Women Act, the Access to Birth Control Act and the Women’s Preventative Health Awareness Campaign. On equality, Peters is equally strong, having cosponsored the Respect for Marriage Act (full DOMA repeal), the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and the Juror Nondiscrimination Act. All that in less than one year in office, and it doesn’t even count resolutions and non-legislative activity, like pushing to revise the ban on gay men donating blood.
If anyone has problematic alliances on these issues, it is DeMaio. To his credit, DeMaio’s Web site includes his support for a woman’s right to choose and marriage equality, and he supported the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down DOMA. Some of his donors, however, would beg to differ. In moves that seem to have gotten more press in the D.C. beltway than here in San Diego, DeMaio received $10,000 and $5,000, respectively, from the Political Action Committees (PACs) of Majority Leader Eric Cantor and Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy.
Both Cantor and McCarthy were members of the House Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group that chose to defend DOMA when President Obama declined to do so. Both also voted to ban abortions at 20-weeks, with limited exceptions. Both voted against the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act in 2009.
Given how his supporters and party leaders feel about the real issues, it’s understandable that DeMaio might want to focus on the recall. That might fly if he were still running for mayor. As a congressional candidate, he needs to take his own advice and talk about the issues facing Congress. That’s how Peters spent his time on Monday, bringing the number two Democrat in the House, Rep. Steny Hoyer, to San Diego to discuss job creation. Maybe he should invite DeMaio to an event.
