Nail biter

So the battle is engaged. Two city councilmen will face off in the upcoming mayoral runoff election; Kevin Faulconer versus David Alvarez. Both of the parties got what they wanted, the Democratic Party wanted David Alvarez and the Republican Party wanted to run against Alvarez in February.

Wasn’t it obvious? Francine Busby and the Democratic Party weighed in when they should have remained neutral and let the party faithful go to the polls to make the decision. Busby and the party supported Alvarez.

The Republican Party was completely aligned behind Faulconer. Their focus became defeating Fletcher through the use of negative ads in the last several weeks of the campaign. No negative ads were run against Alvarez. Essentially saying “the Republican Party wants Alvarez.”

Poor Nathan Fletcher, to lose twice in just eighteen months. This time he can blame no one but himself. He should take a hard look at his communications team, headed by Rachel Laing, who was flat footed in their response to Faulconer’s negative attack ads. Public relations 101 is to respond quickly and decisively. Sorry Fletcher, your team did none of that. So as you lick your wounds, remember your own role in your defeat.

As I have stated before, now we have to decide between two candidates who do not cross the qualification threshold for running a $2.7 billion city budget. So be it.

From an LGBT perspective, we must choose between two candidates that have tepidly supported LGBT rights. Faulconer has the added burden of proving that he does not support the agenda of his national party against LGBT equality. To get the LGBT vote, Faulconer needs to unequivocally state his support for marriage equality and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. Otherwise, the LGBT vote will be a cakewalk for Alvarez and Faulconer will only get the votes of the twelve people in the Log Cabin Republicans.

For Alvarez to win the election, he needs to get roughly 80 percent of the voters who voted for candidates other than Faulconer and himself. That assumes voter turnout remains the same, which is doubtful.

The question is whether the Democrats will come home to their party. If they don’t, there will be a coup in the Democratic Party in February and Francine Busby, Donna Frye and Lorena Gonzalez, as well as a host of others, will put their political futures at risk. There are significant donors to the Democratic Party that are not happy with what occurred during the primary, but winning solves all problems.

In the end, it is always about you; the voter. You have spoken and the choice is Faulconer or Alvarez. I hope you consider LGBT equality when you pull the lever in February. As the eighth largest city in America, we need a mayor that will advocate for our civil rights. Why? Since San Diego is a perceived Republican bastion, it will send a message. The nation has evolved with respect to LGBT equality.

STAMPP CORBIN

PUBLISHER