What a difference a week makes in local politics. Last week San Diego Council District 3 candidate Anthony Bernal was riding high on the endorsement of Mayor Kevin Faulconer. By Tuesday of this week, Bernal was defending revelations that his campaign has claimed endorsements from people who say they have not endorsed him.
One of the non-endorsements was attributed to Andy Hanshaw, executive director of the San Diego Bicycle Coalition, a voter who has not endorsed any candidate.
“I have no idea what would make him think I was endorsing him,” says Hanshaw, who reminds San Diego LGBT Weekly that professionally, he’s hyperaware of the fact that as executive director of a 501(c)3 tax-exempt nonprofit, making political endorsements is not an option – unless he wouldn’t mind jeopardizing his organization’s tax status.
But the Bernal campaign was steadfast about its roll of endorsers, issuing the following statement in response to the revelations:
“Since the outset of our campaign, Anthony has received an outpouring of support from a number of individuals and organizations, and we have various mechanisms in place for them to indicate their support. We understand that there might be confusion as to what constitutes support and what constitutes endorsement; however, we also know that our opponent has aggressively sought out those who have indicated their support of Anthony and tried to intimidate them into changing their position. While it’s unfortunate that a candidate would resort to these kinds of tactics, it remains consistent with the divisive and highly politicized campaign he’s been running.”
“The idea that I was confused is not accurate,” Hanshaw tells LGBT Weekly. “I didn’t endorse anyone.”
There was no confusion at dueling endorsement press conferences Monday of last week, even if there was a sense of urgency. That’s when a gaggle of media, including reporters from the San Diego Union Tribune, Voice of San Diego, KNSD-7 and LGBT Weekly raced from Civic Center Plaza downtown, where Faulconer had bestowed his nod upon Bernal, driving up to the northern reaches of the district to Hillcrest where within 30 minutes Bernal’s opponent, Chris Ward, had assembled a troop of elite San Diego politicos who reaffirmed their support for him.
Ward, who is currently State Sen. Marty Block’s chief of staff, has the endorsements of former Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins, as well as former State Sen. Christine Kehoe, both of whom once held the same seat Bernal and Ward now seek to fill.
Meanwhile, minutes before this report was filed, the San Diego Union Tribune Editorial Board announced its endorsement in the District 3 City Council Race. Ironically (or perhaps serendipitously), the Union-Tribune’s endorsement of Chris Ward over Anthony Bernal, who serves as a field deputy for current D3 Councilman Todd Gloria, was at least partially motivated by Bernal’s blunder over – you guessed it – endorsements.
“The blunder makes it easy to see Bernal owes Ward an apology,” write the newspaper’s editors. “It also makes it easy for the Union-Tribune editorial board to endorse Chris Ward for City Council.”
During the final candidates forum, held earlier this week at St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral, LGBT Weekly asked both candidates whom they thought City Councilman Todd Gloria would endorse were the choice not between the gay candidate, Ward and his own staff member, Bernal.
Gloria is the third council member who is a member of the LGBT community to hold the District 3 seat. He has not endorsed either candidate. Neither Ward nor Bernal were willing to say if they believed Todd Gloria would endorse his candidacy if doing so weren’t so fraught with political risk and the risk of causing deeply hurt feelings.
Full lists of the candidates’ claimed endorsements can be found at their respective campaign Web sites: voteforward.com and bernal4all.com.
