Stampp Corbin is my publisher, and has been a guiding force in my involvement in politics. Hilllcrest Mayor Nicole Murray Ramirez saw something that made him suggest me as a City commissioner. As I consider both to be my mentors, I have followed their recent dueling columns with all the joy of a child watching…
Midterms don’t have the cachet of presidential years, but 2014 looks to be an important election year, particularly for San Diego and the LGBT community. Mayor of San Diego. Both candidates have history on their side. Special elections typically bring out a more conservative electorate, which would help Councilmember Kevin Faulconer. Councilmember David Alvarez benefits…
Politician of the Year: TIME magazine gives their “Person of the Year” Award to whoever dominates the headlines, good or bad. In that sense, one can make a strong argument for former Mayor Filner. However, his headlines were more about person than politics. Instead, the Politically Aware Politician of the Year is City Council President…
Sometimes political insight comes at the most unusual times and from the strangest places. I participated in a chili cook-off last weekend at one of my favorite watering holes, SRO, and it helped crystallize what politics is all about. First, the cook-off was open to anyone. Just like anyone can run for office. You just…
My parents bought my brother and me a video game system, allegedly to improve our hand-eye coordination and thus our poor penmanship. They quickly realized that we would play video games at the expense of all else, and set up some rules. The first hour was free. The second hour had to be paid back…
The case for: Electability In the movie Weird Science, two tech geeks try to create the perfect woman, and end up with Kelly LeBrock. If there were a 2013 sequel in which political geeks tried to create the perfect mayoral candidate (call it Weird Political Science), they might well come up with former Assemblymember Nathan…
Well, I talked to Mayor Filner the night before he started his two weeks of therapy and, yes, I believe it will be good for him, and he will discover a lot about himself. There is much weighing on Bob and I believe that this time will give him a chance to reflect on things…
“I don’t recall.” From President Reagan to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, it has been the mantra of elected and appointed officials forced to testify. Should Mayor Filner’s alleged behavior indeed lead he or staffers to court, it’s a safe bet it will be uttered at least once by someone who has blocked a potentially damaging…
The Newsroom returns to HBO July 14, and before then you can binge on the first season of Aaron Sorkin’s sometimes comic drama about the backstage goings on at a cable news show hosted by a truth-telling independent. Sorkin, who created The West Wing and wrote The Social Network, has a practically patented style of…
It was a different Carl DeMaio who announced his candidacy for the 52nd Congressional District seat recently. His life-partner Johnathan Hale was up front and by his side and he called upon the Republican Party to be “more positive and inclusive,” and that they should stay out of social issues which he said, “… are…
