The Money Flow 1… Is it okay if I call next year’s 75th AD race now? Short of George Plescia getting a Perata/Nunez term limits reprieve, Nathan Fletcher seems to be the heir, doing a "fair" job raising some dough:
State Assembly candidate Nathan Fletcher (R-San Diego) released his campaign finance report showing that he raised more than $350,000 for his election and has over $300,000 cash on hand. The report, filed with the Secretary of State, covers fundraising from January 1 through June 30, 2007.
“With less than a year remaining until the primary election, Nathan Fletcher’s fundraising has been phenomenal,” said incumbent Assemblyman George Plescia, who currently represents the 75th Assembly District, and is barred from running for re-election due to term limits. Plescia, who has endorsed Fletcher, added: “The total amount raised from so many individual supporters clearly demonstrates a broad base of support for Nathan’s campaign.”
If you simply must read what Nathan’s consultant and fellow FR correspondent Duane Dichiara says about the impressive money showing, be my guest by clicking the link.
The Money Flow 2… Democrat Auday Arabo, running for a term-limited Shirley Horton 78th AD seat, is another candidate that decided not to wait until the July 31 FPPC deadline to report his fundraising … for good reason:
Auday Arabo, leading Democratic candidate for the 78th Assembly race, has raised $387,554 in total contributions as of the June 30th financial reporting deadline. This is one of the largest total amounts raised by an unelected official in recent history.
Perhaps even more astounding is that over 90% of Arabo’s fundraising comes from local support from individuals throughout San Diego County, a true indication that the constituents of the district are behind Arabo for Assembly.
Hey, I don’t always write it, sometimes I just repeat it. That said, although Auday’s money prowess may have surprised some — or all — of the likely Dem contenders, this race is far from over. Expect a showdown on the D side in the primary and a donnybrook in the general.
The Frye Wal-Mart Vote… In the wake of SD Councilmember Donna Frye’s surprising vote July 10 against overriding Mayor Sanders’ veto of the Wal-Mart ban, everyone in the free world was trying to figure out what could possibly prompt such a reversal of both big-box and big labor fortune.
The Democrat blog sites were replete with "Frye Sells Out" postings, wondering who got to her and the like. Even some Reps were posting comments such as, "I want to know how they got to Frye…this is soooo out of character for her."
Well, yes, it is out of character. But, let’s be realistic. Does anyone actually think that Jerry Sanders, Ron Nehring, Tony Krvaric or some Wal-Mart exec got her on the horn and made a political threat, scaring some free market ideals into her? Puh-leaze.
There was also the hilarious, as anonymously posted on Red County/San Diego:
"Passing the bong before the council meeting works wonders."
I had to laugh out loud at that. If this had been the 1960s … or even perhaps a decade ago … that could be truer than anyone including Frye herself might like to admit. Yet, this is the 2000s, and Donna Frye has way more sense than most GOPers and free market advocates care to bestow on her. Maybe even more than many Dems want to admit.
After all the conjecture, the publication that nails the analysis on the head is — surprisingly — the one most likely to have screamed foul and called for Frye’s head, the lefty San Diego City Beat. Other than the title, "How could she?" the David Rolland piece is a pretty in-depth analysis of the strategic concerns Frye had with a handful of open council seats on the same ballot next year as a Wal-Mart referendum. Some excerpts:
Conventional wisdom would say a Wal-Mart referendum would draw conservative voters to the polls, weakening the chances of electing progressives to swing City Council Districts. Frye (said) she doesn’t want voters choosing candidates based on their views of Wal-Mart.
She became one of five votes on June 4 that made the ban law, but she also knew she had more time to think it over because Mayor Jerry Sanders would certainly veto the legislation, setting up a vote to override the veto. Sanders would require five of the eight votes to support his veto, so he’d need to steal one from among those who voted for the ban.
Frye told CityBeat this week that she continued to "grind" over the decision until making up her mind over the weekend leading up the July 10 override vote. On July 9, she talked to her friends in the labor and small-business communities and broke the news that she planned to support the veto.
Frye followed through on her decision, killing the ban and handing a victory to Sanders and Wal-Mart and leaving no lingering doubt about her status as a headstrong policymaker. She’s confident, her constituents say, that she knows what’s best for the progressive movement, even when the progressive movement is begging her to go in a different direction.
There’s plenty more in the insightful piece. Read it all here.
Have a great week.
July 23rd, 2007 at 12:00 am
Yeah apparently people like getting low prices and bringing new jobs to their communities. Who would of thought voters actually care about things that effect their everyday lives?