I figure it’s time for some news that does not involve publisher Jon Fleischman’s ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ to Washington D.C with Howard Kaloogian…
In the major suburban cities that circle San Diego City, there are Democrat Mayors in Oceanside, Lemon Grove, and Chula Vista. To be fair, Oceanside’s Mayor is not a Democrat. But he is a lickspittle of the labor unions and lefty extremists like Councilwoman Esther Sanchez so I figure I may as well toss him in. Not to digress on Oceanside, but the Democrat/labor dominated government is all the worse because the GOP has a clear registration advantage there. Unfortunately, as anyone who has had the misfortune to work there for a while knows, Oceanside is the Iraq of San Diego Republican politics. Various GOP factions are more interested in taking the knife to one another than they are in forming a winning coalition that actually governs. Oceanside is a pretty free-wheeling city… a Republican candidate who can unite the factions and organize the business community will find himself a powerhouse in local politics.
More interesting is yesterday’s revelation about Chula Vista’s liberal Democrat Mayor Steve Padilla. According to the Union Tribune Mayor Padilla "accumulated so much personal debt over 12 years in public office that he took paycheck advances from the city treasurer 10 times last year" and "twice he requested and received double advances." This is for an officials who gets the following compensation just from the government:
Salary: $98,445.62
Expense Account: $1,000 per month
Car Account: $1,000 per month
Per city redevelopment agency meeting: $30
Per city housing authority meeting: $50
Per month for Chula Vista Redevelopment Corporation service: $1,500
Per month for California Coastal Commission service: $400
Sounds like a tight budget for a single man. Oh, this is about 60 days after Padilla’s last public scandal, wherein he authorized the hiring of an armed bodyguard to chauffer him from place to place in a fully loaded SUV. After all, with Mayor after Mayor getting knocked off in Chula Vista, one can’t be too careful. Oh, and Padilla is up for election in June.
Chula Vista is an increasingly Republican city, which doesn’t help the scandal ridden, liberal Mayor. There are three contestants in the June election, the top two of which will face one another in a run-off if no candidate gets 50% + 1. The challengers are Republican Cheryl Cox, a local school board member and wife of Supervisor Greg Cox, and Republican Chula Vista City Councilman Steve Castaneda. Disclaimer: I’ve endorsed and support Cheryl Cox, who is a personal friend and who I think has the best shot of knocking Padilla out in the primary. MORE….