[Yesterday, California State Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher, a longtime friend mine, before there was a FlashReport, officially declared his candidacy for Mayor… Below is a column is has penned for FlashReport readers on his candidacy, as well as a video with excerpts from his announcement speech – Flash]

A New Generation Of Leadership For San Diego By Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher

Yesterday I launched my campaign to be the next mayor of San Diego. I am running for mayor because despite the challenges our city faces, I see a bright future for San Diego, an amazing potential, and I want to lead us on that path.

I have experience working in difficult environments. I spent a decade in the United States Marine Corps, a time I will always treasure. I worked in counter-intelligence, in counter-terrorism, as a team leader on the front lines of the global war on terror. I was responsible for the lives of my men, making life-and-death decisions, at times under direct enemy fire.

Those experiences lend… Read More

[We are pleased to offer this guest commentary from Republican San Diego County Congressman Brian Bilbray – Flash]

Dream Act A Nightmare For Taxpayers By Congressman Brian Bilbray

Those of us who serve the American people should support policies that serve the American people first. It is in that spirit that Maryland delegate Neil Parrott is leading the effort to block his state’s recently passed Dream Act that would give illegal aliens the right of in-state tuition and become eligible for tax payer supported financial aid. Unfortunately, Maryland isn’t the only state to consider similar legislation after Congress rejected the measure last December. Yesterday California’s Assembly approved AB 131 which puts California students in direct competition with illegal immigrants for already limited financial aid opportunities, further encourages illegal immigration, and rewards illegal behavior with tax dollars. This legislation would be a… Read More

[As part of the beginning of our comprehensive coverage of the race for Mayor of San Diego, we are pleased to present this thoughtful analysis piece penned by Ryan Purdy. Mr. Purdy was asked to do an analysis of the San Diego Mayor’s race prior to his employment with a consulting firm engaged with one of the candidates, Carl DeMaio. Our review of the article finds it to be fair and critical analysis of the candidates and prospects for the race – Flash]

The Ultimate Mayoral Showdown By Ryan Purdy For San Diego politicos it has been a long winter (and spring) since the excitement of the November 2010 election. The excitement resumed this past weekend.

Potential mayoral candidates in the City of San Diego are rapidly becoming less coy about their plans to run, as they can now start raising money, with Sunday marking one year before the June 5, 2012 primary election. With the safe assumption that no candidate will crack 50 percent in a wide open primary, the two biggest vote-getters… Read More

FlashReport is pleased to have as a local online media partner in San Diego County the well regarded San Diego Rostra. With their permission, we are pleased to reprint this column that ran from one of their contributors, longtime FR friend Erica Holloway. It is an in depth first-blush analysis of the race for San Diego Mayor, looking at the GOP candidates, with a particular focus on media and social networking. I hope that you enjoy reading it as much as I did – Flash

The Root of All Money By Erica Holloway

Ayn Rand once asked: “So you think money is the root of all evil. Have you ever asked what is the root of all money?”

Candidates now seek out that answer for the next 12 months in the hopes of being San Diego’s next mayor.

Primary races boil down to two very basic… Read More

The State of California is currently sitting on billions of dollars of uncollected debt that could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars on private debt markets. Rather than raise taxes on the hardworking people of California, state leaders should sell off debt to raise the cash we need—just like private businesses do.

Selling aging debt is a common practice in the private sector and has also been used successfully by many local governments. Selling debt makes a lot more sense than selling buildings you have to turn around and lease back.

The sale of these assets could provide much-needed one-time cash. Combined with rising revenues, these dollars could help protect priority programs and eliminate the perceived need to impose higher taxes on struggling Californians.

Today I called upon the Governor and legislative leaders urging them to consider such a sale in their ongoing budget negotiations.

Below is the text of my letter.

—-

June 6, 2011

Dear Governor Brown and Legislative Leaders:

I am writing to suggest monetizing a portion of the billions of dollars in debt owed the State of California as a possible… Read More

– Governor Jerry Brown is 100% correct. OK, I had better qualify that. On the issue of actually abolishing redevelopment agencies in California, the Governor and I agree. RDAs aren’t in need of reform, they are poor public policy by their very nature. Clearing aside the plethora of examples of abuse that are rampant with RDAs, at their core they represent a gross manipulation of the free market, and put local politicians in position of choosing winners and losers.

– The starting gun is officially fired in the race for Mayor of San Diego. Up to this point, people have talked about it, but San Diego City Elections Code prohibits fundraising for the office until one year out – which was yesterday. Of course the normal campaign finance reporting period ends at the end of the month — which creates a fun-to-watch (and expensive if you are a donor) fundraising-palooza for June. San Diego City Councilman Carl DeMaio made his bid official yesterday, and Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher announces his candidacy today.

– Does it seem odd to you that an… Read More

[Yesterday, Republican San Diego City Councilmember Carl DeMaio, whom we have highlighted many times on this page for his leadership in fighting for real, meaningful public employee pension reform, officially declared his candidacy for Mayor… Below is a column is has penned for FlashReport readers on his candidacy… – Flash]

The Reform Movement in San Diego and My Campaign for Mayor by Carl DeMaio

In many ways, the City of San Diego is a lot like the State of California as a whole – both face a massive financial crisis, Party registration and socio-economic demographics are virtually identical, and both have been controlled by a strong Democrat-majority in the legislature backed by special interest lobbyists and organized labor.

But there is one key difference: In San Diego, there is a clear and specific reform movement underway that is producing solid results. We are also poised to make significant gains in the 2012 election – meaning even more reforms are on the way.

Last November I released the Roadmap to Recovery, an 80-page,… Read More

The time to vote on the budget is coming up, and the drumbeat for Republicans to vote for taxes is getting louder. We cannot, Republicans are told, balance this budget without a “balanced” approach (a euphemism for increasing taxes). I find the word “balanced” somewhat amusing, because when revenues were pouring in, there was not balance between spending increases and tax rate reductions. Nope, it is just spend and spend, and then when we run out of money, it’s “oops, now we need tax rate increases.” That, of course, is the Democrats concept of “balance.”

That being said, lest any Republicans be tempted to take the tax rate increase road, let me tell a story. If there is any problem with term limits, it is that these stories get lost in the perennial turnover of personnel, and history gets revised by the ruling class, while the lessons of the past are lost in the memories of legislators long gone from the political scene.

My first year in the Legislature was an interesting one. We were the first class to get elected knowing we were subject to term limits, and there were a number of legislative… Read More