Jerry Sanders

Two articles that I'm confident drew reasonably little statewide attention caught my interest last week. One has a lesson in how difficult it is for all of us to change habits, especially when it comes to the incomprehensible (to me) desire to have green lawns in areas that are virtually deserts. The second raises real questions about how little oversight there is on the potential impact of proposals surrounding the state budget. Both are superficially about water, but really are about the need for changing how we do things.

San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders has declared victory in his race against challenger Steve Francis, avoiding a November runoff against the fellow Republican.

“We have been successful in overcoming one of the most deceptive and negative campaigns ever,” Sanders said at his campaign party, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.

With just over 50 percent of the votes counted, Sanders picks up 53.4 percent. Francis, a former businessman, trails with 35.9 percent.

To avoid a runoff, either candidate needed to meet a 50 percent threshold.

The heated San Diego mayoral primary rumbled to an end today, with voters in the city heading to the polls to choose between incumbent Jerry Sanders and his Republican challenger Steve Francis.

Polls conducted in the days leading up to the primary show Sanders, a former city police chief, in the low 40 percent range, with Francis, a wealthy businessman, receiving in the mid 30 percent range. Either candidate will need to win 50 percent of the votes to avoid a November runoff between the two.

Tom Shepard, Sanders's campaign manager, expressed confidence that the first term mayor was ahead and that there would not be a runoff.

"The only open question remains if we'll get over the 50 percent threshold," said Shepard. "We think we will."

San Diego mayoral candidate Steve Francis has won the endorsements of the Cement Masons Local 500/Area 744 and the International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers, Local #5. 

“We believe that Mr. Francis will make a difference for the working community of the City of San Diego," said Jamie Barton of the Cement Masons Local 500/Area 744.

"Steve will approach issues confronting labor and business with respect and fairness.  That's the kind of approach we need to create jobs and move San Diego forward," said Jim Watkins of the International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers, Local #5.

San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders is out with the first television advertisement in his reelection campaign, a hard hitting spot that aims to paint primary opponent and fellow Republican Steve Francis as a disingenuous political figure.

“The Steve Francis shell game,” an announcer says at the outset of the 30-second ad. “He promised conservatives he wouldn’t raise taxes, then promised massive new ones. Francis said he’d enforce tough immigration laws, then told Latinos just the opposite. Francis blamed unions fro city budget woes, but now cozies up to them for endorsements…We’ve had enough political shell games.”

San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders, facing a June 3 primary challenge from fellow Republican Steve Francis, has won the endorsement of the San Diego Union Tribune.

“The question for voters on June 3 is whether Sanders is making enough progress to merit a second term. The answer, in our view, is an unhesitating Yes,” the paper said.

The Union Tribune is the largest newspaper in the city, with a circulation of 296,000.

Sanders, who is a former chief in the San Diego Police Department, is running for his second term after entering the mayor’s office in 2005.

San Diego mayoral candidate Steve Francis is attempting to tie Republican incumbent Jerry Sanders to President Bush in a new mailer hitting San Diego mailboxes two weeks ahead of the June 3 primary.

“Why has the Republican Party endorsed Jerry Sanders for Mayor?” the mailer asks under a picture of Sanders sitting next to President Bush. The mailer then seeks to answer that question in a list, including: “Because Sanders has no plans to protect the environment and stop global warming,” “Because Sanders gives favors to fat cat developers at the expense of working families,” and “Because Sanders puts political cronies on the payroll instead of truly reforming City Hall.”

Sanders campaign manager Michael McSweeney hit back, accusing Francis, a registered Republican who is seeking to push Sanders to the right during a cycle in which the GOP brand is potentially poisonous, of being disingenuous.

San Diego mayoral candidate Steve FrancisSan Diego mayoral candidate Steve Francis, continuing an endorsement rollout, has won the backing of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 569.

“Steve Francis has convinced us that he has the leadership skills to stand up to developers and bring them to the table with local workers in order to create good, family sustaining jobs in construction and bring new union jobs in clean energy manufacturing to the City,” said Allen Suhr, the organization’s business manager.

In the last week Francis has secured endorsements from UNITE HERE, which represents hotel and food service workers, and the Sierra Club, an environmental group.

Francis, who ran a failed campaign for mayor in 2005, is running in a June 3 primary bid to unseat Republican incumbent Jerry Sanders.

A Wednesday evening debate between millionaire businessman Steve Francis and San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders ended with them actually shaking hands, compared to their previous debate in which the incumbent refused to offer that gesture.

The debate sponsored by the San Diego County Taxpayers Association and the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce followed a day of spin by the two men vying for City Hall's top spot, according to San Diego's Union-Tribune.

San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders plans to veto this week’s 5-3 vote by his city council to increase their salaries next year from about $93,500 to $130,000. San Diego’s Union-Tribune says the veto will be overridden by the council just by it maintaining the 5-3 majority pay hike decision.