Mr. Murphy

In Re: Carlsbad

By Mr. Murphy | 03/14/07

So the Carlsbad City Council is split over who to appoint to fill resigned councilwoman Sigafoose's seat. On one side is Mayor Lewis and Councilwoman Kulchin, who would like to bring former Councilwoman Nygaard back from well-deserved retirement. On the other side for certain is Councilman Packard, who supports Republican Planning Commissioner Jeff Segall. Councilman Hall says he needs more time to review the applicants but there is some belief,... read more »

Todays News: Emerald & District 7

By Mr. Murphy | 03/12/07

This morning's report by the Voice of San Diego "Prospects of Candidacy Leave Reporter in a Pickle" (see below) make some interesting points worth repeating and commenting on. First, to liberal Democrat reporter Marti Emerald. It's interesting that the 'consumer advocate' is clearly hedging on when she would have to quit her position in order to run for public office. She notes that she does not "see a conflict of interest unless... read more »

Slaying the Dragon

By Mr. Murphy | 03/05/07

So liberal Democrat San Diego City Attorney Mike Aguirre thought he was going to waltz to re-election by smashing Democrat Councilman Scott Peters. And make no mistake, smash him he would. No member of the City Council could take Aguirre on and come out on top. Many folks hate Aguirre, but the truth is only he, Mayor Sanders, Councilman Faulconer, and sometimes Councilwoman Frye have defined themselves as reformers. Mr. Murphy is no fan of... read more »

The Regional Chamber of Commerce

By Mr. Murphy | 03/04/07

It's no big secret in San Diego that the Regional Chamber of Commerce has hardly been a factor in most aspects of local or regional politics for a number of years. Readers may find this hard to believe, but the Chamber doesn't spend money in local political campaigns. And while they do endorse issues on the ballot, their most common means of participation in the system is to write op-eds and position papers and to fax around 'vote... read more »

Airport Authority

By Mr. Murphy | 03/02/07

So you say Mr. Murphy never met a Democrat he thinks is right? Wrong. Kudos to State Senator Christine Kehoe for submitting a bill to finally starting the process of getting rid of the Airport Authority. I'm looking forward to reporting which San Diego legislators vote for or against it. Off the cuff I'd think Assemblyman George Plescia, who has been against the Authority for years, would be leading the charge in Sacramento's other house. The... read more »

The Cost of Democracy

By Mr. Murphy | 02/27/07

It's no surprise that the Carlsbad City Council is going to appoint a member to replace Norine Sigafoose, who resigned a couple days ago because of health problems, rather than call an election. The humorous aspect of this is that the council, various members of which were interviewed in the North County Times today, are acting like they are going to base their appointment decision on an eight minute public statement aspirants are allowed.... read more »

Sunday at the Pub

By Mr. Murphy | 02/25/07

Posting straight from the pub... Last week I wrote that there was some talk of Assemblywoman Lori Saldana challenging Supervisor Greg Cox, who is up for election in 2008. This drew a few emails noting that former Assemblyman Juan Vargas (former Chairman of the Assembly Insurance Committee and current employee of the insurance industry) is also considering a run. General consensus around the pub table is while either Democrat could make the race... read more »

Rural Fire Protection Proposal

By Mr. Murphy | 02/24/07

Recently local papers carried various stories that Supervisor Dianne Jacob has a proposal to consolidate 35 fire agencies in unincorporated areas, and to fund the "$4.5 million to $48 million" by shifting local property tax monies from education to fire protection. This proposal appears doomed to fail for a number of reasons. First, the legislature would have to approve the plan. This seems unlikely at best, since local education... read more »

Sunday at the Pub

By Mr. Murphy | 02/19/07

A few bits of gossip heard over the weekend at the pub... The 76th Assembly District's Lori Saldana is un-satisfied with her job, and would like to return to San Diego to run for County Supervisor (Cox is up in 2008) or San Diego Council (Falconer is up in 2010). One thought by someone I respect - does Saldana think redistricting will pass and make seats more competitive? It's hard to believe she could survive a race in a more balanced... read more »

Republican Party Leadership

By Mr. Murphy | 02/14/07

I've watched GOP Party leadership battles for decades. Most of the fights over the Chairman's position for the last twenty years or so were fairly meaningless, since the personalities involved and the laws had in practice neutered the local Party. But this time, the leadership matters. But with the Republican Party the single biggest spender in local elections, and in command of the only even mildly effective ground game in the county, it is... read more »