I left typhoon wifey up a little too long. I'm going to stop apologizing for not posting as much to this blog as I'd like. Just know I'm doing the best I can and I appreciate your readership.
But speaking of the San Diego-based USS Nimitz, on which my wife has been floating for a few months now, it's making some news in India. Here's the latest.
The Chronicle is still digging into San Diego's own Ron Nehring for hiring that Australian to manage the California Republican Party.
City Attorney Mike Aguirre says he's won a battle in the great pension war with this. Also, on an unrelated note, I'm getting word that the city attorney has decided to shut down his public integrity unit. I'll try to confirm and then begin lamenting the beginning of the end of the Ethics Orgy at City Hall.
And, finally, a quick retrospective. Here's Mayor Jerry Sanders' spokesman Fred Sainz on May 13 in the first half of the excellent two-part seriesU-T reporter David Hasemyer wrote about the controversy surrounding the office tower Sunroad Enterprises constructed:
[W]hen Aguirre filed a lawsuit to force Sunroad to remove the top two floors of the partially completed building, the Mayor's Office condemned his action, saying another solution could have been found.
"We don't think it sends a positive message to the development community," Fred Sainz, the mayor's spokesman, told the Union-Tribune.
Then, six weeks later in the fantastic story Will Carlesswrote about the physical challenge of taking two stories off the controversial office tower, Sainz was again quoted. Not only had the mayor, by this time, become a fan of Aguirre's lawsuit. But Sainz had a new way of communicating the passion for it.
When asked about the engineering challenge Sunroad faced he said this:
Sainz said the mayor has no real interest in how Sunroad goes about lowering its building or the problems the company faces in doing so.
"I suggest that they start taking the chainsaw and the blowtorch to it," Sainz said.
Not so worried about the message being sent to the development community anymore.
And you expected more from "Slick Freddy" Sainz? He should begin his response to every question with "What do you want to hear . . ." and take it from there. If Sainz and his crowd ever told the truth, snow would be falling in July in San Diego. He and the mayor have taken more positions on Sunroad than there are moveable parts on a Rubik's Cube.
Ohh Fred, poor Fred. I have some pitty for the guy. It must be hard to not be full of BS when you are in the position of having to comment on nearly every issuing facing the city. However, maybe that is the point. Would the Mayor and Fred be in this situation but for their notorious "one city, one voice" policy?
Pity poor Mr. Saintz. It must be hard working for someone who first takes direction from local developers then changes his tune every time the polls and growing media exposure show he's on the wrong side of an issue. Some day San Diego will elect a real mayor with personal ethics they will stick to. But I'm not holding my breath waiting for that to happen.
I am just glad Col. Sanders saw the light and put an end to the Sunroad mess. I still think it is going to cost him his re election. I think Sunroad, and Sanders initial position doomed his future. Lesson learned.
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Scott Lewis on Politics
The Scott Lewis on Politics blog, abbreviated cleverly as SLOP, is a collection of observations, insights and the occasional scoop on public affairs in San Diego. Please feel free to e-mail Scott at scott.lewis@voiceofsandiego.org.
Listen to voiceofsandiego.org's radio program on AM 600 KOGO: Latest Episode (November 8): Scott Lewis and Michael Zucchet talk about the city's budget
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