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Me: Marti's RunningPublished: Tuesday, July 24, 2007 9:40 AM PDT Several people, me included, were upset last week that Marti Emerald, the 10News television reporter and apparent candidate for City Council District 7, didn't respond to reader's comments and questions when she hosted the Café. I asked her about it. The whole point of having her on the Café was to have her deal with the many questions people have about whether she'd run for office, how long she'd remain as a journalist while she goes through this process of deciding and what her positions were on certain issues. After all, like this letter to the editor she sent the other day, she's actively getting involved in the debates of the district. She's appearing at events and writing some very political things. In her letter, which she followed with several comments in the reader feedback, she talked about the benefits of community planning organizations: These mid-city communities have good reason to create community planning groups. This may be the only way they can prevent developers from plowing them under to building the cookie cutter condos that are rising throughout San Diego. In the comments section under her letter, she promised readers some more observations: scott lewis has invited me to share thoughts in the "café"....look for my posts there in the weeks ahead. I wondered what happened. When she did get on the Café she put up one post and decided not to respond to any of the 40 or so comments she received that day. I have to tell you I'm intrigued and inspired by all of it: the conversations, the columns, the blogs and the kvetching ... the civil and not so civil discourse. That sounds like something a candidate would write. So why didn't she respond to the many reader comments she got? She said she's experiencing severe back pain for which she'll have to have surgery in coming days. She also said she didn't think it was appropriate for her to talk about her positions on political issues or to answer the questions that came up about that. It would be premature and presumptuous for me to answer questions about what my positions are unless and until I decide to run. But I will promise you this. If I do run, I will spell out my platform so that everyone will understand it. There will be no hidden agendas. I will always put the public’s interest first. I will not engage in behind-closed-door deals which has historically been the hallmark of this city’s government. It’s the only way I know of doing business. That also certainly sounds like something a candidate would say. Emerald acknowledged that she was meeting with political consultants -- people she might hire to run her campaign. But when I asked if she had made any commitments to anyone to run, she said she "didn't want to get into that," with me. Emerald said she didn't like the tone of some of the comments to her blog and she didn't think it would be productive to get into it with them. Combined with the pain in her back, she decided to pass on responding to them. That's fair. Not all Café hosts live up to expectations. Some exceed my expectations. But I find it odd that she'll act very political sometimes and then claims she can't or won't talk about politics because she's not a candidate. It appears she's actively encouraging people to think of her as a candidate for office but at the same time trying to maintain the status and independent credibility that comes with being a journalist. That's actually a good political strategy. You get to build up all this tension about whether you're running or not. Then you make a dramatic announcement. And you keep your current job while building support for the campaign. So let's burst the bubble. Marti Emerald is quite clearly running for office. If she doesn’t, I'll run through the city's Civic Center Plaza wearing a Scooby-Doo costume. -- SCOTT LEWIS
22 Comments so far on this story...
Marti Emerald for city council--who cares? What's next--Turko for mayor? If Marti didn't want to answer questions she shouldn't have decided to blog on Cafe. Frankly, I see what she is doing as far more inappropriate than what Mirthala Salinas did in having an affair with the Mayor of LA while sorta covering him. Marti investigates groups and in doing so has far more discretion than a typical reporter. What she is doing is wrong. Living up to the slop moniker again, eh? But Scott, while I like Marti and like the Café, the two did not work well together that day. No one said she has to respond to the negatives. Indeed there were plenty of positives and some comments that had nothing to do with potential candidate questions. Talk about TV journalism and investigations. Start a discussion about something, anything… but don’t sign up and then put up one somewhat meaningless post, and waste a day of this resource. She did herself a disservice, and VoSD ought to establish minimum guidelines required of its Café hosts to keep the forum useful and productive. Scott, you're going to have to be more imaginative and outrageous than a Scooby Doo costume to attract any attention. Remember, this is downtown you're talking about. lol! I've seen much, much worse (or would it be 'better', actually?) in my years working downtown... How about if Scott runs on all fours? Steve K....I say go Marti and yes, Turko would be much better than what we have now....look at the Sunroad fiasco! Robert E. Lee, I think that even though you've seen worse downtown we should still hold him to his statement if Marti doesn't run. Scooby Doo running through downtown. That would be quite funny. No: He should streak in a birthday suit. And if Marti does run, as now predicted, perhaps Mr. Lewis will like a Scooby Snack for the good call. Actually, if you were to add fire hydrants into the mix... I sure hope that Emerald isn't limiting the discussion with Voice voters because some campaign consultant is already orchestrating her interactions. That isn't a good start. That is more of the same, Madaffer like, thing. How is Emerald going help solve the city's financial issues? Double talk, or I'll get back to you, will not fly in the next election. The "Trouble Shooter" should become the "Straight Shooter"-----real soon, otherwise, she should put the brakes on her "I'm kind of in" closet campaign. Please let us know in advance when you run through the city's Civic Center Plaza wearing a Scooby-Doo costume. How about Rod Luck or Kathi Diamant?!! Turko and Marti- San Diegans for Change! Oy Vey. Marti better get used to some negative if she is going to run for Council. Hasn't every member of the Council been called corrupt or inept at least once? This is the Wild West, not Little House on the Prairie. Charles Landon can't help you now, Marti. This is Chuck Norris territory. Maybe Jack Burton can save you if you have Green eyes. In other words, True Integrity is what San Diegans are starving for. A Hero- someone better than ourselves and beyond reproach. And no, no garden parties and heirs of false civility. Grit, compassion, endurance, stability- a few of our favorite things. Scooby, what kind plastic teaspoon sized scoop was that? Your bloggers should get to vote on whether you get to appear as the more appealing cartoon or the flop movie. Can you run in CG? Maybe she is waiting to see if her contract is renewed or not at KGTV. I hear the staff is being picked off one by one over there. It's expensive to run for office so those who are smart must weigh out that decision very carefully. Marti has a career already that she could continue to pursue. I imagine decided if you want to throw your hat in the political ring is a touch choice. You have to look at your opposition to see if you have a chance, etc. I thought her talk about her family was pretty honest. It sounds like she is on the fence and won't say what she's doing until she makes a firm decision. Sounds smart to me. What's the problem? You think giving her the Cafe for the day she was supposed to tell us all her plans? That's just silly. And really, until the candidates do make their own decision, I don't care about all the supposition. Yes, Ian, you'd like that -- a lot. Wouldn't you? What is the Edgar saying? Is he stepping over the line? Voice ethics inspectors should be onto this. The question I have is why is Scott Lewis pounding on Marti Emerald, a proven "good guy" in the community, who has spent over 20 years in San Diego going after those people who have been stealing money from the public and harming the most vulnerable citizens with schemes to defraud them. His premature attacks on her while she tries to decide what to do while preparing for imminent back surgery on Monday,taking care of her family and juggling a very demanding job raise some questions. Scott,as a journalist don't you have better things to write about in this screwed up city than whether Marti is going to run. The Cafe piece on Marti sounds more like a Rush Limbaugh piece in the National Enquirer.Until she decides to run she's fair game but until then I suggest you try more important issues. The better questions to ask about whether Emerald runs is who's behind her? My guess is that her old employers are very interested in having a perfect link between city government and their news outlet. This may be interesting; what better way to know what goes on at City Hall than to have one of your own on the Council? If mega corporations and local developers can do it, why can't the Tube News Crews? Bet ol' Mike Tuck is blowing steam through his coiffed, dyed hair right now at the very thought. PS: Anyone remember when SD's owners wanted to run TV8 quidnunc Dick Carlson against Rajneesh Hugecock? Stranger things have almost happened... Reader feedback
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