voiceofsandiego.org: Letters... Sour Grapes It Is

Thursday, Sept. 11, 2008|Out of respect for our members and the candidates, the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council keeps discussions surrounding its endorsement process confidential in order to foster an open and candid dialogue between our members and the candidates. We keep those discussions confidential so that our members and the candidates can speak freely without having their words turned against them for someone else’s political gain during an election.

Having said that, the statements made to voiceofsandiego.org by Stephen Whitburn's campaign regarding the basis of the Labor Council’s decision to endorse Todd Gloria in the general election are false.

It is disappointing to see Stephen Whitburn and his campaign stoop to this disingenuous, sour-grapes attack.

After having flaunted the Labor Council’s co-endorsement in the primary for his own political advantage, and after having purported so publicly that he was the real pro-labor candidate in District 3, it is a shame that he would then turn around and use our 120,000 working families as collateral damage in his political hit against Todd Gloria.

Stephen Whitburn, time and again and in very public settings, told our members that he would be the candidate "who will carry their agenda and vote for them every time" -- which is exactly the attitude that Stephen Whitburn's campaign manager derided in your article.

The public is tired of politicians promising them the world and then turning on them just to score political points. Our workers deserve better.

Lorena Gonzalez is the secretary/treasurer and CEO of San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council

I'm glad someone said it. It blows my mind that candidates do everything they can in chasing an endorsement, only to attack that organization when they don't get their endorsement. Whitburn's actions in defeat only go to show me he isn't looking out for voters, but himself.

Posted by D3 Voter | reply to this comment
September 11, 2008 8:08 pm

Let's get something straight here... Whitburn isn't defeated - just desperate. That's the nature of politics.

Posted by Black Tom | reply to this comment
September 12, 2008 4:26 pm

Whitburn says labor dissed him because he wouldn't go along with their query regarding the political pick of council president. And yet here, Ms. Gonzalez says it's not true. OK, fine, then prove it's not true -- this letter does absolutely nothing of the sort. // What this letter says is that Whitburn said negative things about not getting a labor endorsement, which may be true, but that has nothing to do with why he was dissed in the first place.//What really interests me, though is this comment regarding the union that Ms. Gonzalez says Whitburn supported, but now derides: 'who will carry their agenda and vote for them every time.' What Whitburn meant was the membership's agenda not the leadership's special interests! DUH! Big difference.

Posted by Christopher Hall | reply to this comment
September 11, 2008 9:49 pm

Christopher, your warped logic appalls me. Whitburn's campaign levels an UNPROVEN charge against the Labor Council and Todd Gloria, then you demand that the labor council PROVE that its not true? When did you stop beating your wife Christopher? Prove it!

Posted by District 3 Resident | reply to this comment
September 12, 2008 11:01 am

My union does not make any decisions without direct intructions and input from the members. The leadership's voice always reflects the voice of the members. It bothers me when people fail to separate union leadership from union leaders. They work for us. Any decision they bring to he table is the decision of the members. In my union, a political donation is vetted through staff, a member committee and the executive board. Also, less that 10% of my union staff and time is devoted to politics. It is not very easy for special interests in infiltrate our leadership when most of the time they are dealing with worksite issues and negotiations.

Posted by Nico P. | reply to this comment
September 13, 2008 9:45 am

"The public is tired of politicians promising them the world and then turning on them just to score political points." Wake up, Ms. Gonazalez! With all the $$$ developers and city lobbyists are shoving towards Gloria, do you really think they're doing that because he's good on issues of concern to working people? Please! If Todd Gloria gets elected, the actual workers represented by the Labor Council will rue the day. Of course, by that time he'll have made sure his buddies who represent them on the council have plumb city appointments and/or staff positions, so THEY'LL be taken care of.

Posted by Nort Park Resident | reply to this comment
September 11, 2008 10:07 pm

You are right on-North Park resident. Lorena Gonzalez and her AFL-CIO represent theconstruction workers,so they really represent the developers and builders. The Firefighters want a councilman who will assure them their super duper pensions. The rest of working people just don't count. Just about every developer in San Diego has given to Todd Gloria. He is bought and paid for. So is Lorena.

Posted by Mel Shapiro | reply to this comment
September 12, 2008 9:17 am

Come on guys... If you were a developer and had to support one candidate, who would you support? The one who is losing? It's a fallacy to believe that because developers support Gloria that he will work only for their interests. If you have taken the time to meet and speak with Todd Gloria, you will know that he is not that kind of person. You guys appear to be more anti-union and anti-Ms. Gonzalez than anything else.

Posted by Black Tom | reply to this comment
September 12, 2008 4:33 pm

Thats the argument Todd keeps using to explain why he took sooo much money from developers including the pres of Manchester, but Stephen had a very decent showing and w/ Hartley giving him his endorsement, Stephen would actually be the likely winner. I mean it doesnt make sense that they wouldnt hedge their bets and throw all kinds of money to Stephen in case he wins. But they know Stephen will NEVER stand up and vote for them the way Todd already has on The Kensington Shopping Mall project. It tells you something that they think it would be a waste of money because Stephen's vote cannot be bought.

Posted by Christine | reply to this comment
September 13, 2008 1:02 pm

My one question: Whitburn eeked through the primary largely due to nearly $100,000 in funding he provided to grease his campaign. How does a public relations staffer for a non-profit pour that kind of money into a campaign? Where did that money come from? Did someone give money to Whitburn to give to his campaign? If so, who or what company? Like many candidates have to release their income tax statements, I would like Stephen Whitburn to tell the truth and divulge where he got that money to fund his campaign.

Posted by 2muchsense | reply to this comment
September 12, 2008 2:14 pm

Is this for real? A $100,000 loan to his campaign for a $70,000 job?!? Didn't I read something in the UT today about another candidate getting in trouble for a loan to their campaign. Where did this money come from? This sounds like something the Voice should look into.

Posted by Kensington Voter | reply to this comment
September 22, 2008 1:59 pm

Fortunately some in labor differed with Lorena on this and did the right thing!!!!!

Posted by Simon | reply to this comment
September 12, 2008 3:53 pm

First of all, shame on you Marco for stabbing your sister in the back in a public forum like this. Shame on voiceofsandiego.com for thinking your letter merits being front-page material. You said nothing important in your letter. Let's get the facts straight. Stephen Whitburn was interviewed, and when asked if he would support Donna Frye, he waffled on the question, making both sides question his credibility. He showed his weakness, and that is why Labor VOTED to support Gloria. Your sister didn't do it, Labor did it. Whare are so many idiots acting like Lorena is at fault? There was a vote, they decided, and she reported and backed them up. Is she supposed to put her own interests into this? No! And she didn't. Whitburn is showing desperation, as is Marco. Shame on you!

Posted by Black Tom | reply to this comment
September 12, 2008 8:25 pm

You two take it outside.

Posted by Ronald Truman | reply to this comment
September 12, 2008 8:32 pm

Lorena, the price of the endorsement was indeed betrayal of Donna Frye. Too many people were there to witness the event, and the story is already well known. You betrayed a true friend of working people just to score political points, and now you cry foul when he tells the truth about your bare knuckle tactics. You've become an organization of insiders who's votes are for sale. Whitburn and Frye will change that, and it makes you afraid. After the election, you'll probably lose your job over this.

Posted by Fred Williams | reply to this comment
September 12, 2008 5:19 am

It's funny that Lorena wrote the letter. She has had it out for Donna Frye. Many in city hall consider her to be "hell-bent" on doing everything she can to wipe out Frye. Gloria says yes to anything you ask him. He flip flops depending on who he is lying to. But what can you expect from a kid?

Posted by Freethinker | reply to this comment
September 12, 2008 5:48 am

Susan Davis is a fake democrat. She has proven herself to be a pay for play politician who will do anything for her rich developer and arms contractors whom largely make up her back door funding. Her child protege Gloria will be the same. Why vote for more of the same?

Posted by Freethinker | reply to this comment
September 12, 2008 6:11 am

Glad to see the Voice finally reported the Labor Council's strongarming ploy. Lorena, you're the worst. You, Peters, Hueso, Gloria, Atkins ... all of you: you need to change your party registration to Republican. Then your behavior will make sense. Stephen Whitburn is honest, sincere, hard-working, and knows a little about life beyond politics. The scariest thing about Gloria is his naive claim that he lives and breathes his political job 24/7 ("first thing I think of in the morning and last thing I think about at night"); he has never done anything else. He is a tool, an empty slate, ready to be used and defined by the people who write the checks to put him in office. He needs to leave the political cocoon, enter in the real world, get a real job, get some perspective.

Posted by Just Vote No | reply to this comment
September 12, 2008 7:57 am

As someone who supports most labor positions including a living wage, for the Labor Council to use whether or not you support Donna Frye as a litmus test for their political support is a disgrace. What is worse is the disingenuous vicious response by Lorena trying to deflect criticism by half-truths and yelling foul. No council member should sell their soul to Labor Council or the Chamber of Commerce. Todd Gloria has managed to do both. As a community activist, I want to see a council member in the 3rd District who has core values, will fight for communities and who does as he says. Shame on Lorena!

Posted by Ian Trowbridge | reply to this comment
September 12, 2008 8:17 am

This indicates the total obedience required for union support. That is what they got from Peters and what they expect from Hueso. The San Diego city unions not only want to run the City of San Diego, they want to run the whole San Diego and Imperial Counties labor movement. This is not about union jobs in general it is about the city unions maintaining political power at San Diego City Hall. It is time that ordinary working families recognized the difference. Donna Frye and Stephen Whitburn represent working families, Hueso and Gloria do not. They work for the bosses.

Posted by Pat Flannery | reply to this comment
September 12, 2008 9:06 am

Whitburn is desperate because he doesn't have another $90,000 in trust fund money to eek him through another election. Turning your back on working families is no way to win, Whitburn.

Posted by 2muchsense | reply to this comment
September 12, 2008 9:19 am

Any lobby -- whether Labor Council or Chamber of Commerce -- makes a huge tactical error by overstepping their bounds and demanding lock-step performance from any politician with whom they wish to work on issues. No candidate worth electing will agree to such slavishness. Lorena Gonzalez was once a pretty-good candidate herself and she should understand this. District 3 City Council candidate Stephen Whitburn definitely knows this and he blew the whistle on Labor's bald endorsement quid pro quo. Whitburn is by far the best candidate in the District 3 Council race and he deserves to win. I 'm sure Whitburn feels a deep commitment to those "working families" (whom Lorena always sanctimoniously invokes) and he will work on their behalf once elected to City Council. He just won't allow any special interest to call the shots once he's there.

Posted by Frances O'Neill Zimmerman | reply to this comment
September 12, 2008 2:59 pm

Nice try Bob. Stephen accepted their endorsement during the primaries BEFORE they interviewed him and asked if he would vote for Donna for president or THEIR choice. Stephen couldnt lie if he tried. He's not as smooth as your candidate w/ the lies. He is exactly what he says he is and he has the endorsements and the money or shall I say lack of money from special interests to back it up. He has enormous respect for Donna and decided it was more important to follow his conscience than to do something disingenuous like promise to vote for "their choice".

Posted by Christine | reply to this comment
September 13, 2008 12:54 pm

Where to begin? The Lorena Gonzales that I thought I knew (and respected) when she and I both ran for City Council in 2005 and the Lorena of now are two very different persons! The Lorena of 2005 did not hesitate to blast then-opponent Faulconer for his alleged ties to special interests, and why his election would be a bad thing. Now that she's running the Labor Council with her iron fist, she demonstrates that she's just as much of a thuggish, special interest, power-hungry tool as those she condemned in the name of the "working people." Please! Her behavior shows exactly why a lot of people think there shouldn't even be public sector unions, and how, in part, we got to the taxpayer-funded pension debacle that we are still dealing with, and will be for years. If Todd Gloria is wise, he will renounce the Labor Council endorsement.

Posted by Robert E. Lee | reply to this comment
September 12, 2008 10:04 am

Lorena is right on. This is just more dirty tactics from the Whitburn campaign. When you have no positive basis for your campaign (no experience, no ties to the community) you have to try to tear down your opponent. That Whitburn is trying to tear down a fellow democrat because of union support is laughable. The democratic party's strongest supporters have always been working union families. Trying to tarnish this support just shows how low Whitburn will stoop. I used to think Whitburn was a nice guy, but this just shows how ruthlessly he will discard progressive principles to score political points.

Posted by District 3 Resident | reply to this comment
September 12, 2008 10:50 am

First, "District 3 Resident," why are you hiding behind an alias? Please, have the courage of your convictions, be transparent, and let us know who you really are. But, you say, "...Whitburn is trying to tear down a fellow democrat...". Is Lorena Gonzalez's own, loving brother (see Marco Gonzalez's post above, which is designated as an 'Editor's Choice') "tearing down" Lorena, a fellow Democrat, too? Believe me, I have a sister, and I know siblings can strongly disagree, but "tear down"?

Posted by Robert E. Lee | reply to this comment
September 12, 2008 1:02 pm

Along the same lines Robert, do you think "Bob" could be Bob Nelson the PR guy who wrote a flimflam piece in support of Todd in the Voice before the primary?

Posted by ian Trowbridge | reply to this comment
September 12, 2008 5:15 pm

We support Stephen Whitburn, because he is for the power of the neighborhoods to determine their own destiny. A labor endorsement, or not, cannot change that. Continue to speak the truth Stephen! link

Posted by Brian T. Peterson, DVM | reply to this comment
September 12, 2008 1:43 pm

Whether labor endorsed them both in the beginning doesn't matter. I believe they supported all of the Democrats. Gloria doesn't even pass the "grease test", let alone the "smell test".

Posted by A real D3 voter | reply to this comment
September 12, 2008 2:45 pm

What is this comment about the "grease test"? The moment I read this comment I thought back to my dad telling me stories about being called a greaser when he was a kid. I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt, but make sure you elaborate next time you use the term. Todd is a good guy and I think he will do good things for the district. As for Donna Frye, I stopped trusting her when she started cozying up to Carl DeMaio. This man told fellow public servants and me that we do not deserve our pensions when we retire. He feels that a secure retirement is an old and outdated idea. His idea of good government is burdening his constituency with lower paying, outsourced jobs instead of established well paying and steady government jobs.

Posted by Nico P. | reply to this comment
September 13, 2008 9:21 am

At least one union did the right thing!

Posted by Dean | reply to this comment
September 12, 2008 6:00 pm

Her letter shows exactly why we need Stephen on the city council. We need people that aren't in the pockets of labor, developers, or any other special interest group. We need people who will look at each and every issue and really hear and consider what everyone has to say, not just the voices of the "chosen few". Vote for candidates that support neighborhoods. Vote for Stephen, Marti, and Sherri.

Posted by Linda J. Wilson | reply to this comment
September 12, 2008 5:25 pm

Residents of San Diego can contact the Fraud Hotline to report evidence of fraud, waste or abuse involving City of San Diego employees or operations. The Fraud Hotline will handle a variety of concerns including: Any intentional act or omission designed to deceive others, resulting in the victim (City of San Diego) suffering a loss and/or the perpetrator achieving a gain; the intentional or unintentional, thoughtless or careless expenditure, consumption, mismanagement, use, or squandering of City resources. Waste also includes incurring unnecessary costs because of inefficient or ineffective practices, systems, or controls; and the intentional destruction, diversion, manipulation, misapplication, maltreatment, or misuse of City resources and lastly, the extravagant or excessive use as to abuse one's position or authority. Abuse can occur in financial or non-financial settings. The hotline number is (866) 809-3500. This number is a third party who accepts anonymous reports.

Posted by So Do Something.... | reply to this comment
September 13, 2008 7:22 am

Dear Editors: I always thought reader comments were like "letters to the editor" in the olden days. But now we have your new annoying voice practice of highlighting and repeating selective posts and labeling them "Editor's Choice." Why not stop the charade and just do as the Union-Tribune does: eliminate everything you don't "choose" and run only your faves? If the goal is a free marketplace of ideas, I doubt you are unaware that this practice is both confusing and counter-productive.

Posted by Frances O'Neill Zimmerman | reply to this comment
September 14, 2008 11:09 am

They do that as well, and much more. Those who have control over a forum - control the forum. City-Public interaction, in a classroom, or in print on a blog; the control rest in the hands that have control over the rights of expression/inspectio This could be why we had such little real warning was given to our current crisis in the global creditist economy. This may be why our educational/economic systems still has some many groups so clearly under-represented. All public forums are controlled and directed by someone – it is just a case if those someone’s intend to present the voice of the majority of the people or the voice of those enjoying the lion’s share of power, wealth, and influence in our shared environment.

Posted by Gregory | reply to this comment
September 15, 2008 10:36 am

Sour Grapes It Is

By Lorena Gonzalez, San Diego