Wistful for Whitburn

By Linda J. Wilson, Birdland

Whitburn is showing leadership on the most important San Diego issues. For too long, District 3 has been ignored by the downtown insiders. Stephen Whitburn has called on the dissolution of disgraced CCDC and SEDC. Anyone who thinks a little tinkering will fix our serious problems are probably being paid by developers, just like Gloria...the rest of us know we're being ignored in this city. We've had enough of the back room deals and want Whitburn on the city council for a real change.

Posted by Fred Williams | reply to this comment
September 23, 2008 1:49 pm

I do not understand why Mr. Whitburn would want to be in the same room as most of the people on our city council, much less have to associate with them. Frankly - it makes my skin craw to be in the same room as all but one of the people now sitting on our city council. I think they should start to understand that they took a JOB to work for the majority of the people in their districts, that or they should resign in shame and allow people who truly care about the working families in San Diego to have their jobs. I cannot believe this is the best we can do, surely, they can do a better job than we have been seeing done over these last five years.

Posted by Iknowtodd | reply to this comment
September 23, 2008 2:44 pm

Isn't it ironic that the so-called "reform" candidates are the ones backed by establishment interests? I can't speak for the candidates in other districts, but District 1 is graced by the candidacy of Sherri Lightner. Her attendance of planning groups throughout the district and grasp of details as well as the big picture proves that she actually cares for the people she would like to represent--in contrast to the likes of her opponent who seems to care only about joining the downtown good-ol'-boy club.

Posted by boomerite | reply to this comment
September 23, 2008 2:48 pm

Ms Lightner may 'grace" the D1 race with her candidacy but for everyone East of La Jolla Shores its Thalheimer who truly represents them. The hundred thousand+of those folks deserve to be heard downtown as well as the elite of La Jolla Shores. There's no doubt that the nice lady has recently been in attendance at community group meetings,however, when compared to Thalheimer's 20 years of active community service, when not campaigning, the gentle-lady's recent concern for things other than Camino del Oro appear a bit contrived and mercenary,imho. The location of her campaign HQ in D6 also leaves one wondering just how appropriate her thinking.The remark that Thalheimer is a candidate for the "Old boys Club" Downtown is laughable given his participation in the denoument of the DPC which was the first of the scandal dominoes to fall. Whistleblowers are never recruited into malefactory gangs. Thalheimer is the reformer.

Posted by Yankee Gent | reply to this comment
September 24, 2008 6:27 am

Oh, that's right! Everyone downtown is still shaking in their boots about DPC! That's why the developers, the Realtor's Association, the parking companies, and the Lincoln Club have been lining up to fill his campaign coffers. That's why he has Jerry Sanders stumping for him at campaign fundraisers. That's why the mailing address for his campaign office is downtown San Diego. Maybe that's also why he has changed his position on such issues as paid beach parking and the Regent's Road bridge and refused to sign on as supporting the Stop5Noise initiative. I dare say that hobnobbing with powerful business interests to curry their favor is more "mercenary" than suggesting that the voices of community groups should carry greater weight at City Hall.

Posted by boomerite | reply to this comment
September 24, 2008 3:48 pm

Not to rain on your rant Boomerite but Mayor Sanders has been elected and re-elected with the highest pluralities in City history and many of those votes came from union members who see developers as revenue generators that help them pay mortgages and college tuitions.In your world developers maybe the incarnate devils of myth but around here they're called EMPLOYERS and we need more of them.A few blocks beyond the immediate neighborhood of the proposed Regent's Road bridge are thousands of homes that need that bridge for emergency public services.The response times being Federal guidelines not determined by the NIMBY's at the Canyon edge but set for the benefit of us all. Fire, Police, medics, you know: public safety over private interest. The only favors Thalheimer has curried lately has been those Veteran's that wanted Mt Soledad preserved and families that wanted Jessica's law to protect their kids.

Posted by Yankee Gent | reply to this comment
September 24, 2008 7:32 pm

Yankee Gent you don't seem to know the history of Data Processing. Phil had nothing to do with uncovering the malfeasance by the top management and Board. In fact, Channel 8 and I did the investigation that led to the resignation of CEO Roger Talamantez and the replacement of most managers and most Board members of SDDPC. Unless you have other examples of Phil as an activist/whistleblow and I know of none, labeling him as a reformer with a record is election hyperbole with no basis in fact.

Posted by Ian Trowbridge | reply to this comment
September 25, 2008 9:32 am

Speaking of back room deals, I have still yet to hear where Whitburn got the $100,000 he leant to his campaign. How does a former nonprofit PR guy get 100K? Sounds a lot like the shenanigans that took place with the SEDC. Whitburn may have only arrived in San Diego a couple years ago, but he has quickly adopted our tainted approach to politics. If you want more of the same in San Diego vote for Whitburn.

Posted by kensington | reply to this comment
September 23, 2008 4:09 pm

FYI, everybody pretty much just arrived in San Diego "a couple years ago," and Stephen Whitburn has a lot of company there. The issue is: what kind of maturity, experience and values does the candidate bring to the community. Who will he/she represent once in elected office? You can pretend forever that all the developer money going to Todd Gloria means he will represent the people, but that doesn't make it true. Steve Whitburn will make a superb City Council member. In November, vote for Stepehn Whitburn for City Council from District 3.

Posted by Frances O'Neill Zimmerman | reply to this comment
September 24, 2008 10:00 am

As a Native San Diegan, I couldn't agree more. Although "us natives" like to flaunt our vaunted status as much as the next fellow "born here, done that," I tire of the rhetoric being used by the Gloria campaign in regards to his being a card-carrier like myself. As much as I'd like to think that being a true native actually means you have the people's best interests at heart, that's a ridiculous notion to run with - and to use it against an opponent because they landed in Oz "only a few years ago" paints an unfair and uncalled for picture. So what? $$? The next time I see Whitburn and Gloria at one of the many debates set up around town, I'll simply ask Whitburn myself where he got his seed money, as that seems to be such a mysterious big deal to people.

Posted by Scott Kovacik | reply to this comment
September 24, 2008 1:01 pm

Just like Yankee gentleman, you need to get your facts straight. Stephen Whitburn has lived in San Diego for eight years and that is about as long as Todd Gloria has held down a job. So his residency is really a non-issue. Whitburn's life experience living in several communities and as an observer of politics in those cities give him a much broader perspective than Gloria. Instead of trying to personalize the District 3 race there are sufficient policy differences between Whitburn and Gloria for voters to have a clear choice in the upcoming election.

Posted by Ian Trowbridge | reply to this comment
September 25, 2008 9:48 am

Just like Yankee gentleman, you need to get your facts straight. Stephen Whitburn has lived in San Diego for eight years and that is about as long as Todd Gloria has held down a job. So his residency is really a non-issue. Whitburn's life experience living in several communities and as an observer of politics in those cities give him a much broader perspective than Gloria. Instead of trying to personalize the District 3 race there are sufficient policy differences between Whitburn and Gloria for voters to have a clear choice in the upcoming election.

Posted by Ian Trowbridge | reply to this comment
September 25, 2008 9:48 am

I can help clear up the big mystery about Stephen Whitburn's $$$. Sorry to disappoint those of you who are hoping for a big scandal to erupt. Stephen got his money by working hard, living modestly, and saving aggressively for almost 20 years. Talk about having a proven track record! Vote for fiscal responsibility and vote for giving control of the neighborhoods out of the hands of developers and back to the people. Vote for Stephen. San Diego needs him now more than ever!

Posted by Linda J. Wilson | reply to this comment
September 25, 2008 8:06 am

Late in 03, Phil Thalheimer, in association with Mr Trowbridge did participate in a series of press briefings that revealed through Channel 8's Phil Bauer, the U-T and other media that the DPC Chair at the time Roger Talamandez was practicing questionable activities which could not be addressed within the context of the DPC Board "business as usual" proceedings.The allegations brought forth by Mr Thalheimer and his associates included the Chairman directing DPC to Viador, a company whose stock he owned. Another charge, later substantiated by finders of fact, indicated that the Chair was using his DPC credit card for unauthorized purchases and entainments for both himself and others of his associates on the Board .In January 04 Talamantez resigned and all the allegations were substantiated. To the surprize of no one familiar with the culture of "no good turn goes unpunished" in San Diego, Thalheimer was let go.

Posted by Yankee Gent | reply to this comment
September 25, 2008 12:44 pm

Just to end this debate, the real investigation was done by David Gotfredson, an investigative producer at Channel 8 and me - Phil Bauer was reported our findings on camera. We spent Christmas of 2003 and the New Year putting together the different pieces of the story we each had on DCB and especially Talamantez. KFMB ran their first story in early January and within days Talamantez resigned. The amusing thing is that Dick Murphy also claimed credit for the ouster of the DCP CEO after years of ignoring the problem. Talamantez, Madaffer and others were involved in other more serious malfeasance that DA Dumanis refused to investigate for political reasons.

Posted by Ian Trowbridge | reply to this comment
September 29, 2008 10:06 pm

I concur with the good Mr Trowbridge's final points on this story. Most of us only saw Bauer breaking the story on camera, though I think it fair to say that Producer Godfreson had more than one source and Thalheimer was one. He did appear on camera. I would like to add that some of the 'whistleblower" individuals involved credit Madaffer with their terminations from any future involvment in DPC once the story was made public. Once again as I've pointed out, "no good turn in SD goes un-punished" and that "mad-dog" leopard has not changed his spots, i.e:Grantville, et al. The prospects of him taking over the "re-development"agen is frightening. My compliments to Mr Trowbridge on all the investigative work. Finally, although I appreciate his loyalty to Ms Lightner I do beleive he's more of a Thalheimer reformer than a member of the La Jollan caste.

Posted by Yankee Gent | reply to this comment
September 30, 2008 6:07 am

I was disapointed in not hearing from Mr. Gloria during the primary campaign. It appears that some folks are either too busy and/or too important to return phone calls. I am always saddened by so-called politicians who develope some sort of elitist view in regard to their self importance. My dearest father may have been a Polish Peasant but coressponded with the president of Egypt--Abul Nasseur...I doubt that Mr. Gloria will ever attain the stature of my father. Daniel J. Smiechowski

Posted by Daniel J. Smiechowski | reply to this comment
September 25, 2008 5:50 pm

Todd Gloria is a native San Diegan who's lived his life in the district. Gloria has received 1,000's of individual contributions to support his race. Stephen Whitburn is a carpetbagger from back east. Whitburn has greased his campaign with over $100,000 from a private trust, with no explanation. Todd Gloria is homegrown and home-supported, while Stephen Whitburn is a carpetbagger trying to steal the council seat.

Posted by 2muchsense | reply to this comment
September 26, 2008 4:00 pm

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