How'd You Get on This Story?

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Reader RD has a whole series of questions on the George Gorton profile. I'm going to take them one at a time and my colleague Kelly Bennett's handling one of them separately in an upcoming post.

who are the other people in the photo with Nixon? College Republicans? I love the dress, the hair and the shoes on the blonde.

Great question. I admittedly didn't take great notes when Gorton was explaining this to me (and he didn't remember everyone), so I'm going to see if he can answer the question. But he goes off the grid for a while so I can't guarantee an answer anytime soon.

I do know that the blonde with the hair, dress and shoes that you love is Tricia Nixon Cox, the president's oldest daughter. She's the first one on the left, seated closest to the camera. On the opposite side, first on the right, is her husband, Edward Cox.

and... how'd Kelly get Susan Golding to talk? I thought she was pretty much incommunicado these days.

Good old-fashioned persistence. I got her number from a source a long time ago but never really had any reason to use it. Kelly then just plugged away, calling her over and over and over again until she sat down and met with her for at least an hour or so.

"I think I left 25 messages for her," Kelly said when I asked her about it.

does Kelly have theories about why he's such a lady magnet? I'll bet some readers would like to know :) ... he's seriously been monogamous all these years? Hard to believe.

Kelly dealt with this question in the previous post here.

and... this may be answered in the stories... how'd you get on this story? what intrigued you two about this guy? how did you gain his trust?

I was hoping someone would ask this one. Sometime in January or February our colleague Scott Lewis came back from having coffee with a source (note for all you young journalists out there, going to coffee with sources one of the top three things you can do in your life) and said he'd just heard the most amazing story.

He was quite animated in telling us Gorton's tale about Parkinson's and the possible poisoning in Russia. It sounded amazing.

I knew Gorton, but not very well. I'd first heard of him when he returned to San Diego politics in 2005 to do Steve Francis' campaign for mayor. At the time, a mutual acquaintance sent me a link to the movie "Spinning Boris" so that I had an idea of the guy's background.

I also happened to bump into him at my wife's work Christmas party at the end of last year. And, I'd noticed his name appear when I read "All the President's Men" while on vacation after the 2005 election.

So, we were familiar with him but really didn't know much about him except for the Russia thing and, then, the poisoning theory.

We were obviously intrigued. Kelly got really interested and I could tell by how many links to old stories she sent me (and the enthusiasm with which she did so) that she wanted to be involved too.

We went through that mutual acquaintance and tried to set up a meeting with Gorton. That's kind of hard with a guy who lives in an RV. So it took a while.

We finally sat down for breakfast at World Famous in early March. He asked us what we wanted to know about. We said Russia and the poisoning. And he said something like, "You don't know about the guru stuff or anything else?" We flatly said, No. And so he took us through his whole life story. By the time we were done, it was lunch time.

I would guess we earned his trust when we came back to do a second interview with him and had learned a lot about his life since then independently and talked to a lot of people from his past. In all, we probably spent between 12 and 15 hours interviewing him in person.

another one that's probably answered (but you only gave readers til tomorrow to ask questions): New Age-ers and the GOP aren't a great match. Did he ever drift toward Dems?

I tried to answer that one here.

also, thought you might get a kick out of what Google ads pulled up on the VoSD page when I just read the Gorton's women story. Very appropriate:

Make Him Fall In Love
How To Become The Woman He Adores And Never Wants
To Leave TheWomenMenAdore.com

Yeah, reader RD, we saw that too and quickly worked to get rid it.

This is fun. Please keep the questions coming. Remember, just e-mail me> here or comment below on this post or previous posts.

-- ANDREW DONOHUE

Wednesday, June 25 -- 1:28 pm

 
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The 'Lady Magnet' Question

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One of the themes in George Gorton's life that we saw rise pretty quickly was his affinity for women. He's been married three times and has been in a lot of serious relationships. "Most of the women I've dated are very bright, powerful, strong," Gorton told us. "I like them to be pretty, too. I'm very proud of the women I've gone with."

One of his chief examples from the devastation in his life after Watergate was the shift from "dating really gorgeous girls to not being able to get a date with not-so-gorgeous girls."

(We discussed his romantic leanings further in this sidebar to the second part of the story.)

Along those lines, we heard this question this morning:

Does Kelly have theories about why he's such a lady magnet? I'll bet some readers would like to know :) ...  he's seriously been monogamous all these years? Hard to believe.

I don't know if I have any specific theories, but I did have many conversations with Gorton's lady-friends from over the years to report the story. One thread I found common was an immediate attraction.

Here's Cathy Bertini, the woman he dated across campaign lines in 1970 in New York, on her first meeting with Gorton in a school cafeteria:

He walked in, and first of all, he was very attractive. You met him, he's still attractive. He's got on a jacket and tie, on campus in 1970.

And Terry Barlin, who would become his second wife, on meeting Gorton at Election Central in 1983:

Not only was he one of cutest guys I had ever seen but he was also one of the most immediately provocative -- he's such a deep person.

Here's Susan Golding, whom Gorton met in the late 1970s on a Wilson campaign:

He struck me as a very interesting, very alive, charming person. I'm attracted to strong, interesting people and George was definitely that.

And Kiki Holzen, Gorton's third wife:

There was 22 years age difference -- even to this day that doesn't even seem to be a factor. He has such a fun-loving, young spirit. ... He was easy to fall in love with, and I haven't fallen out yet.

As for the monogamy question: At about the same time he started dating his second wife, Terry Barlin, Gorton was dating another woman. He and Barlin broke up and he got engaged to this other woman, Wendy. Barlin didn't want to let him go, he broke up with Wendy, and married Barlin eventually.

Having more than one girl on his arm was "not usually my MO," he said.

"Serial monogamy is a great thing," he said. "I usually am with a woman for four years except if we're married. Then it's seven years."

On the personal level, there was one instance that drove home for us how flirtatious the 61-year-old Gorton remains. In our second interview with Gorton, I was trying to get the romantic chronology straight. We talked through the various women, and I had one more question when we got to the end.

"So, are you dating anyone now?" I asked.

Gorton paused for a minute.

"Well, you're a little young for me," he said wryly.

"It's not a proposition, George, it's a question for my story," I fired back.

"I know, but you're cute."

-- KELLY BENNETT

Wednesday, June 25 -- 12:25 pm

 
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Gorton's GOP Politics

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The first reader question on our two-part in-depth profile on San Diego son George Gorton comes from reader JVT:

Why does he gravitate toward conservative politics?  You can never judge a book by its cover, but come on ... this guy sounds as liberal as they come. 

Ninja camping at the age of 61?  Is it the women in his life?  I just cannot wrap my head around it.

This certainly came up in our reporting. It was brought up both by us in our interviews with Gorton and by his friends, colleagues and others who knew him. It's one of those things that made Gorton such a compelling topic for a profile -- the nexus between his personal and professional life seemed to contradict society's stereotypes.

I'm so happy we got this question, as a matter of fact, because it allows me to include an anecdote that didn't make it into any of the stories. It's about Gorton's first involvement in politics (notes courtesy of my colleague Kelly Bennett):

When Gorton was in eighth grade, a teacher had the students debate the 1960 John F. Kennedy vs. Richard Nixon presidential election. She went around the class, assigning students a side to debate. Kennedy-Nixon-Kennedy-Nixon.

Gorton was designated to Nixon's side and argued so convincingly a student asked him if he'd head a Young Republicans group.

"I'm not sure what would've happened if they'd said 'Kennedy,'" Gorton told us. "Would I have been a Democrat? I don't know."

So that provides you a little insight into how Gorton got involved in politics. It certainly lends credence to those that paint political consultants as mercenaries, which is something Gorton had been referred to as in the past.

But it also foreshadowed Gorton's milder personal politics. When you talk to him, he's not dogmatic about conservative values or right-wing politics. He talks about politics as a business -- how he goes about conducting an election, how he positioned certain candidates, what he did to pull off an unlikely victory. It's not about policy. It's about getting people elected. That's his job.

As he says, he's fiscally conservative and becoming more socially liberal everyday.

I thought this quote from his son, Steven Moore, summed it up nicely:

And Moore admits that the different sides of Gorton might not always seem to add up. But, he says, his father is driven by a belief in individual freedoms. "If you sit with George Gorton long enough he makes you see there's a logical intersection between being a hippie wanderer and a free market champion," Moore says.

And, I think it is buying too much into stereotypes to think that things like Buddhism and spirituality are a left-wing phenomenon. I hope it comes through in the story, but much of what Gorton was seeking in spirituality had to do with dealing with internal issues like anger, family life, happiness and love. Much more self-help stuff than political ideology.

-- ANDREW DONOHUE

Wednesday, June 25 -- 11:16 am

 
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The People's Reporter

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Loyal readers of Cafe San Diego are used to The People's Reporter drill: I'm your reporter for the day. But we're putting a different twist on it Wednesday.

In case you didn't see the big stories plastered all over our front page the last two days, my colleague Kelly Bennett and I just completed a two-part in-depth profile into the life of George Gorton, an international political consultant who in many ways got his start here in San Diego helping guide the career of former mayor, senator and governor Pete Wilson.

But he's lived a life that's been much more than just politics. I didn't want to put it into the story, but when I was working on the story I couldn't help but describe George as a sort of mix between Austin Powers and an intelligent Forrest Gump, always ending up in the middle of some historical event.

If you haven't yet, read part one and part two. Between our other duties here, we've been working on the stories since February. People say they like part two the best, for what it's worth.

Anyways, I'm here Wednesday to take your questions. I've already gotten a few of them that I'll address tomorrow.

Let me know: Anything we didn't cover that you have questions about? Trying to reconcile, like some readers, the dual life of a cutthroat political consultant and a spiritual guru? Trying to figure out how a successful political consultant decides to live in an RV? Want to know why or how we reporters did anything or made any decisions on the story?

Now's your chance.

Please e-mail me here or just submit any questions/comments below in the blog. I look forward to it.

-- ANDREW DONOHUE

Tuesday, June 24 -- 8:38 pm

 
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Out for a Bit

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Hi all, we here at Café San Diego will be taking a couple of weeks to regroup and get a good schedule of hosts ready for the Summer. Thanks for your patience.

-- SCOTT LEWIS

Tuesday, June 17 -- 6:47 pm

 
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My Responses

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Here are my responses to some of the comments that have been posted today.

RE: Simple Guy wrote:

This initiative sounds really weird. Is this part of the proposal to build a new stadium for the Chargers out over the water and have the port operations keep going on underneath it?

Well you are correct, this initiative does sound weird. One of the allowable uses under the initiative would be for a professional sports venue. Yes, one of the proposals is that port operations could continue and a 96+ acre deck would be built above these facilities and all of the new facilities would go on top of that. What a view!

The initiative mentions "creative architectural and engineering design" and also references "air rights" over the terminal and adjacent grounds. I have to give them credit for the creative part.

RE: Jack Griffiths wrote:

On Thursday morning last SD Community Solutions presented their proposal to the Infrastructure Cmte of the SD Regional Chamber of Commerce and then participated in a Q & A session with the members of that Cmte.

I was not at this meeting but what occurred here is very similar to what has been happening at other presentations that the proponents have participated in. Smoke and mirrors with misinformation to try and support their position.

RE: Sez Me wrote:

IN CASE READERS WERE WONDERING WHY THERE ARE SO MANY SUPPORTING COMMENTS ********************

I agree with you that this issue deserves to be discussed in public, hence the Café San Diego blog today, which is public. We welcome seeing the proponents do their own blog on here to support their position.

FACT--The proponents were invited numerous times to present their position at the April 8th Port Commission meeting prior to the commissioners taking any official action on this initiative. They did not show up.

RE: Robert E. Lee wrote:

I'm with you, Adrian. Pardon my French, but what a dopey-ass idea, proposing to build something like this atop the Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal.

Thanks Robert. I guess my own idea of an airport on top of a stadium on top of the terminal is a non-starter with you as well.

-- Adrian Kwiatkowski

Tuesday, June 10 -- 4:35 pm

 
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Good, blue-collar jobs

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The Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal (TAMT) is one part of the logistical chain that makes the Port of San Diego work fluidly and coherently. Local companies like General Dynamics-NASSCO, the ship repair businesses and National City’s 24th Street terminal all rely on the TAMT to store material and goods they need before moving them down the bay to their respective work yards via the trains that run behind these bayfront companies.

In other words, if TAMT is eliminated and replaced with commercial development, the health and vitality of the other working waterfront businesses will be at stake and so will the fantastic jobs that they create. Here are a few facts to give you an idea of the economic impact of these companies:

• $25 billion of international goods come through our two marine terminals yearly


• In 2006, maritime cargo activity at the port’s terminals generated $1.6 billion annually and $100 million in state and local taxes


• Maritime cargo activity supported 19, 298 regional jobs
  
  
  
• Maritime trade creates a total impact of 5,091 regional jobs directly related to cargo activity at the port’s terminals and pay an average salary of $59,211


• In the past four years, cargo operations have increased more than 50%

What will the economic impact likely be if TAMT is redeveloped with hotels and office towers? Well, lower paying jobs for one thing. By and large, the hotel industry offers much lower paying jobs with lower quality health care plans, if any at all. Saving TAMT will also help preserve good blue-collar wages that sustain families with enough income to send their children to college.

-- Adrian Kwiatkowski

Tuesday, June 10 -- 3:39 pm

 
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Public Land Grab

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The Port of San Diego’s Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal (TAMT), located in Barrio Logan, is a critical link to our nation’s goods movement. Recently, U.S Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez wrote in an opinion-editorial in The San Diego Union-Tribune that San Diego can now add "exporting powerhouse" to its resume, because it’s "a gateway for international commerce." It’s a "powerhouse" he asserts due to the heavy goods traffic that flows into San Diego Bay. In Gutierrez’s words:

... millions of goods and products sail through San Diego’s harbor each day, making San Diego one of America’s top 20 exporting regions.

Despite the Secretary’s comments, and an abundance of facts supporting his comments, developers and out-of-town investors are working to rezone and then redevelop the TAMT. They are calling themselves San Diego Community Solutions (SDCS). Letting developers dictate land use policy is classic San Diego and it must be stopped.

We can not allow this LAND GRAB of public tidelands for the financial benefit of a few private developers.

How is SDCS doing this? Starting a few months back, SDCS began circulating an initiative for the November 2008 ballot. The initiative calls for the redevelopment of the TAMT. The initiative would, in part:

• Replace San Diego’s maritime operations at TAMT with more hotels, office towers and retail buildings


• Allow commercial development along the entire length of the TAMT


• Eliminate thousands of good-paying, waterfront jobs.
  
• Threaten the future of San Diego’s working waterfront and ship repair businesses

Why are we calling this initiative a LAND GRAB? Because it calls for private development of the TAMT in the form of hotels and other commercial development, most of which is not compatible with waterfront cargo operations. But, more specifically, we are calling it a LAND GRAB because the group circulating the initiative added some telling details in the initiative’s language.

Here are some of those details:

• Mandates redevelopment of TAMT


•  Prohibits use of public funding


•  Mandates use of private funding


•  Requires that the Port enter into an exclusive negotiating agreement with a private development entity within 60 days of passage of the initiative

Read those four points carefully, particularly the last one. Which developer do you think will be ready to submit a proposal to the Port of San Diego within 60 days of passage of the initiative?

Why San Diego Community Solutions of course.

-- Adrian Kwiatkowski

Monday, June 9 -- 8:38 pm

 
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End of Supporters Debate

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Café San Diego is going to take a few days off to recover from the election and the stress of the Supporters Debate. I hope everyone enjoyed the forum to compare the candidates and listen to what their supporters argued was the reason they deserved your vote.

If you or someone you know would like to host Café San Diego, where it's your blog for the day, shoot me an e-mail.

Thanks for the participation. You guys should use this as a predictions thread: What do you think is going to happen tomorrow? Who moves on to the general election in the city attorney's race? What percent of the vote does Mayor Sanders get? Does City Council District 7 move on to the general election or does someone walk away with the win now?

Discuss.

-- SCOTT LEWIS

Monday, June 2 -- 6:07 pm

 
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