Aguirre: Loser Democrats

Published: Tuesday, September 2, 2008 4:04 PM PDT

E-MAIL STORY

City Attorney Mike Aguirre just called to say that the Democrats who lined up this afternoon in support of his opponent, Superior Court Judge Jan Goldsmith, need to get over the fact that their candidate lost in the primary election in June, and need to show some unity for the Democratic Party.

Aguirre was referring to the supporters of Council President Scott Peters, who came in third in the primary and missed out on a place in the runoff election. Peters had the endorsement of many heavy hitters in the local Democratic community, including the city's powerful public safety unions and the San Diego-Imperial Counties Labor Council, an umbrella group that represents more than 100 local unions.

Aguirre chided the Democrats who supported Goldsmith for failing to unify behind his candidacy in the city attorney's race. Using a theme he's been developing of late, Aguirre compared the race to the national political arena, saying that Goldsmith's press conference today is a far cry from Hillary Clinton's recent speech calling for Democrats to rally behind Obama.

"The core of the Democratic Party is behind me," Aguirre said. "The people who are Barack Obama Democrats -- Goldsmith's got nothing to say to them."

"Hillary Clinton is a true statesperson. Dede Alpert's more of a lobbyist," he added, referring to the former Democratic politician that supported Goldsmith today.

Aguirre said that progressive Democrats in San Diego are united in support of his tenure at the City Attorney's Office. And he reiterated what he has claimed since Goldsmith won June's primary election: That the judge represents a return to "business as usual" at City Hall.

"No matter how much they try to dress it up, what this stacks up to is a return to the past," Aguirre said.