Mayoral candidate Steve Francis has a mailer going out that includes this quote from Councilwoman Donna Frye:
“Steve wants to bring an independent approach to City Hall so we can have the change we need” – Donna Frye, San Diego City Councilwoman.
Kind of sounds like an endorsement, no? So I e-mailed and talked with Frye to see if she indeed authorized this quote and, if so, if that meant she was endorsing Francis.
 |
| Frye and Francis even had lunch today. |
She said she has not officially endorsed Francis or anyone else in the mayor’s race. The quote comes from a No on Proposition C event when Frye introduced the candidate. His campaign then asked her if they could use it, and she said yes.
So, I asked her, how is that not a formal endorsement?
Well I’m certainly not voting for Jerry Sanders. I didn’t feel like doing an official endorsement but I was more than happy when asked to allow him to use how I introduced him at the Prop C event. And I believe what I said. And personally I believe he will make a better mayor.
Frye called it going “right up to the edge.”
I still didn’t understand why she then wouldn’t give him a formal endorsement. Frye has a loyal base of support and there is no high-profile Democrat in the race. As a mayoral candidate, she got 43 percent of the vote in the 2005 primary and 46 percent in the general. And endorsement from Frye could be a big deal for Francis.
She said for a formal endorsement she goes through a process in which she takes the time to be familiar with all of the candidates. Frye, who lost to Sanders in 2005, said she had high expectations for the mayor’s administration, but that it has been harder for her to get information from the Mayor’s Office than it was before.
Here’s what she said about the future:
I don’t know what will happen if it goes to a runoff. I may come out in full endorsement mode and jump in with both feet. I’ve been engaged in Prop. C.