I’ve gotten a few e-mails about this post comparing the presentations at the task force studying a potential expansion of the San Diego Convention Center to the 2002-03 Chargers Task Force.
I noted that the Chargers Task Force scheduled a formal presentation by anti-tax activist Richard Rider, a critic of the stadium proposal. So far, the Convention Center Task Force has heard mostly from paid consultants touting the demand for a new center.
David Watson, who served as chairman of the Chargers Task Force, e-mailed me noting that the panel also scheduled formal talks from experts such as Ronald Utt and Dean Baim, who said a new stadium wouldn’t provide an economic benefit to the area.
Watson wrote:
We tried very hard to make sure we heard differing opinions as we gathered information to make our recommendations.
Another reader e-mailed me to point out that unlike the Convention Center panel, the Chargers Task Force members included Bruce Henderson, a former city councilman and Chargers critic. In 2003, Henderson gave a critical account of the behind-the-scenes turmoil at the task force to the Reader.