The Agenda: Today’s AM Political Roundup

Good morning from Hillcrest.

• Busy Agenda today. We’ll lead off with my story on the city of San Diego’s busyness on the bond market. The city has sold $1.7 billion worth of debt in its first year back selling public bonds and is showing no signs of slowing down. Most of this year’s debt went to repay or refinance old loans.

• There’s nothing like an old managed competition/outsourcing debate. We try to advance the discussion with dueling letters from a union attorney and San Diego City Attorney Jan Goldsmith. CityBeat calls out Goldsmith by riffing off the barnyard epithet a labor leader used in an interview with us. U.S. Rep. Bob Filner, D-San Diego, writes in the Daily Transcript (subscription required) that local leaders should look at the federal government for managed competition’s failures. And for another city’s perspective, San Jose has just loosened its outsourcing rules.
• The U-T reports on a plan that would require San Diego City Council to approve downtown hotel projects, not just the Centre City Development Corp. The Mayor’s Office says development could be “severely hampered” by the proposal.
• NBC writes about yesterday’s City Council meeting and how someone’s 17-year-old pension screw up now is gumming up the works.
• The L.A. Times tackles two stories of interest to San Diegans. First is an interesting piece on how politics work in the city of Industry, perhaps the future home of the Chargers.

Second, it addresses the war between Los Angeles and Anaheim for big-money conventions, a competition San Diego’s Convention Center says it can’t win without its own expansion. The Times quotes the National Association of Music Merchants, an organization with whom we’re familiar.

• Some city of San Diego quick hits. CityBeat reports on a lawsuit the city filed against the Port District, the Navy and others over cleaning up the San Diego Bay and on frustrations at the city’s medical marijuana task force. The U-T writes about two forums held tomorrow, one on municipal bankruptcy and the other on building big buildings.
• In San Diego County news, Supervisor Pam Slater-Price announced $76,000 in community project grants the same day new rules for the funds went into effect. And Supervisor Bill Horn asked the county to recognize the anniversary of the Berlin Wall’s fall.

— LIAM DILLON