We’ve published dozens of stories about the June election, but perhaps you haven’t had a chance to read all of them. Don’t worry: You’re forgiven. (Just don’t let it happen again.)
To help you catch up, here’s a quick rundown of what you need to know about the races and issues we’ve been following most closely. To be sure, there are plenty of other races out there. But these are the ones we’ve chosen to drill down into.
Sheriff: The race is among three men, and we devoted profiles to them earlier this month: Current Sheriff Bill Gore, son of a former sheriff Jim Duffy, and former undersheriff and conservative rabble-rouser Jay LaSuer.
If you check the stories, you’ll find out which candidate shot a man while his fiancée was in danger, which one thinks San Diego County is a “sanctuary” for illegal immigrants, and which one spent quality time with his dad by going to accident scenes.
San Diego City Council: In South Bay’s District 8, you can’t tell the players without a family tree.
Two of the candidates in the race have familiar last names but unfamiliar faces: they’re Felipe Hueso and Nick Inzunza Sr., whose better-known family members have been big shots in South Bay politics. Two other candidates — B.D. Howard and David Alvarez — are high-profile too.
We looked at the family dynasties at play and followed Howard as he walked from door to door to show how he and Alvarez were choosing differing — and at least in Alvarez’s case, unusual — tactics to fight their opponents’ incumbent-like name recognition.
In District 6, which encompasses Clairemont and surrounding neighborhoods, the council race has gotten plenty of attention, much of it focused on Republican candidate Lorie Zapf. Her anti-gay remarks in an e-mail came back to haunt her, as did her recent default on her mortgage. Meanwhile, the local GOP took advantage of a change in city campaign rules to give Zapf $20,000.
San Diego School Board: The best way to catch up on who’s running and why is to listen to our school board forum, which featured all the candidates.
We also profiled the race to unseat longtime incumbent John de Beck, whom we describe as having “the longest memory and the loosest lips on the San Diego Unified school board.”
There’s a twist: A Republican candidate with a history of anti-union statements got a nod from the teachers union, which previously had always endorsed de Beck, himself a former union leader.
We also took a look at Katherine Nakamura, another incumbent who’s trying for another term. She’s a Democrat who’s lost some Democratic supporters by veering from their viewpoints on budget and labor issues.
County Supervisor: Go figure: By the numbers, Ron Roberts wouldn’t be the odds-on favorite to represent the District 4, which covers much of the city of San Diego.
He’s a Republican. The district is dominated by Democratic voters, who recently had a nearly two-to-one advantage over Republicans.
But Roberts has long represented the district and had few challengers at the ballot box.
There’s a larger issue: Will the Board of Supervisors remain a GOP-only stronghold — with the same five people in charge since 1995 — in a county with more Democratic voters than Republicans? Here’s a good primer about what’s at stake.
There was a lot of drama among his potential Democratic rivals just a few months ago as San Diego Councilwoman Donna Frye dipped her toe in and then pulled it out.
Stephen Whitburn, who lost his City Council bid in 2008, and San Diego school board member Shelia Jackson are now the top candidates on the Democratic side.
We show how the diversity might be the Democrat’s strategy to forcing a November runoff in this story. The four candidates have got something for just about everybody: Different genders, ethnicities and sexual orientations. As we said, the candidates look a lot like a Benetton commercial.
Roberts often touts the county’s credit rating and financial stability, but his opponents have thrown that back in his face. They say it’s time for the county to spend some of that Wall Street cred and serve its residents.
Just last week, we discovered that Jackson lost her house to foreclosure in 2007 after borrowing heavily against it. It’s not yet clear if her opponents will use this against her or even if they have enough time to do so.
By the way, Proposition B in San Diego County would impose term limits on county supervisors, although it’ll be a long time before they’d actually boot the current supervisors (or the winner of this race) out of office. Scott Lewis wrote that it’s mighty odd for a local union to spend a bundle to support the measure instead of using money to target a Republican county supervisor right now.
San Diego’s Proposition D: Strong Mayor: Since 2006, the mayor of San Diego has been one muscular guy, at least when it comes to governmental powers. He’s essentially been the city’s chief executive officer, truly running the show instead of being a kind of glorified City Council member.
The previous system, in place since 1931, gave executive powers to a city manager who was hired by the council.
Now voters will decide whether to keep the strong mayor system or go back to the old ways. We filmed a video explainer that tells you what the debate is all about. Its title is “Jerry Sanders, Buff,” but don’t let that scare you away.
The measure has been the subject of huge interest among local politicos, lobbyists and activists. How huge? Proponents have spent hundreds of thousands to support it, but foes aren’t even organized.
An important point that’s often missed in the debate: This proposition would make the strong mayor even stronger by bulking up the veto power.
You can also read about why the mayor is touting his ability to blow off those pesky City Council meetings — and go out in the community instead — as a reason to support the measure.
Chula Vista’s Proposition G: Ban on Labor Agreements: This measure would ban project labor agreements in public-work construction contracts. Local labor groups are up in arms and have bought Spanish-language TV commercials to oppose the measure.
We explain how the measure will affect construction workers, examine the commercial (which brings up Arizona’s new illegal immigration law) and hear from a labor representative.
Earlier in the year before the campaign officially started, we put the statements of Proposition G supporters (those who want to ban project labor agreements) through the Fact Check wringer and came up a barely true, misleading and huckster propaganda.