At first glance, a gay Democrat running for office should be a shoo-in among gay voters, especially when his opponent is a Republican. But the usual assumptions don’t apply this year in one of the races for county supervisor.
The incumbent Republican has a long history of wooing gay voters and can count some local community leaders on his side. But he’s lost some prominent allies and is decidedly unhappy about it. Meanwhile, the two most powerful gay people in city politics are stuck in neutral, at least for the moment. At stake: the support of thousands of potential voters who could sway the election.
In Other News:
• A former city attorney released numbers to the U-T that say $299,000 is the top pension for a city employee.
Meanwhile, a top city official says closing San Diego’s deficit will require shutting down some libraries and recreation centers for good. We’ve got details and much more news from a busy day at City Hall, including the Odd Couple of the Week.
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• Never mind the candidates for senator and governor. We’ve got a Great Debate of our own on tap this evening.
The issue: Prop. D. The combatants: two councilmen on opposite sides. The venue: The Westin Gaslamp Quarter, at Horton Plaza, 5 p.m. today. RSVP here.
We’ll still take your questions. Send our moderator/City Hall reporter a note if you’ve got any, or just bring them along with you. If you’d like to track the debate on Twitter, the hash tag is #randr (that’s for reform and revenue, not rest and relaxation, mind you).
If you’d like to catch up on the opinions swirling around the ballot measure, check out our Prop. D. page, which is chock full of stories about the city’s financial mess and the solutions that the measure proposes.
• The state of California planned to kill a man earlier this week and then tonight, but the latest in a series of court rulings resulted in a reprieve. The legal battle is reminiscent of a night 18 years ago when one of San Diego’s most notorious murderers sat in the gas chamber waiting to die when the phone suddenly rang. He was off the hook thanks to a last-minute judicial smackdown, but for how long?
We revisit the case of Robert Alton Harris and hear from a local reporter who watched him meet his fate. Also: last year, we revealed how some of San Diego’s most well-known killers are trolling the internet for love from death row.
• Our intrepid City Hall reporter wrote this week’s big story about the mayor’s chief of staff without her help. In a new post, he offers insight into the challenges of profiling an international (or at least local) woman of mystery.
• Our readers continue to support and criticize a columnist’s claim that a 401(k) plan for city employees won’t save money.
• A new opera opens this weekend featuring, among other things, a washtub, five flashlights to illuminate body parts and one bold flower-print caftan. No word on whether it ain’t over until the fat lady gets into a washtub while wearing a bold flower-print caftan.
Elsewhere:
• The Watchdog Institute has posted a database that allows you to search for the salary of any of more than 18,000 county employees in 2008.
• One of our freelance contributors is quite fetching and gets hit on a lot while out covering the local biotech industry. But dating sources is an ethical no-no. So she decided to start flashing a fake engagement ring. How’d it work out? Her new Marie Claire article tells the tale.
Now everybody’s going to want a bogus engagement ring. Anyone know where I can buy stock in cubic zirconia?
Please contact Randy Dotinga directly at randydotinga@gmail.comand follow him on Twitter: twitter.com/rdotinga.