It’s quickly becoming the week of Bonnie Dumanis.
The district attorney has been the quietest of the four major mayoral candidates, lacking specific plans or a vision for the city.
Now on back-to-back days, she’s released blockbusters. Yesterday, her once-moribund political corruption unit announced felony charges against four current and former officials of a South Bay school district. Dumanis said the announcement was “the largest public corruption case our office has ever prosecuted.”
Today, she’s unveiling what she’s calling a “bold” and “comprehensive” plan to reform city schools. Dumanis will officially release the proposal at a news conference later today, but she’s gone on a couple of local morning shows to preview it. By talking about education, she’s addressing a big issue that City Hall has generally ignored over the years. Previously, she had lamented the district’s extreme financial problems, but offered no answers of her own.
We’ll have more coverage of Dumanis’ plan today. But it will be interesting to see if it mirrors a failed initiative that would have expanded the school board by adding unelected representatives chosen by business and education groups. The initiative halted this summer after backers didn’t collect enough signatures to qualify for the ballot. Dumanis said her plan includes adding board members.
Liam Dillon is a news reporter for voiceofsandiego.org. He covers San Diego City Hall, the 2012 mayor’s race and big building projects. What should he write about next?
Please contact him directly at liam.dillon@voiceofsandiego.org or 619.550.5663.
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