We’ve examined 40 bold claims by the mayoral candidates in the last year and found more than one-third turned out to misleading, false or even worse.
The inaccuracies focused on some of the biggest issues in the election: jobs, pensions, regulation and the Convention Center expansion.
We’ve also noticed a few themes about the candidates. These are some observations from City Hall reporter Liam Dillon and me:
• Councilman Carl DeMaio’s claims about the budget, employee perks or city regulation have often landed near true. He’s run into more trouble when talking about a proposed Convention Center expansion and a tax to help pay for it.
DeMaio received two Huckster Propaganda ratings for the same claim on different occasions. He tried to square his staunch anti-tax rhetoric with his support for the Convention Center tax increase and failed.
• District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis’ claims have fallen near True when she’s talking about law enforcement issues or her office. She’s hit a few snags while discussing education issues, budgets and election polls.
• Congressman Bob Filner is the hardest to gauge. His claims have landed across the board on a variety of topics. He’s talked about expanding veteran benefits, authoring a redevelopment plan, future class sizes and the costs of a high-profile pension initiative.
But Filner’s taken by far the most heat for outdated statements about the port — a key component of his jobs plan. He has both downplayed the amount of commerce at San Diego’s port and inflated the amount of commerce at its regional competitors.
• Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher’s claims have settled on the good side of the scale when talking about his state legislative activities and on the bad side when discussing city issues like business regulation.
Fletcher also falsely denied his former membership to a conservative organization after he left the Republican Party. He later apologized.
These are just a few highlights. To read our analyses of any claims since June last year, check out this spreadsheet. It lists each Fact Check by candidate name, rating and topic, and provides links to our stories.
If you ever have questions about our ratings, analyses or the broader Fact Check project, please do not hesitate to contact me. Please also consider sending us suggestions for new claims to Fact Check. We rely on your insight to help us continue holding public officials accountable.
Keegan Kyle is a news reporter for Voice of San Diego. He writes about local government, creates infographics and handles the Fact Check Blog. What should he write about next?
Please contact him directly at keegan.kyle@voiceofsandiego.org or 619.550.5668. You can also find him on Twitter (@keegankyle) and Facebook.
Like VOSD on Facebook.