Morning Report: Lincoln Club Chair Reflects on Fletcher

Nathan Fletcher took hits from the left and the right in his last bid for mayor.

The man behind those rightward attacks was Bill Lynch, head of the Lincoln Club, which poured huge resources into attack ads against Fletcher.

In a Q-and-A with Scott Lewis, Lynch revealed some of the reasons that motivated the group to go on the warpath (hint: unions), and shed light on why he didn’t think the group should spend money on the Recall Filner effort.

Now that his epic year of pulling political strings is drawing to a close, Lynch says he’s going back to philanthropy full time.

Reforming Special Ed – It’s a Process

San Diego Unified has made some big strides to bring its special education numbers in line since a 2007 report showed its black students were much likelier to be placed there – often because of dubious categories like “emotionally disturbed.”

Since then, the district created a plan and an oversight committee, and the numbers are now evening out. But stats on special education at the district show there are still some improvements to be made, Mario Koran reports: Only 54 percent of students with disabilities graduated with their class in 2011-2012, for example. And test scores for students with disabilities fell in the last year.

The Police Hiring Crisis

Instead of talking about how much they want crime to go down, mayoral candidates David Alvarez and Kevin Faulconer have mostly been talking about how much they want police numbers to go up. That’s because police are retiring faster than the city can hire new cops to replace them.

In a new San Diego Explained video, Lisa Halverstadt and NBC7’s Catherine Garcia explain what is standing in the department’s way when it tries to hire new officers.

What We Learned This Week

• Scott Peters did not singlehandedly spur two decades of costly court fights over the Mount Soledad cross.

• Stacey LoMedico will now lead the city’s efforts to get residents all the stuff they want in their neighborhoods.

• Reality Changers helps kids turn their tough childhood stories into winning college essays.

• Civic San Diego wants to help improve quality of life in Encanto. Encanto residents aren’t sure they want the help.

• San Diego has what’s classed as an hourglass economy. And city leaders have a new plan to fix it.

• There’s no real evidence to show David Alvarez’s signature property value protection ordinance is working – or that it isn’t.

Quick News Hits

• The Sports Report leads with the FCC’s potential challenge to the reviled NFL blackout policy.

• San Diego is home to some killer waves. And it’s also home to a company, American Wave Machines, that’s making killer waves that could be surfed in, say, Nebraska.

Reports Quartz: “Bringing surfing to the landlocked masses could be the biggest change to hit the sport since Hawaii’s Duke Kahanamoku taught Californians how to ride the waves a century ago.”

Quote of the Week

“Politics is not very efficient. You back a candidate and odds are 50-50 that they lose. And then, half the time they don’t talk to you when they win, so that leaves you at a one in four chance for influence. And then they don’t do what they said they’d do. So you’re left with a one in eight chance for influence.” – Lincoln Club Chairman Bill Lynch