We still don’t know who’s won the mammoth DeMaio vs. Peters showdown, but local data-crunchers are crunching the voter numbers we already have. More on that in a moment. But first, let’s take a look at things we know for sure.
The San Diego City Council will have a new, young Republican joining its ranks shortly, depriving Democrats of a much-ballyhooed super-majority. That means that even if the Dems hold together against a united GOP on the Council, they won’t be able to override a mayoral veto.
And this means … Well, not much, actually. That’s the word from VOSD reporter Andrew Keatts, who explains how Republicans have already figured out how to ignore the Democrats when it comes to pushing against measures that support workers more than businesses.
There’s more to think about after the victory of Republican Chris Cate. For one thing, there’s a very good possibility that the political party make-up of the Council — whether it’s controlled by Democrats or Republicans — will come down to a single Council seat in two years. But 2016 will also bring a mayoral election and, more importantly for political matters, a presidential election. Democrats tend to turn out more when they have the biggest choices to make.
Poway Voters Make a Point
Say goodbye to three of the Poway school board members who voted for that wacky 2011 construction borrowing scheme that will cost taxpayers $1 billion down the line. One incumbent decided not to run again, and voters fired two others yesterday. We have details here.
One board member who got elected in 2012 is thrilled after early on expressing “frustration at working with a group she considered insular, uncommunicative and staunchly defensive of Poway’s bond deals … Now, she’s got reinforcements.”
Among the three new board members, by the way, is a familiar name to local politicos: He’s T.J. Zane, former head of the conservative Lincoln Club of San Diego County, best known for its bare-knuckle political campaign ads.
More Election News: They Won’t Go to Pot
Voters in Encinitas and La Mesa refused to allow local medical marijuana shops. The measures lost by the same margin, 55-45 percent, which is a bit surprising considering that Encinitas (home to the neighborhoods of Leucadia and Cardiff) would seem to be bluer — and more receptive to the green of weed — than La Mesa. (L.A. Times)
• Neel Kashkari, handily defeated by Gov. Brown, is licking his wounds. (L.A. Times)
• “Stephen Meade, the dress-wearing Republican candidate for Congress in southern San Diego County, was rushed to the hospital on Election Day and may undergo open-heart surgery.” Meade did not win and couldn’t get the support of his own party. He’s 88. (L.A. Times)
• When voters in Arkansas, of all places, support an increase in the minimum wage, it sounds like a good tiding for Democrats who want to boost it here, right? San Diego city voters will face a ballot measure to do just that in 2016. But a New York Times writer cautions that fights over the minimum wage don’t “deliver any advantage to Democratic candidates for office.”
Who’s Down for the Count?
We’re not expected to get any new numbers in the very close race to represent the 52nd Congressional District until later today. You can crunch the precinct-by-precinct voter totals here thanks to inewsource.
When a Cop Says Shhh!
If you’ve got a complaint about how San Diego police treated you, is it OK if a cop tries to talk you out of speaking up? CityBeat asks the question in regard to a City Heights man who’s upset that “officers armed with semi-automatic rifles descended on his home with only a vague description of a gun-wielding black man.”
“We’re not going to sit behind a computer before we come here and try to get all the facts down,” a police spokesman said. “We want to get here because there’s a potential high threat that someone’s going to be hurt.”
But misconduct complaints are up significantly for reasons that also aren’t clear, and the police department isn’t being cooperative with requests for information. As we showed in a recent story, the department has a history of not going out of its way to respond to complaints.
Quick News Hits: Go Bonds!
• A judge is supporting the city’s plans to borrow tens of millions of dollars for things like road and sidewalk repairs, even though he thinks the bond scheme is “subterfuge.” For background, check our coverage here.
• The publisher of the alternative weekly San Diego Reader, long known for his anti-gay and anti-abortion bona fides, is deeply concerned about the “the homosexual agenda” and urged voters not to support the openly gay DeMaio and vote Democratic instead, even though Peters isn’t any more conservative on social issues. (CityBeat)
• “The cherished dogs and cats of military families are no longer able to get surgical procedures at military veterinary facilities, as these clinics have cut back on services to save money.” (KPBS)
• Oops. A 33-year-old woman allegedly tried to smuggle 27 pounds of meth across the border this week but got nabbed when she accidentally drove into a secondary inspection area after making it through the primary one.
The drugs were allegedly in the car’s rear side panels. But if you’d like to make a “junk in your trunk” joke, I won’t stand in your way.
Randy Dotinga is a freelance contributor to Voice of San Diego and president of the American Society of Journalists and Authors. Please contact him directly at randydotinga@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter: twitter.com/rdotinga.