Former San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis says she’s the perfect candidate for county supervisor. She’s got the connections. She’s got the passion and is eager to proactively address the region’s issues like homelessness and addiction after years reacting to society’s ills as a criminal prosecutor.
VOSD’s Lisa Halverstadt breaks down Dumanis’ latest political bid, the controversies she’s battled in political office and the personal struggle that spurred her premature departure from the DA’s office in July 2017. Dumanis, a Republican, is facing four Democrats in the District 4 county supervisor race.
In February, VOSD found Dumanis had legally collected a government salary and pension at once in a controversial practice called double-dipping. She’s pledged to decline the supervisor salary if elected.
In May, Dumanis dropped by the VOSD podcast studio to chat about her campaign. She also addressed her relationship with Mexican citizen José Susumo Azano Matsura, who was ensnared in a campaign finance scandal related to Dumanis’ 2012 failed mayoral bid. Dumanis described herself as a witness and said, “I never hid anything … Those that did it were held responsible.”
She also set the record straight on her view of marijuana use and the prosecution of alleged gang members by association.
Also: Dumanis’ campaign came out swinging in a milk carton-themed attack ad against Nathan Fletcher, a former state assemblyman she previously faced off with during the 2012 mayoral race.
Culture Report: Cable (Car) News
A Barrio Logan cable car will reopen to diners a year after being shuttered. VOSD’s Kinsee Morlan highlights El Carrito’s storied past and the chilaquiles on the menu in this week’s Culture Report.
There’s also information about artsy summer camps for kids and a new exhibit coming to Balboa Park’s Mingei International Museum, which will be its last in the space before the museum closes for a year for renovation.
Election Roundup
- San Diego City Councilman David Alvarez has raised more money for the 2020 county supervisor race than some candidates running this year. Alvarez is currently running for a seat on the San Diego Community College District board. If elected to both offices, he’ll depart the college post early. (inewsource)
- How closely should county jails work with federal immigration officials? Sheriff Bill Gore and his challenger, sheriff’s Commander Dave Myers, opinions’ diverge. (Union-Tribune)
- A mailer circulated by 50th Congressional District candidate Josh Butner about candidate Ammar Campa-Najjar misleadingly claims Campa-Najjar supported President Donald Trump’s travel ban, KPBS finds. Both Democrats are trying to unseat Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter.
- One of the region’s longest-serving Superior Court judges will have to defend his seat against a Valley Center attorney who claims that after 35 years on the bench he’s “out of touch” and “far too removed.” The Union-Tribune reports it’s rare for sitting judges to face a challenger.
In Other News
- There’s a new twist in the saga surrounding the city’s nearly $18,000-a-day lease for a still-vacant downtown office building on Ash Street. Turns out three years ago, the building owner pitched the space as a new City Hall to the mayor, offering a 30-year lease-to-own agreement at just over $1 a square foot per month. That offer was never presented to the City Council, reports the Union-Tribune. Why? Per the owner, city officials feared the optics of working out of “a Taj Mahal” would lead to criticism.
- The Alliance of American Football confirms: San Diego will be part of the new league.
- Ted Leitner, the longtime voice of the Padres on the radio, announced that he has cancer and would stop doing games after Wednesday indefinitely. The U-T has more details on his surgery.
The Morning Report was written and compiled by Ashly McGlone and Andrew Keatts, and edited by Sara Libby.