By Donald H. Harrison
SAN DIEGO – Ever since 1852, the year Lewis Franklin was appointed foreman of the county Grand Jury and Louis Rose was elected as a member of the city Board of Trustees, Jews have played leadership roles in the affairs of the City of San Diego. So it’s not surprising that two major developing stories concerning our city’s growth and development have members of the Jewish community at the heart of them.
The first story is the upcoming mayoral race, with two major candidates—District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis and Congressman Bob Filner – being members of the Jewish community.
Major contributors of the Republican party seem to be rallying around Dumanis, leaving Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher and Councilman Carl DeMaio in search of supporters. Meanwhile Democrats have their first candidate in Filner, who has been a member of the city’s Board of Education, the City Council and has been in Congress long enough to have served last term as chairman of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs.
State Senator Christine Kehoe (D-San Diego) has been mentioned as another possible mayoral candidate, but perhaps with her fellow Democrat Filner in the race, she will be attracted instead to run for Congress. One is not required to live in the same district one runs to represent.
Other candidates also could jump in the race to succeed Mayor Jerry Sanders. With all this talk about Republicans and Democrats, it should be remembered that the mayoral position is technically non-partisan. It’s possible, therefore, that two members of the same party could reach the runoffs. But normally I’d bet on a runoff with a candidate from each party, even though they are not identified as such on the ballot.
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I can’t get into Filner’s head, but part of the calculus for his decision to file papers for mayor may be an analysis that he and fellow Democrats are not going to gain control of the Congress anytime soon. Perhaps President Barack Obama will be elected to a second term, but at this point, at least, it doesn’t look like he has very long coat tails. Even though Filner has a so-called “safe district,” he may figure that reelection to the Congress as a member of the minority may not be very much fun. Been there, done that. Filner is a man who likes to be in the center of the action, and accordingly he’s ready to move on.
Anytime someone indicates he plans to leave office, you can anticipate that a queue will soon form to replace him or her. We can anticipate that political hearts are already beating quickly in anticipation of declaring both for Filner’s congressional seat and for Dumanis’ top spot at the district attorney’s office. Look forward to numerous trial balloons in the near future. State Senator Juan Vargas, who lost several bruising primary battles to Filner over the years, already has announced he will seek Filner’s seat.
A battle for mayor between Filner and Dumanis—if that should prove to be the runoff pairing—could provide many hours of entertainment. Filner has a scrappy style, but Dumanis can be a good counter puncher.
But I need to balance my delight in an old fashioned political donnybrook with a sense of regret that San Diego based veterans will be losing if Filner departs the Congress a very good and well situated friend, who could and often did carry legislation in their behalf. I’m sure many veterans are lamenting Filner’s apparent decision – “Say it isn’t so, Bob.” I say “apparent“ decision because there still is plenty of time—if mayoral polling and contributions are discouraging—for Filner to withdraw from the race. For Dumanis, who just won reelection, this is the middle of her term, so she can run without having to give up her office. It’s what politicians call a “free ride.”
San Diegans can be glad that another member of the Jewish community, Susan Davis, apparently plans to remain in the Congress, where she has been building tenure on the House Armed Services Committee. Although she is rarely in the headlines, Davis has gained a lot of respect as a hard worker from her colleagues.
We should all keep our eyes on two other office-holding members of the Jewish community, who no doubt are watching the races for top spots very closely with an eye toward the possibility of moving up the ladder. These are Assemblyman Marty Block and City Councilwoman Marti Emerald.
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The second civic story in which members of the Jewish community figure importantly is the debate over what to do with Balboa Park, with its centennial in 2015 fast approaching. Philanthropists Joan and Irwin Jacobs have offered to contribute money for a campaign to transform the areas fronting the Museum of Man, the San Diego Museum of Art, the Timkin Art Gallery and the Mingei Museum into a pedestrian mall—an idea that everybody loves until details of what that might involve became apparent.
The stately Cabrillo Bridge, with its beloved multiple arches over Highway 163. provides the main access route to the Plaza from the intersection of 6th and Laurel Streets. Qualcomm co-founder Irwin Jacobs had backed a plan which envisions a new road splitting off the bridge and diverting traffic to a parking structure in the southern part of the park.
As contributors to the arts and to a variety of Jewish community projects, the Jacobs family is used to being taken very seriously and appreciatively. However, in civic affairs, the prospect of large monetary contributions are not always decisive. The bridge modification plan prompted opposition from the Save Our Heritage Organization (SOHO), which is concerned that the character of the Cabrillo Bridge and Balboa Park would be altered adversely by the diversion road. In response, Irwin Jacobs has suspended his offer to help finance a large part of the transition to a pedestrian mall. He and Joan were headed to Alaska on vacation, expressing hope that before they return, the city will respond positively.
One might think it possible for traffic to access Balboa Park strictly from Park Avenue and Florida Canyon, but that would divert an undue traffic burden onto the neighborhoods lying to the east of the park, and would be certain to arouse opposition. Clearly there is no solution that will satisfy everyone. Perhaps at some point the issue will be put on the city ballot for a decision by the voters.
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Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted at donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com