By Miriam Raftery

March 5, 2020 (Ramona) – A Ramona man who worked as a biologist at the San Diego Zoo has pleaded guilty to stealing over $236,000 from the zoo, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office in San Diego.

Investigators found John Anderson, 49, made fake vendor invoices from 2008-2016 for third parties that then made payments to Anderson.  He was charged with theft or conversion concerning programs receiving federal funds. 

By Miriam Raftery and Jonathan Goetz

Photos: East County News Service

March 4, 2020 (San Diego) --Congresswoman Susan Davis is retiring in order to spend more time in San Diego. 

In the 53^rd Congressional District, her shoes will be filled by a Democratic woman, as Sara Jacobs and Georgette Gomez, both captured the #1 and #2 slots, respectively to make the November run-off out of a 13-candidate field. The 53rd Congressional district includes the heart of the city of San Diego as well as La Mesa, Lemon Grove, part of El Cajon, Jamul, Chula Vista, and more.

By Rebecca Jefferis Williamson

March 5, 2020 (San Diego) Measure S, which was designed to raise sales taxes by ¾ of a cent and bring in an estimated $3 million to the financially strapped city of Lemon Grove, is failing.

According to the San Diego Registrar of Voters the primary had a 28% voter turn-out. With 100% precincts reporting, 59%,or 2,069 voted no on the measure and 41%, or 1,421 voted yes. There are 350,000 outstanding ballots to be counted as of early Wednesday.

Without more revenues to fund needed services, Lemon Grov could be pushed to seek disincorporation as a city, reverting back to county control.

ECM obtained reactions to the election outcome from the measure's leading advocate and staunchest opponent.

By Rebecca Jefferis Williamson

March 4, 2020 (San Diego) Proposition 13, a $15B bond to fund academic projects that also included funding for a variety of other projects as well, failed locally in yesterday’s state-wide primary. Statewide, 56% voted no and 44% yes, with 100% of precincts reporting but some mail-in ballots remaining to be counted.

The bond would have pumped portions of the $15 billion into pre-K to grade 13 schools and higher education institutions such as community colleges, California State University, and all of the University of California locations.

By Jonathan Goetz

Photos by Miriam Raftery:  Steve Vaus and Joel Anderson

March 4, 2020 (San Diego's East County) – Two Republicans will face off against each other in the 2^nd Supervisorial District, after Democrat Kenya Taylor failed to make the run-off.

Former State Senator Joel Anderson says fixing roads and providing attainable housing for the next generation are his top priorities. He touts his legislative experience working across the aisle on many bills and says he’ll lobby Sacramento for more funds for the region.

Poway Mayor Steve Vaus, who is also president of SANDAG, wants to focus on public safety, infrastructure, building housing and preserving open spaces, touting his record in Poway of having more open space than any other city in the county. He urges voters to look at his record in Poway, which ranks high in public safety, open spaces, and meeting housing needs.

By Miriam Raftery, Rebecca Jefferis Williamson, and Jonathan Goetz

Photos, left by Miriam Raftery: Democratic Party Chair Will Rodriguez Kennedy and Republican Party Chair Tony Krvaric

The gathering of Republicans, Democrats and others, at Golden Hall  election nights, is a long-standing tradition in San Diego. Democrats and republicans alike hosted parties within walking distance, the same venues as 2018. Republicans returned to the Grant, and democrats to the Westin, for more partisan celebrations among the like-minded.

Both the Republican and Democratic County Chairs were upbeat with East County Magazine.

County's four other Congressional seats appear likely to stay in Democratic control

By Miriam Raftery

March 3, 2020 (San Diego) – With 42.5% of precincts reporting in the 50^th Congressional district seat vacated by the resignation of disgraced Congressman Duncan D. Hunter, Democrat Ammar Campa-Najjar is leading with 34.4% of the vote and appears headed for a run-off in November against former Congressman Darrell Issa, who has 24.7% of the road.

Republicans Carl DeMaio, a conservative radio host, and State Senator Brian Jones, have 21.1% and 10.7% respectively. Marissa Calderon, a Democrat who dropped out of the race, still received 5.2%. Four other candidates scored in low single digits.

By Miriam Raftery

March 3, 2020 (San Diego's East County) -- ECM will be tweeting live results on the presidential campaign and all local races in East County and later posting full articles on our news site. You can follow us at EastCountyMag on Twitter. 

As media outlets declare "winners" in the Democratic primary elections held this Super Tuesday, it's important to understand these key facts: 

• Primary races are not winner-takes-all. So a second, third or fourth place candidate might still get significant delegates, especially in large states like Texas and California.
• However, only candidates with 15% or more of the vote will get any delegates in a given Congressional district.  So even a high placement may not count, if the candidate has below 15%.
• Fourteen states vote this Super Tuesday, awarding about a third of all the Democratic delegates.
• The first four states to vote before today awarded a total of  just 155 delegates.
• California has 415 delegates and Texas has 225, so if a candidate wins big there, they could overtake a candidate with many wins in smaller states. 
• Super Tuesday states voting today are:  Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, and American Samoa
• A candidate needs 1,991 pledged delegates to win the nomination on the first ballot at the national Democratic convention.  If no candidate has that many (i.e., over 50% of all delegates) then it becomes a contested convention and goes to a second ballot, at which "superdelegates" -- establishment Democrats including many elected officials, will also cast ballots. This could result in someone other than the candidate with the most delegates being chosen as the nominee.
• Votes cast for candidates who later suspended their campaigns will mean their delegates will go to the convention but can vote for other candidates.
• If a candidate dropped out, rather than suspend their candidacy, their delegates are split proportionately among the winners in each state where they received 15% or more.
• Only four remaining Democratic candidates have drawn over 15% or appear likely to do so in order to remain potentially viable: Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, former Vice President Joe Biden, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, billionaire Michael Bloomberg.
• All others have either dropped out of the race, suspended their candidacy, or are polling in low single digits.
  

By Mike Allen

Photo by Mike Allen: Left to Right: Councilman Rob McNelis, Councilman Stephen Houlahan, and Councilman Ronn Hall.

March 2, 2020 (Santee) -- As some East County cities grapple with dwindling revenue and even contemplate disincorporation, Santee appears to be improving its bottom line, thanks to better than expected revenue from property and sales taxes.

At its Feb. 26 meeting, the Santee City Council got an update on the city’s financial situation and discussed how it might best use a projected $1.5 million in surplus funds at the end of the current fiscal year in June.

The city usually adds most of any net profits from its operations to its reserves, but because the reserve balance now exceeds the prescribed target of 20 percent of the city’s operating budget by about $1.5 million, the council can allocate this money to other uses, said Tim McDermott, Santee’s finance director.

East County News Service

Photo via Wikipedia cc by SA

March 1, 2020 (San Diego) – Pete Buttigieg will be announcing plans tonight to suspend his presidential campaign, a senior campaign aid has informed National Public Radio. The New York Times and Fox News confirm the reports.

The former mayor of South Bend, Indiana is a veteran of the war I Afghanistan and first openly gay presidential candidate. A graduate of Harvard and Oxford Universities, he also the youngest of the major contenders, at age 38 and had been likened to Kennedy for his youthful charisma. 

California outbreak may be tied to botched federal response

By Miriam Raftery and Jonathan Goetz

Photo by Mikael Häggström, M.D. https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=87223640

March 1, 2020 (San Diego) --  President Donald Trump is facing criticism for disbanding the team of scientific experts in 2018 who would have been tasked with preparing for and handling pandemics in the United States, to cut costs. He left vacant key posts at the Centers for Disease Control in charge pandemics and further sought to slash CDC funding. His administration also allowed some exposed cruise ship passengers back into the U.S.without waiting for test results.

Now Pres. Trump has put Vice President Mike Pence in charge of the U.S. response to the COVID-19 outbreak, instead of health officials, the New York Times reports.  Pence will also handle all White House messaging on the virus, a move that has critics concerned that health and science experts could be muzzled.  Pence has previously drawn criticism for his handling of an HIV epidemic in Indiana that slowed efforts by public health officials to contain the disease.

Trump has drawn sharp bipartisan criticism as well as Senate Republican committee chairs and global health officials for his handling of the COVID-19 crisis.  The disease to date has infected over 85,000 people in 60 nations, killing nearly 3,000. The first U.S. death occurred in Kirkland, Washington, where an outbreak is suspected at a skilled nursing facility at which dozens of residents and healthcare workers have fallen ill.

March 1, 2020 (San Diego) -- Citing the endless parade of misinformation being peddled to defeat Measure A, San Diego County Supervisor Dianne Jacob today announced she endorses Yes on A.

“I have no problem with campaigning hard, but some folks against Measure A have gone too far,” said Supervisor Jacob. “I can’t sit back while outrageous and offensive claims are being made. I’m supporting Measure A because it simply ensures that voters, not five elected officials, will have the final say on County General Plan busting projects in the rural and semi-rural areas.”

By Miriam Raftery

February 27, 2020 (San Diego)—Sara Jacobs is the front runner in a field of 13 candidates running in the 53^rd Congressional district, according to a San Diego Union-Tribune poll. She’s a Democrat hoping to fill the vacancy when Congresswoman Susan Davis retires.

She says she’s dedicated her career to building a better, safer world and fighting for the most vulnerable people by making institutions and policies fairer. She’s served at the U.S. State Department, at UNICEF, and the United Nations. She holds a Master of International Affairs degree in international security policy and conflict resolution from Columbia University. She’s Founder and Chair of San Diego for Every Child: The Coalition to End Child Poverty.

Granddaughter of Qualcomm founder Irwin Jacobs, she wants to harness technology to solve big problems and served as founding CEO of Project Connect, a nonprofit that helped map every school in the world with a goal of connecting all to the Internet, a  project now a flagship part of UNICEFs work around the world.  

Hear our full interview by clicking the audio link, or scroll down for highlights.

February 27, 2020 (San Diego)-- The ballot for the March 3 primary in San Diego County is short but consequential, including candidates for President, Congress and Mayor of San Diego, as well as controversial ballot measures. It’s complicated by the chance you won’t get the Presidential ballot you need if you procrastinate.

Here is what you need to know to understand the candidates and prepare for the primary election in San Diego County.

By Miriam Raftery

February 26, 2020 (San Diego) ---According to the American Bar Association’s model code of judicial ethics, “A judge shall uphold and promote the independence, integrity, and impartiality of the judiciary, and shall avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety.”  Judges are also supposed to refrain from most political activities.

The rules are in place so that all parties coming before a judge can have faith their case will be decided without prejudice based on race, national origin, gender, religion, politics, or anything other than the facts in their case. 

But Shawn McMillan, a candidate for San Diego Superior Court, has posted numerous memes on his Facebook page with racist, sexist, anti-Muslim and homophobic themes as well as posts bashing Democrats.