San Diego's acting mayor, councilman convicted of corruption

[slackmaster]

12:30 p.m. July 18, 2005

SAN DIEGO – A federal jury on Monday convicted San Diego's new acting mayor and a city councilman of taking illegal campaign contributions from a strip club owner – the latest blow to a city awash in scandal.
Michael Zucchet, who became interim mayor over the weekend, was found guilty of conspiracy, extortion and fraud on his first business day in office. He will almost certainly have to resign.

Councilman Ralph Inzunza, who was convicted of the same charges, is also likely to step down.

The jury also returned guilty verdicts against former Clark County, Nev., Commissioner Lance Malone, who worked for strip club owner Michael Galardi to repeal San Diego's ban preventing nude dancers and patrons from touching each other....

My comment: They fucked up, and we need them out of government. The jury did an excellent job of sorting through a complex case.

For complete copyrighted article please see http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/probe/20050718-1230-ca-sandiegocorruption.html

[displacedtexan]

1. Are they all Republicans?

Sorry, I haven't been keeping up.

[slackmaster]

2. Nope

I don't know about Lance Malone, but the SD city councilmen are registered Democrats including the late councilman Charles Lewis, who died before indictments were issued.

:-(

[MindPilot]

3. Any San Diego DUers wanna for city council?

I hear there are going to be some openings.

[slackmaster]

5. I couldn't take the publicity or the cut in pay

Sorry.

[MindPilot]

6. Me neither and I would be up on assault charges within a week

At least two local talk-radio studios would be crime scenes.

[neuvocat]

9. Nah. Donna Frye's office is around the corner

from my apartment. I'm not taking her on. No way.

[PurityOfEssence]

4. There are none so blind as those who will Nazi

Cunningham is giving up the fight, and the local fascists have been shown to be shockingly greedy and incompetent. It's been a long time since I lived there, but the competence and ethics of Pete Wilson live on. Politics are in a shambles there, and that's as it should be: reactionaries have tripped all over each other to steal and cheat with no eye to the future. The once staggered military-industrial economy has rebounded somewhat, but it's still a pretty soft economy

This is a huge city--the 7th largest in the country--yet the greedheads starve it for services and live in a libertarian/republican fantasy of denial. Meanwhile, the housing boom blossoms, and every four-flusher and flipper who can cashes in.

Truly, the State of California is like a political graph, with the North being the Left and the South being the Right.

[Lefty48197]

7. Shocking, that an NRA apologist

would use this forum to point out a flaw in a Democrat. Shocking...

"Raffesberger has endorsed Zucchet, the Democrat in the race."


http://www.sdcitybeat.com/article.php?id=222

[slackmaster]

8. I didn't introduce party affiliation into this discussion, Lefty48197

In fact San Diego City Council positions are non-partisan. In the last mayoral election we had two Republicans running against each other and one Democrat. The convictions are newsworthy because they reflect on the corrupt condition of my home city's government. The city is facing a multi-billion dollar debacle because of the pension fiasco that was caused by corrupt, self-serving people of both major parties.

[rinsd]

10. Yeah can't report the truth.....

...who exactly would the apologist be in this case?

Either way your post is a bunch of bullshit. Slack as well as maveric as well as myself have been posting about this as well as the Dukester scandal, Murphy's resignation etc.

Our town of San Diego is in deep doo doo that is a bi-partisan creation over the last decade or so.

But hey feel free to drag in bullshit from unrelated threads as a means of character assasination.

[cascadiance]

11. Being and straight and honest about corruption in BOTH parties...

is the best way to help someone who IS honest and a straight shooter like Donna Frye elected by a city who wants exactly that. If we try to only point out problems with Republicans like Murphy and Cunningham, there will be a blanket mistrust of all politicians here, and the voters who want honesty that we need will stay home. Be honest and clean *BOTH* houses! Kind of what we've been saying at the national level too with the DLC and other influences on the Democratic Party keeping them less honest with their *true* constituencies as well. People like Sibel Edmonds, who's trying to get her story out to the world that might rid us of this cancer we have in the White House is being pushed aside because of rumors now that much of what she knows will affect politicians in BOTH parties! I say get rid of the corrupt elements! We NEED to do that for America, not just to serve the Democrats of America! If we are non-partisan in our efforts to rid this government of corruption, THAT is what will bring moderates in from the Rethuglican Party to our side! THAT is what we need to retake the congress in 2006 too!

Honest Democrats who are straight and serving their constituencies will get my full support! Just finished walking my precinct for Donna Frye last night!

[rinsd]

12. My roommate may vote for Frye....

...because he likes what he is hearing in regards to the Chargers.

There are many paths to a voter's heart.

On update: I think Frye has ran an excellent campaign so far concentrating on transparency and cleaning up the mess.

[slackmaster]

13. I voted for Frye before and I'm considering voting for her again

For the record I DID fill in the damned bubble.

:argh:

[OrwellwasRight]

14. Corruption in both parties?

since when is San Diego a bipartisan city? It has been a Republican mecca for as long as it has existed. Roger "blowhard" Hedgecock, forced to resign in disgrace after pleading guilty to accepting illegal campaign contributions? Republican. Maureen "Mo" O'Connor? Charger suck-up, developer suck-up,promising a downtown library? Republican. Susan Golding, wife of convicted money-launderer Richard T. Silberman (who claimed she "knew nothing about it"), who didn't just suck up to the Chargers, but made back-door deals with them in violation of the CA open-meetings law? Republican.

Murphy? Republican.

Let's not now pretend that "there is equal blame to go around on both sides." There isn't.

The Republicans campaigned against Zucchet in 2002 by saying he "was in the pocket of the unions." That's so 19th Century. He was the first openly pro-union council member in the city's history. I am not defending any illegal actions he may have taken, I'm just saying let's not get carried away.

Equating Democratic party crimes in San Diego to Republican party crimes is like saying Clinton's blow job is the moral equivalent of even one needless death in Iraq.

[cascadiance]

15. I'm not saying that there's *equal* corruption in both parties...

All I'm saying is that we should weed out any that might be on the Dem's side. If the Dems can be seen as "self-policing", that's what will bring the voters over to them more. It's still an uphill battle, but I really think Donna Frye's got a chance to put the policy of honesty to use and get elected here. Most other times, I'd say she'd have an uphill battle. But I really feel that San Diegans are sick of the overflow of corruption lately and want to find someone who's honest and a party that also emphasizes and delivers honest politics as well. I agree that the amount of corruption the Dems have here is dwarfed by the Rethugs, but let's not blind ourselves to it when it happens on our side! With a cleaner slate, we have less "dead wood" to remove than the Rethugs do, and less baggage in elections as a result.

We still have some good Dems we voted in here in San Diego folks, and I don't see any of these people on police blotters or in gossip rags...

- Susan Davis - House Rep (District 53)
- Bob Filner - House Rep (District 51)
- Mark Aguirre just elected as City Attorney is doing his job in helping sort out the legal mess with the pension fund, etc. He'll be helpful if and when Donna can take charge to make sure that San Diego is back on its feet legally later.
- Toni Atkins is still a decent progressive city council member that has sided with Donna Frye on many votes and actions.
- Lori Saldana - State Assembly
- Juan Vargas - State Assembly
- Christine Kehoe - State Senate