Editorial:

There were no real surprises with this week’s election. Once again, the power of incumbency proved to be an unbeatable asset despite the records of some of those elected officials. For example, although her peer judges had reprimanded Judge Schall three times, the last time for drunk driving, she won reelection easily. Bill Horn has a laundry list of transgression… and he won. And then DA Dumanis, it was anticipated that at least she would be forced into a runoff with her opponent but it was not to be, she won easily despite all the allegations of illegal campaign contributions and the appearance of a quid pro quo with a Mexican Tycoon.

No surprises but plenty of disappointment!

The biggest story or disappointment was the lack of voter participation, an unbelievably 20% or about 130,000 voters in the City of San Diego made the effort and took the time to vote. A shameful number, until one looks at Chula Vista where voters stayed home in record numbers.

Out of the 115,000 voters in Chula Vista only 17,000 voters marked their ballots, or 15% of the registered voters. As Chula Vista’s Hispanic population is the majority demographic of that city, it is not much of a stretch to assume that the Hispanic community did not come out and vote.

As already noted, many in the Hispanic community see the fact that Bonnie Dumanis was re-elected, as a big, big disappointment. No elected official has been a bigger detriment to the Hispanic community than DA Dumanis. From her special investigation of C.V City Councilman Steve Castaneda, her failure to charge the sheriffs in North County in the shootings of five Hispanic youths, and the politicization of the DA’s office. That disappointment becomes larger due to the Hispanic community not getting involved or voting.

Unfortunately, we have to assume that the Hispanic community evidently thinks the status quo is okay with them, and DA Dumanis.

It is hard to consider the Prop B and C, the Barrio Logan Community plan, which was overturned, as a disappointment. Commercial, business and Republican support heavily outspent supporters of the community plan and the low voter turnout carried the day for them.

What was really a disappointment in regards to the Barrio Logan Community Plan was that it even went to a citywide vote. The city-approved plan did not really change things other than to create a little buffer between the industries and residential homes. All of the businesses in the area were grandfathered in so in essences there were not going to be any loss of jobs. What it came down to was that the Republican Party and big businesses did not like it, and were going to defeat the small changes by taking the issue to the polls, defying residents and politicians that voted for it.

What was surprising was that the supporters of Prop B and C were able to get their message out to 53,000 voters, or 40% of the voters who in the end supported the community plan. If the supporters of plan had half the money that industries spent, they could have gotten their message out to a much larger audience and the outcome would have obviously been different!

In politics as with all elections, there are always winners, losers, and much disappointment. In this election the real losers was democracy, San Diego County, and the 80% of the voters who stayed home by allowing a small fraction of the community to decided their economic and political fate for them. The 80% who did not vote have lost their right to complain the next time something happens to their economic and political interests! The time to speak was last Tuesday by voting, 80% of the voters in SD County decided it just wasn’t important enough. Que lastima!