Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Will an early Alvarez get the political cash?

Democratic councilman already fundraising for 2020 supervisor bid

David Alvarez
David Alvarez

If they can't be mayor of San Diego, maybe races for county supervisor will work out, keeping two well-known San Diego politicos in the good financial graces of La Jolla Democratic billionaire Irwin Jacobs.

Jacobs-backed Nathan Fletcher, long said to be mulling a 2018 bid for the District 4 seat of termed-out county supervisor Ron Roberts, has been raising his public profile of late by tweeting from Switzerland. The World Economic Forum, of which the Jacobs co-founded Qualcomm is a "strategic partner," per the event's website, is being held in Davos.

Meanwhile, San Diego city councilman David Alvarez, whose second-place finish in 2013's mayoral contest relegated fellow Democrat Fletcher to third, has just disclosed a putative try for the District 1 seat of termed-out GOP county supervisor Greg Cox, with a new political fundraising committee called David Alvarez for Supervisor 2020, filed January 11 with the county Registrar of Voters.

Nathan Fletcher and Lorena Gonzalez

Newly married to high-profile Democratic assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, Fletcher, an ex-Republican member of the Assembly who became an independent and then a Democrat as he twice struggled to get elected San Diego mayor, has yet to declare his future political intentions.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Word on the street has it that Jacobs and his sons, regular seekers of governmental favor, are prepared to bankroll yet another run for Fletcher, who became a Qualcomm executive after leaving the Assembly in late 2012.

The elder Jacobs — whose most recent local political foray involved an undisclosed private summit with Republican mayor Kevin Faulconer in pursuit of a Balboa Park road and parking bulldozing plan, followed by a torrent of political money to the mayor's reelection fund from Qualcomm executives — is said to see himself as a political kingmaker despite disappointment over Hillary Clinton's presidential loss to Donald Trump.

Hillary Clinton, Irwin and Joan Jacobs

Had Clinton been victorious, insiders say, Fletcher's political fortunes would likely have been bolstered by White House appearances and other presidential dispensations courtesy of Jacobs, a heavy funder of Clinton’s White House ambitions. Now Fletcher's prospects are cloudier, but whether the Clinton setback is fatal to his political career remains to be seen.

Alvarez, who was the choice of big labor over Fletcher and Faulconer in 2013's mayoral joust, has since had a well-publicized falling out with controversial union leader Mickey Kasparian, who stands accused of sexual harassment by a former worker alleging he made "occasional demands for oral sex in his office [and] sexual intercourse in hotels paid for by Local 135, and similar sex acts."

The split caused Alvarez to turn to longtime GOP Lincoln Club member and fallen port commissioner David Malcolm for $10,000 to help pay for a battle with Kasparian over seats on the San Diego County Democratic Party Central Committee.

Fletcher's wife, Lorena Gonzalez, formerly secretary-treasurer and CEO of the Labor Council, who now goes by the name of Gonzalez Fletcher, endorsed Kasparian's slate in that battle.

For his part, Alvarez is a supporter of the controversial Jacobs Balboa Park road building plan, joining an 8-1 council majority to pass the project in November of last year.

As the Democrat begins his big-money supervisorial fundraising well ahead of the 2020 election cycle, city hall insiders are now looking to see if Jacobs and related Qualcomm sources chip in as generously for Alvarez as they have for the GOP’s Faulconer and other politicos backing their agenda.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

A poem for March by Joseph O’Brien

“March’s Lovely Asymptotes”
David Alvarez
David Alvarez

If they can't be mayor of San Diego, maybe races for county supervisor will work out, keeping two well-known San Diego politicos in the good financial graces of La Jolla Democratic billionaire Irwin Jacobs.

Jacobs-backed Nathan Fletcher, long said to be mulling a 2018 bid for the District 4 seat of termed-out county supervisor Ron Roberts, has been raising his public profile of late by tweeting from Switzerland. The World Economic Forum, of which the Jacobs co-founded Qualcomm is a "strategic partner," per the event's website, is being held in Davos.

Meanwhile, San Diego city councilman David Alvarez, whose second-place finish in 2013's mayoral contest relegated fellow Democrat Fletcher to third, has just disclosed a putative try for the District 1 seat of termed-out GOP county supervisor Greg Cox, with a new political fundraising committee called David Alvarez for Supervisor 2020, filed January 11 with the county Registrar of Voters.

Nathan Fletcher and Lorena Gonzalez

Newly married to high-profile Democratic assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, Fletcher, an ex-Republican member of the Assembly who became an independent and then a Democrat as he twice struggled to get elected San Diego mayor, has yet to declare his future political intentions.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Word on the street has it that Jacobs and his sons, regular seekers of governmental favor, are prepared to bankroll yet another run for Fletcher, who became a Qualcomm executive after leaving the Assembly in late 2012.

The elder Jacobs — whose most recent local political foray involved an undisclosed private summit with Republican mayor Kevin Faulconer in pursuit of a Balboa Park road and parking bulldozing plan, followed by a torrent of political money to the mayor's reelection fund from Qualcomm executives — is said to see himself as a political kingmaker despite disappointment over Hillary Clinton's presidential loss to Donald Trump.

Hillary Clinton, Irwin and Joan Jacobs

Had Clinton been victorious, insiders say, Fletcher's political fortunes would likely have been bolstered by White House appearances and other presidential dispensations courtesy of Jacobs, a heavy funder of Clinton’s White House ambitions. Now Fletcher's prospects are cloudier, but whether the Clinton setback is fatal to his political career remains to be seen.

Alvarez, who was the choice of big labor over Fletcher and Faulconer in 2013's mayoral joust, has since had a well-publicized falling out with controversial union leader Mickey Kasparian, who stands accused of sexual harassment by a former worker alleging he made "occasional demands for oral sex in his office [and] sexual intercourse in hotels paid for by Local 135, and similar sex acts."

The split caused Alvarez to turn to longtime GOP Lincoln Club member and fallen port commissioner David Malcolm for $10,000 to help pay for a battle with Kasparian over seats on the San Diego County Democratic Party Central Committee.

Fletcher's wife, Lorena Gonzalez, formerly secretary-treasurer and CEO of the Labor Council, who now goes by the name of Gonzalez Fletcher, endorsed Kasparian's slate in that battle.

For his part, Alvarez is a supporter of the controversial Jacobs Balboa Park road building plan, joining an 8-1 council majority to pass the project in November of last year.

As the Democrat begins his big-money supervisorial fundraising well ahead of the 2020 election cycle, city hall insiders are now looking to see if Jacobs and related Qualcomm sources chip in as generously for Alvarez as they have for the GOP’s Faulconer and other politicos backing their agenda.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Tiny Home Central isn’t solving the San Diego housing crisis

But it does hope to help fill in the gaps
Next Article

Will L.A. Times crowd out San Diego U-T at Riverside printing plant?

Will Toni Atkins stand back from anti-SDG&E initiative?
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.