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

Liquor Store Group Run by Outspoken Chaldean Leader Mails Hit Pieces Against Filner

The Neighborhood Market Association, a La Mesa-based trade group of liquor stores and markets run by Mark Arabo, an outspoken Chaldean Christian leader, has mailed at least two separate hit pieces against Democratic Congressman Bob Filner, a candidate for mayor of San Diego.

One of the market association's direct mail pieces against Filner, featuring two unflattering photos of the Democrat, calls the congressman a "bully" and refers to media coverage of an "obscentity-laden" outburst the mail piece says he had.

Another mailer (pictured above), containing a side shot Filner's face and a grainy photo of the congressman in front of the Capitol, calls him "out of touch" and suggests he did favors for campaign contributors.

The two pieces, paid for by a committee called California for Small Business,"sponsored by the Neighborhood Market Association," according to the mailers, are silent about which candidate San Diego voters should choose for mayor.

Arabo is listed as the manager of California for Small Business, according to an April 29, 2010 disclosure on file with the state Secretary of State's office.

Last October Arabo, president and CEO of the market association, met with President Barack Obama to protest "ethnic cleansing" he alleged was occurring in Iraq against Chaldeans, according to a Union-Tribune account.

Although Arabo has been a player in the political struggle over the ethnic fate of post-war Iraq, political observers speculate that the mail pieces against Filner, who backs the cause of a controversial Iranian group in Iraq, are motivated more by the market association's heavy involvement in Sacramento politics.

As we reported last week, the Neighborhood Market Association has contributed $5,000 to San Diegans for Nathan Fletcher -- Mayor 2012.

Fletcher is a member of the state assembly who renounced his Republican party membership earlier in the mayoral campaign.

A lobbying disclosure report posted online by the California Secretary of State's office shows that during the first three months of this year the Neighborhood Market Association paid $9,139.70 to the Dolphin Group, a contract lobbyist in Sacramento.

In all, Arabo's association has spent a total of $45,597 through the current legislative reporting period to lobby 17 Assembly bills and six Senate bills.

As noted previously, in 2010 the market association and two of its campaign commitees paid a total of $14,000 in fines for failing to properly reveal their identities in mailers they put out attacking a San Diego booze ban that was eventually made permanent by San Diego voters in November 2008.

We put a call in to Arabo this morning regarding his group's support of Fletcher and its hit pieces against Filner and will update when he gets back to us.

Update: Mark Arabo called us this afternoon to say that his board voted to back Nathan Fletcher after interviewing the major mayoral candidates last year.

Regarding the association's opposition to Bob Filner, Arabo said the congressman was "bad for small business."

Arabo cited what he said was Filner's statement to the board that "he wouldn't ban Wal-Mart," which competes with the area's small markets, liquor stores, and gas stations.

Arabo added that Filner had expressed opposition to the current plan of San Diego mayor Jerry Sanders to expand the downtown convention center, a proposal favored by the association.

He said the association's direct mail pieces attacking Filner represented "nothing personal against him."

Arabo noted that earlier this year the group purchased a building in San Diego's Mission Valley near the Nordstrom department store and has opened new offices, to which it has recently moved from La Mesa.

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

Previous article

Tyler Farr, Blue Water Film Festival, Mustache Bash

Events March 21-March 23, 2024
Next Article

Pet pig perches in pocket

Escondido doula gets a taste of celebrity

The Neighborhood Market Association, a La Mesa-based trade group of liquor stores and markets run by Mark Arabo, an outspoken Chaldean Christian leader, has mailed at least two separate hit pieces against Democratic Congressman Bob Filner, a candidate for mayor of San Diego.

One of the market association's direct mail pieces against Filner, featuring two unflattering photos of the Democrat, calls the congressman a "bully" and refers to media coverage of an "obscentity-laden" outburst the mail piece says he had.

Another mailer (pictured above), containing a side shot Filner's face and a grainy photo of the congressman in front of the Capitol, calls him "out of touch" and suggests he did favors for campaign contributors.

The two pieces, paid for by a committee called California for Small Business,"sponsored by the Neighborhood Market Association," according to the mailers, are silent about which candidate San Diego voters should choose for mayor.

Arabo is listed as the manager of California for Small Business, according to an April 29, 2010 disclosure on file with the state Secretary of State's office.

Last October Arabo, president and CEO of the market association, met with President Barack Obama to protest "ethnic cleansing" he alleged was occurring in Iraq against Chaldeans, according to a Union-Tribune account.

Although Arabo has been a player in the political struggle over the ethnic fate of post-war Iraq, political observers speculate that the mail pieces against Filner, who backs the cause of a controversial Iranian group in Iraq, are motivated more by the market association's heavy involvement in Sacramento politics.

As we reported last week, the Neighborhood Market Association has contributed $5,000 to San Diegans for Nathan Fletcher -- Mayor 2012.

Fletcher is a member of the state assembly who renounced his Republican party membership earlier in the mayoral campaign.

A lobbying disclosure report posted online by the California Secretary of State's office shows that during the first three months of this year the Neighborhood Market Association paid $9,139.70 to the Dolphin Group, a contract lobbyist in Sacramento.

In all, Arabo's association has spent a total of $45,597 through the current legislative reporting period to lobby 17 Assembly bills and six Senate bills.

As noted previously, in 2010 the market association and two of its campaign commitees paid a total of $14,000 in fines for failing to properly reveal their identities in mailers they put out attacking a San Diego booze ban that was eventually made permanent by San Diego voters in November 2008.

We put a call in to Arabo this morning regarding his group's support of Fletcher and its hit pieces against Filner and will update when he gets back to us.

Update: Mark Arabo called us this afternoon to say that his board voted to back Nathan Fletcher after interviewing the major mayoral candidates last year.

Regarding the association's opposition to Bob Filner, Arabo said the congressman was "bad for small business."

Arabo cited what he said was Filner's statement to the board that "he wouldn't ban Wal-Mart," which competes with the area's small markets, liquor stores, and gas stations.

Arabo added that Filner had expressed opposition to the current plan of San Diego mayor Jerry Sanders to expand the downtown convention center, a proposal favored by the association.

He said the association's direct mail pieces attacking Filner represented "nothing personal against him."

Arabo noted that earlier this year the group purchased a building in San Diego's Mission Valley near the Nordstrom department store and has opened new offices, to which it has recently moved from La Mesa.

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