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

Golden State of Lobbyists

Hotshot California lobbyists Bob White, Craig Benedetto, and Ben Haddad are giving to San Diego candidates.
Hotshot California lobbyists Bob White, Craig Benedetto, and Ben Haddad are giving to San Diego candidates.

California Strategies, the Sacramento-based lobbying outfit run by Bob White, ex-aide to former San Diego mayor and California governor Pete Wilson, was very busy at San Diego city hall during the final quarter of 2011, according to the firm’s recently filed disclosure report. The company was also a big player in mayoral politics. GOP assemblyman Nathan Fletcher was the firm’s unanimous pick for the city’s next mayor, with White and six fellow executives contributing a total of $2950. Lobbyists Craig Benedetto and Ben Haddad each gave $500 to the reelection bid of city attorney Jan Goldsmith. In addition, Benedetto made a $250 contribution to the reelection campaign of Democratic incumbent Todd Gloria, and Haddad gave $250 to Mark Kersey, a Republican running in city council district 5. Benedetto gave Kersey $500. The pair also hosted an October 2011 fund-raiser for Kersey that raised $520.

Sponsored
Sponsored

On the income side of the ledger, California Strategies was paid $22,500 by Solar Turbines Incorporated to oppose development of Fat City Lofts, a new condo project being developed by noted local architect Jonathan Segal across the street from the company’s waterfront factory. The City’s Centre City Development Corporation voted against the development in January, causing Laurie Black to resign from the board. Segal has appealed to the Planning Commission, with a hearing expected within the next few months. According to disclosure records, Benedetto and Haddad lobbied Brad Richter, Brandon Nichols, Kim Kilkenny, and Frank Alessi, all from the development corporation, as well as David Graham of the mayor’s office.

California Strategies also received $22,500 from Rural/Metro San Diego, the Arizona-based outfit that last year drew a harsh report by the city auditor. Benedetto and Haddad lobbied councilmembers Tony Young and Lorie Zapf “to enhance the reputation of the company and maintain the current contract with the City of San Diego to provide ambulance services.” Capital Power Corporation of Edmonton, Canada, paid the firm $18,000 to convince the city council to award it a “Long-term lease enabling development of a power plant.” And Enterprise Rent-A-Car forked over $6000 regarding “Maintenance of rental car fees/tax at current rates.”

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

Goldfish events are about musical escapism

Live/electronic duo journeyed from South Africa to Ibiza to San Diego
Hotshot California lobbyists Bob White, Craig Benedetto, and Ben Haddad are giving to San Diego candidates.
Hotshot California lobbyists Bob White, Craig Benedetto, and Ben Haddad are giving to San Diego candidates.

California Strategies, the Sacramento-based lobbying outfit run by Bob White, ex-aide to former San Diego mayor and California governor Pete Wilson, was very busy at San Diego city hall during the final quarter of 2011, according to the firm’s recently filed disclosure report. The company was also a big player in mayoral politics. GOP assemblyman Nathan Fletcher was the firm’s unanimous pick for the city’s next mayor, with White and six fellow executives contributing a total of $2950. Lobbyists Craig Benedetto and Ben Haddad each gave $500 to the reelection bid of city attorney Jan Goldsmith. In addition, Benedetto made a $250 contribution to the reelection campaign of Democratic incumbent Todd Gloria, and Haddad gave $250 to Mark Kersey, a Republican running in city council district 5. Benedetto gave Kersey $500. The pair also hosted an October 2011 fund-raiser for Kersey that raised $520.

Sponsored
Sponsored

On the income side of the ledger, California Strategies was paid $22,500 by Solar Turbines Incorporated to oppose development of Fat City Lofts, a new condo project being developed by noted local architect Jonathan Segal across the street from the company’s waterfront factory. The City’s Centre City Development Corporation voted against the development in January, causing Laurie Black to resign from the board. Segal has appealed to the Planning Commission, with a hearing expected within the next few months. According to disclosure records, Benedetto and Haddad lobbied Brad Richter, Brandon Nichols, Kim Kilkenny, and Frank Alessi, all from the development corporation, as well as David Graham of the mayor’s office.

California Strategies also received $22,500 from Rural/Metro San Diego, the Arizona-based outfit that last year drew a harsh report by the city auditor. Benedetto and Haddad lobbied councilmembers Tony Young and Lorie Zapf “to enhance the reputation of the company and maintain the current contract with the City of San Diego to provide ambulance services.” Capital Power Corporation of Edmonton, Canada, paid the firm $18,000 to convince the city council to award it a “Long-term lease enabling development of a power plant.” And Enterprise Rent-A-Car forked over $6000 regarding “Maintenance of rental car fees/tax at current rates.”

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

City late to extricate foxtails from Fiesta Island

Noxious seeds found in chest walls and hearts, and even the brain cavity of dead dogs
Next Article

Lang Lang in San Diego

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.