Stealing bases

The award for most political bases covered so far this unusual mayoral election season must go to Michael Gelfand of Terra Vista Management, which has the lucrative city leasehold at Campland on the Bay.

The San Diego Community News Group reported earlier this year that, “Campland on the Bay’s lease with the city is due to expire in 2017 and the property is to be returned to marshland, according to the Mission Bay Park Master Plan. But Campland general manager Marshall Wiseman believes there’s some wiggle room. ‘We’re working our tails off to be able to stay where we are,’ said Wiseman.”

And Gelfand has been very busy. On September 4, he gave city councilman and GOP mayoral candidate Kevin Faulconer’s primary campaign the maximum of $1000. Three days later, he came up with the same for Democrat Nathan Fletcher. And last week, on November 23, less than a week after the election results were in, the Rancho Santa Fe resident chipped in $1000 for Democratic city councilman David Alvarez, who surprised many by beating out Fletcher to oppose Faulconer in this coming February’s run-off.

Meanwhile, Alvarez has been busy on another front, giving away 29 Chargers tickets from the city hall stash to the Border View YMCA for the December 1 game against the Cincinnati Bengals. The city council acquired the ability to hand out tickets to their friends by virtue of the taxpayers’ stadium subsidy of the team. Each ticket was worth $135, according to a disclosure filing.

Two of Alvarez’s Democratic council colleagues also were in a generous mood. Acting mayor Todd Gloria gave away six tickets to the Raiders game on December 22 to American Combat Veterans of War in Oceanside. Myrtle Cole, elected earlier this year after a nasty battle with the GOP Lincoln Club, gave 26 Bengals game tickets to the Broadway Heights Community Council.