Here’s Hillary

Former first lady Hillary Clinton has a long-term relationship with San Diego. Back in the 1990s, when husband Bill was president, she spent leisure time with him hanging around with Democratic donor and Hotel del Coronado mogul Larry Lawrence and his wife Shelia. (After Lawrence died, his widow was reported by then-conservative columnist Arianna Huffington to have become more than just a friend of Bill.) This June, Hillary showed up at the BIO International Conference, whose exclusive downtown block party was arranged by meeting consultant Katherine Stuart, wife of GOP mayor Kevin Faulconer. And where Hillary goes, apparently, goes Ready for Hillary, an ostensibly independent super PAC backing her so-far unannounced bid for the presidency.

Bankrollers of the group include Irwin Jacobs, the Democratic billionaire and Qualcomm founder, who with wife Joan has kicked in $50,000. Walmart heiress Alice Walton, whose brother John lived in an old National City mansion until he was killed in a 2005 experimental plane crash, gave $25,000. “With over two million supporters and over 50,000 grassroots donors, Ready for Hillary is the vehicle through which Americans of all walks of life are expressing their support for a potential Hillary run,” says the group’s website.

In May, Politico reported that the super PAC had filed with the Federal Election Commission to turn itself into a so-called hybrid PAC, “It will let Ready For Hillary donate directly to candidates running for House and Senate in 2014 and beyond — and could help bolster key Clinton allies running for office in important swing states or primary states.” Under the law, Clinton is barred from coordinating her political activities with Ready for Hillary, but disclosure reports show that the PAC was present and spending in San Diego during Clinton’s June trip here. On June 26, the day after Clinton spoke at the BIO event in the convention center, Ready for Hillary reported picking up a $402.76 tab at downtown’s Four Points by Sheraton. The Meineke Car Center on Damon Avenue in Pacific Beach got $365.35. Two days later, on June 28, the PAC dropped $671.99 at the Marriott Residence Inn on Kearny Mesa Road.