Kevin Faulconer’s stealthy web war

San Diego mayor Kevin Faulconer may fall short of the goal in his costly effort keep the Chargers in town, but one thing is certain: his new 2016 re-election website isn’t talking about it.

Instead, the mayor's campaign site — headlined "Getting things done for San Diego" — sticks to upbeat generalities, leaving his allies in the GOP Lincoln Club to take their traditional low road on behalf of the Republican mayor.

"Kevin has proven that he cares about our most neglected communities," proclaims lobbyist Tony Young, a former Democratic city councilman who now represents a glittering array of the city's most well-heeled special interests.

"He has improved our roads and parks, increased library and rec center hours, and has improved public safety response times in the neighborhoods that need the most help," says the influence peddler of the mayor.

During the most recent reporting period, Young took in $15,000 from shopping-mall owner Westfield to lobby regarding a "construction project," and received $15,000 from utility giant San Diego Gas & Electric "relating to SDG&E's rate structure proposal."

Republican ex-mayor and current chamber of commerce honcho Jerry Sanders, a rough-and-tumble political player who also plays the influence game at city hall, swears to Faulconer's impartiality.

"He has proven that he's not about partisan politics, he's about getting things done for all of San Diego," says the Sanders statement regarding Faulconer.

Sanders pioneered the use of big-money referendum campaigns to overturn city-council decisions unfavorable to business interests he represents, including blowing up the Barrio Logan community plan with Faulconer's help.

The mayor's website continues, "Faulconer has also made significant changes to bring transparency and efficiency to City government. He appointed Shelley Zimmerman, the first female police chief in San Diego history, to change the culture in the San Diego Police Department."

In addition, "He also kicked off a major overhaul of the City's website that will make it more user-friendly and seeks to employ local San Diego tech companies to do the work."

But Faulconer's ten-point issue list, which includes "creating jobs" and "helping the homeless get back on track," omits keeping the professional football team, a project to which the city and county have committed $500,000 thus far.

Meanwhile, the mayor's Lincoln Club backers — who helped destroy Democrat Nathan Fletcher during his mayoral battle with Falconer — earning the fierce opprobrium of Qualcomm honcho Paul Jacobs — are using Facebook in a new campaign against the Chargers, owned by the Republican Spanos clan.

"I was outraged to learn that the Lincoln Club of San Diego — a supposedly pro-business political group — would fund a political hit piece that unfairly and incorrectly attacks one of San Diego’s largest employers," said Jacobs in 2013 of the club's attack against Fletcher, a Qualcomm executive.

"Is the Lincoln Club so desperate and out of constructive ideas that they are resorting to attacks on private employers, forsaking their supposed principles and lying to serve a political agenda?"

This time, as reported Sunday by the Los Angeles Daily News, the club is paying for posts on the social network dissing the football team.

“This new negative advertising campaign against the Chargers — launched just as the team began negotiations with the city — speaks volumes about what the Mayor and his political operatives have really been up to on this issue from the start: They have always seemed more concerned with political cover than with actually building a stadium,” team special counsel Mark Fabiani told the paper.

Noted the Daily News: "With time of such an essence as the Chargers try to secure a new home in San Diego — or look to Los Angeles for a new home — this probably isn’t the best time to be throwing mud."