Southwest Strategies signs on with Friends of SDSU

Southwest Strategies, the influence-peddling firm that helped mastermind the 2016 defeat by the military shipyard lobby of the Barrio Logan community plan, has signed on with Friends of SDSU, the political committee backing a takeover by San Diego State University of the 60-plus-acre city-owned property formerly known as Qualcomm Stadium.

The outfit is facing off against another, similarly named and well-wired lobbying company in the form of California Strategies, hired to represent SoccerCity. That group has a competing measure on this coming November’s ballot that would turn the Mission Valley real estate over to a group of La Jolla hedge-fund investors backed by mayor Kevin Faulconer. So SDSU isn’t outclassed in the city-hall insiders category, Southwest Strategies has just hired Jack Straw, the mayor’s ex-director of Land Use and Economic Development Policy, where he made a total of $98,207 in 2016, according to the website TransparentCalifornia.com.

“Jack’s extensive knowledge of public policy and land development will be an asset to our team. His experience will strengthen the first-hand knowledge we have of our client’s industries,” said a statement by Chris Wahl, son-in-law of Southwest Strategies founder Alan Ziegaus.