SeaBreeze Vacation Rentals, run by short-term rental advocate Jonah Mechanic, kicked in $20,000 to an independent expenditure committee calling itself Neighbors for Housing Solutions Supporting Todd Gloria for San Diego Mayor.

Doped-up donor

An ex-San Diego Chargers defensive tackle with a history of doping has given $1000 to San Diego city councilwoman Barbara Bry’s mayoral campaign. Corey Liuget, a 2011 first-round Chargers pick, is currently on the Houston Texans practice squad after playing the 2019 season for the team, per CBSsports.com. The L.A. Chargers let him go earlier the same year. He had been set to make $8 million in 2019, according to ESPN; a torn right quad ended his 2018 season. At the beginning of 2018, the South Florida native received a four-game suspension from the NFL for violating its ban on performance enhancement drugs. Liuget subsequently sued ex-trainer Ian Danney for $15 million, alleging he was responsible for administering the medications that got the player into trouble. The case was settled out of court in January of this year, with terms remaining private.

In late summer 2016, a jury acquitted one of Liuget’s cousins of attempted murder related to a shooting during a birthday party Liuget had thrown for his mother at her house in North Miami, the Miami New Times reported August 22, 2016. Victim Reginald Beauvoir accused Liuget and his family of clamming up about the shooting to protect the player’s fortune and reputation. The account also described a May 2010 incident in which an ex-high school teammate alleged Liuget punched him in the face. Without admitting guilt, Liuget agreed to pay an $85,000 settlement determined through mediation, the story said.

Corey Liuget: thick neck, thick wallet.

Gloria’s non refunding contributor

SeaBreeze Vacation Rentals, run by short-term rental advocate Jonah Mechanic, kicked in $20,000 to an independent expenditure committee calling itself Neighbors for Housing Solutions Supporting Todd Gloria for San Diego Mayor. The contribution was made September 10, according to a late contribution report filed with the city clerk’s office on October 10. The rental operation came under scrutiny in an April 10, 2020, KFMB-TV investigative report. A bevy of out-of-town customers charged that the company’s 50 percent refund policy for Covid-related cancellations was unfair. Said a SeaBreeze statement to the station: “The covid-19 crisis has created an unprecedented situation in so many ways. We are doing our best to provide our customers with options that allow us to provide fair reimbursements for all parties. As a result, we are offering their choice of a 100% credit for a future vacation in San Diego during the next 12 months or a 50% cash refund for any costs incurred to date. We believe this is a reasonable solution to a crisis that nobody expected.”

Seabreeze Vacation Rentals blew $20,000 Todd Gloria’s way.

Bailing billionaire

City plans to buy two hotels for homeless housing, backed by termed-out Republican mayor Kevin Faulconer, have raised the specter of corporate bailouts in some critics’ minds. The council voted unanimously on October 13 to buy the 190-room Marriott Residence Inn, 1865 Hotel Circle South, for $67 million, and the 142-room Residence at 5400 Kearny Mesa Road for $39.5 million. “Allowing people to live unsafely on the streets is not OK,” Faulconer said after the action, according to a statement cited by the Union-Tribune. Cash for the deals is coming from federal and state housing programs. “The properties will be acquired and undergo upgrades to fire and life safety systems, accessibility and path of travel, termite fumigation, and minimal remediation for issues identified on the physical needs assessments for each of the properties,” says a September 18 staff report to the housing commission. “A comprehensive renovation effort is not contemplated for these properties at this time.”

Seller of the Mission Valley property is Chatham RIMV LLC, which state corporate records say is based in West Palm Beach, Florida. Manager Jeffrey Fisher is also the chief executive of publicly traded Chatham Lodging Trust, which as of October 20 had lost more than half its value since January 2020 and the onset of the covid-19 pandemic, according to SeekingAlpha.com. Fisher is among the signers of an October 15 letter to President Donald Trump requesting release of funds from the federal Main Street Lending Program to players in the hotel industry. “Three out of every 10 hotel employees are now furloughed or laid off and more than two-thirds of hotels report that they will only be able to last six more months at current projected revenue and occupancy levels absent any further relief,” the letter says.

The seller of the Kearny Mesa hotel is RT San Diego, LLC, a Delaware corporation with an address of One Executive Boulevard in Yonkers, New York. That’s the headquarters of AVR Realty, another distressed big hotel owner.

— Matt Potter

(@sdmattpotter)

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