Safdie Rabines Architects

In more than a bit of irony,  Erik Judson, CEO of JMI Sports, which was partnered with a competing developer, attacked the Midway Rising deal, calling it “putting 20 pounds of stuff in a 10-pound bag that will crush the Midway District and the surrounding communities.”

Influence greased

On September 13, the same day the San Diego City Council rubber-stamped Democratic mayor Todd Gloria’s pick to redevelop the city-owned sports arena and environs, the chosen developer filed disclosure papers revealing it spent $34,000 during the final quarter of last year, $36,000 in the first quarter of this year, and $48,000 during the quarter after that to grease the project’s way through city hall.

The disclosures, signed by San Diego lawyer and regional airport board chairman Gil Cabrera, show the influence-peddling expenditures of the would-be developer, Midway Rising, LLC, to be bankrolled by another outfit called Zephyr Acquisition Group LLC of Encinitas.

The principal of both, Brad Termini and his wife Stefanie, had previously kicked in $50,000 each to a 2020 so-called independent campaign committee run by Laborers International Union of North America, Local 89 backing Gloria, along with $4500 to Gloria’s controlled mayoral campaign committee, as first reported here in back on October 7, 2020.

Gil Cabrera knows you have to spend money to make money.

A San Diego Union-Tribune account of the donations, as well as of Termini’s status, also previously reported here, as “one of the biggest marijuana entrepreneurs in western New York,” which ran September 10 of this year, set off what passes for a political firestorm in San Diego. But the council approved the Sports Arena deal anyway on a 7-1 vote, with Raul Campillo the lone dissenter.

In more than a bit of irony,  Erik Judson, CEO of JMI Sports, which was partnered with a competing developer, attacked the Midway Rising deal, calling it “putting 20 pounds of stuff in a 10-pound bag that will crush the Midway District and the surrounding communities.” JMI’s John Moores, one-time Padres owner, himself was a key figure in the Valerie Stallings bribery scandal, which forced the city councilwoman off the council after she pled guilty to state charges of failing to disclose strategically timed gifts from Moores during his successful drive to get tax dollars for his baseball stadium downtown.

High tech junket

Jennifer Haynes, legislative director for GOP Congressman Darrell Issa, got a free summer trip to Seattle, thanks to a group calling itself the Women’s High Tech Coalition and computer giant Microsoft, according to a July 11 filing with the Clerk of the House by her boss. The first part of the excursion lasted from June 26 to June 28, the document says. Transportation for Hayes was listed as $801, lodging cost $585, and meals ran $69. A separate July 11 report signed by Issa says Microsoft paid $848 in travel costs and $79 for meals during more time spent by Haynes in the Seattle area between June 29 and July 1.

“Participants will watch staff showcase the latest and greatest MS customer stories highlighting our technologies including O365, Azure IoT, HoloLens, Machine learning, and more. Participants will also experience a hands-on demonstration of HoloLens technology,” says Microsoft’s itinerary. “The Inclusive Tech Lab is a Microsoft space dedicated to inclusive gaming. When people come to the lab, we introduce them to the social model of disability through the lens of gaming.” The Women’s High Tech itinerary said that House guests would meet with executives from Amazon, T-Mobile, Weyerhaeuser, and Alaska Airlines.

to its website, the non-profit “hosts regular luncheons, meetings, and receptions in Washington, DC, as well as additional events in Silicon Valley, in order to bring together policymakers, senior congressional staff, federal agency executives, and leaders from industry to network and exchange ideas.”

Toni’s political healthcare

A well-heeled San Francisco developer has kicked in $50,000 to Senate Democratic Pro-Tem Toni Atkins’s so-called ballot measure committee, currently aimed at passage of pro-abortion Prop 1. Susan Lowenberg made the contribution on September 1, according to a disclosure report.

Jim Wood knows abortion helps provide a better quality of life.

“She oversees the management of the company and personnel, cultivates and manages relationships with investors and tenants, negotiates all sales and leasing opportunities, and evaluates all acquisitions,” says Lowenberg’s corporate website.

Giving $25,000 to the Atkins committee on September 2 was the Committee to Improve the Quality of Life in California, Assembly Democrat Jim Wood’s ballot measure committee. The donation funneled cash from the health care industry to the Atkins abortion cause. On January 18, Blue Shield of California gave the Wood committee $15,000, and on June 14, the California Association of Health Plans PAC came up with $2500...

Ex-San Diego city councilwoman Marti Emerald has filed to run for the troubled Sweetwater Union High School District board of trustees, per a campaign committee organization statement filed August 31 with the county Registrar of Voters. “Together, we will keep our children safe, provide world-class education, and no more scandals!” says the motto on her campaign website.

— Matt Potter (@sdmattpotter)

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