Comments by RichardRider | San Diego Reader

RichardRider

Gaming the System

Oh the horror, the horror! Private sector companies and associations gave a total of almost TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS in sports game tickets as gifts to favored politicians last year. Now, note the gifts from the labor unions to their favored San Diego area politicians. No cheap-ass game tickets for them. Just tens -- sometimes HUNDREDS of thousands of dollars in "independent expenditures" to help get each candidate elected. Not to mention providing free "volunteer" labor. Yes, fiscal conservative helped a dozen or so high profile local candidates with similar IE's and volunteer efforts. But the unions essentially elected SCORES of local area candidates -- likely over a hundred -- with their obscene spending. A recent article estimated that the ANNUAL California statewide labor union political spending came to $750 million. Again, that's ANNUAL. And that's not counting the spending of countless local labor unions. Now THAT's "Gaming the System"! http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/jul...
— July 5, 2012 12:55 p.m.

"Snapdragon Stadium" Was Illegal, City Attorney Memo Says

People forget how Qualcomm originally got the Mission Valley stadium naming rights. During the mess surrounding the Charger ticket guarantee deal, the city was DESPERATE for extra revenue to pay for the stadium renovation. Qualcomm offered a low-ball price for naming rights, and the city officials jumped on it. Instead, they city should have put the naming rights out for bid. Compared to other such naming rights deals, it appears that the city could have made millions more off such a competitively bid sale of the naming rights.
— January 6, 2012 11:57 a.m.