There are quite a few heated races in San Diego this election, on top of the mayor’s race and City Council District 1, which will determine the City Council’s party majority.
In our effort to make you the most informed voter you can possibly be (and to help you feel smarter than your non-KPBS-following friends), this week we brought you the candidates for the 52nd Congressional District and the San Diego County Board of Supervisors. Both races could have a big impact on our region, and the 52nd is attracting national attention—and lots of Super PAC money—because it’s one of the few tightly contested congressional races that could cede a Republican seat to the Democrats.
Republican Congressman Brian Bilbray (who currently represents the 50th district, but because of redistricting is running in the 52nd) and Port Commissioner Scott Peters (a Democrat) sat down for individual interviews with KPBS. Peters was willing to debate (like the one we hosted in June) but Bilbray said family issues are taking up too much of his time, so he wasn’t able to debate. (His daughter is battling skin cancer.)
Even with separate interviews, you can hear the candidates’ stances on pension reform, social security and Medicare, the Affordable Care Act and what they think about each other’s finances.
KPBS did host a debate between the two candidates for the District 3 seat on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, Dave Roberts and Steve Danon. This is the first time in 16 years that there’s an open seat on the board. The supes make decisions on everything from development in East County, prison realignment and how social services like food stamps are doled out, so this race is pretty important.
Roberts and Danon did not seem particularly pleased with each other during the debate—I started keeping track of the number of times someone said “that’s not true!” but lost count after 10.
Other Stories This Week
-We also continued our ongoing coverage of this election’s propositions with a story on the many different school bonds on local ballots and my story on Prop 37 to label genetically modified food.
There’s a lot of important information in both of these stories, but if nothing else, watch them for the cute kids playing with iPads and the sugar action shot in the Prop 37 story. When you watch the video, it’ll make sense. Trust me.
-Our arts reporter Angela Carone had the scoop on a coming and a going in the arts world this week. She had the startling news that Orchestra Nova’s artistic director and conductor Jung-Ho Pak suddenly resigned, which meant this weekend’s concerts were canceled. The organization was at an impasse over whether musicians should emote on stage after six months of talks.
Carone also had an exclusive interview with The Old Globe’s new artistic director, Barry Edelstein. Edelstein is considered one of the leading experts in the country on Shakespeare’s plays, so watch what he has to say about his future vision for The Old Globe and its annual Summer Shakespeare Festival.
-KPBS broke the story that after buying up U-T San Diego and The North County Times, hotelier Doug Manchester now has his sights set on The Tribune Company, which owns the Los Angeles Times. Not surprisingly, the story generated several emotional comments, including this one from PeterInCA:
“The Chicago Trib is not what it was 30 years ago but it's not as as bad as the U-T has become. Hate to see this guy get his hands on it.”
