Mayor Jerry Sanders endorsed Councilman Carl DeMaio Tuesday afternoon to be his successor over Congressman Bob Filner, who widened his lead in the mayoral race in a poll released today.
The relationship between Sanders and DeMaio has been notoriously frosty. Sanders admits they don’t talk much and haven’t always gotten along. And it wasn’t certain Sanders would endorse his fellow Republican in the mayor’s race. But Sanders said, as he considered the candidates and all the years he’s spent working for the city, his decision became clear.
"I love this city too much just to sit it out because it would be the easiest thing for me," he said. "I think Carl is somebody who I believe will carry on what we started with reform. Who will carry on what we started with financial stability. Who will do that good job over the next eight years that we need to make sure this city can sustain itself as we move into the future."
These were kind words from the mayor who once slammed DeMaio for consistently voting against his budgets because, Sanders said, they didn’t fit DeMaio’s storyline of financial doom and gloom. At a news conference in May, Sanders infamously blasted DeMaio for taking credit for fiscal reforms made in the city.
"He probably takes credit for my weight loss; he probably takes credit for the weeds I pulled in the backyard last week. It’s all bulls--t." Sanders said.
Now both Sanders and DeMaio insist their disagreements are just a normal part of politics and that their overall goals for the city are the same.
While DeMaio’s campaign was celebrating the hard won endorsement, Filner also had something to crow about. A new 10News and SurveyUSA poll of likely voters puts Filner up 12 points over DeMaio, 50 percent to 38 percent. The remainder was undecided with six weeks before early voting begins in the general election.
Since the last 10News poll one month ago, Filner gained three points and DeMaio lost three.
Filner said the results of the poll "indicate my message of putting neighborhoods first, not special interests, is resonating with San Diego voters, and may have been the catalyst for today's (endorsement).''
The poll showed the 10-term congressman leads by three points among men and 21 points among women.
On Monday, state Senator Juan Vargas announced he is backing Filner. Vargas lost to Filner in previous congressional campaign primaries, and is seeking the seat again now that it is being vacated.
