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Politics

Last Minute Scramble Helps Two Local Initiatives get on the Ballot

By Gloria Penner / Senior Political Correspondent,  Political Fix by Gloria Penner
Published August 7, 2008 at 11:18 PM PDT
This story was published more than 16 years ago.

This is especially true when experts and leaders don't see an end in sight to our economic downturn, and when the governor is looking for a sales tax increase and school districts are seeking voter approval for school improvement bonds. It all spells money and that can be a sore subject these days.

So, here's another voter initiative that just made the deadline, but is hitting rough waters. In this case, the Port District approved putting a measure on the ballot to clear the way for a deck to be built on the 10 th Avenue Marine Terminal on port waterfront land. On top of that deck might be hotels, shops, restaurants, even a football stadium that could be converted into a sports arena or convention center expansion. Sounds visionary, doesn't it? But the same port that approved it for the ballot actually doesn't like it at all and has sued the registrar of voters, the clerk of the port, and the initiative's authors to get it off the ballot. The port stipulates that 42,000 maritime workers' jobs could be jeopardized by a development that provides minimum wage tourism jobs. So, although there's no tax involved in this measure, the fight will be about money. It seems strange for the port to waste time and energy voting to place the measure on the ballot and then suing to get it off. But, a port spokesperson told me that with 34,000 petition signatures submitted to the registrar, the port had no choice but to approve what the citizens had initiated once the signature requirement was met.

As I was writing this, I received an email message from Peter Q Davis, former port commission chairman who has served on the San Diego City Pension Board, ran for mayor twice and was chairman-president and CEO of Bank of Commerce for 22 years and a founding director of Torrey Pines Bank. With this wealth of background in business and civic affairs, this is his take on the Port District's lawsuit:

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So the Port will be using Public funds (To hire a LA Law Firm) to sue the County who will be using Public funds to defend its official and her actions.

So we have the Port creating a situation where public funds will be used to prosecute and also to defend a lawsuit against, giving the public the right to decide, the public use of a public asset.

Doesn't anyone else think maybe the port has lost its "Bearings" (to use a nautical term"?
At this point, there are still 24 hours left until the deadline. We'll see what other ballot initiatives you may or may not get to vote on.
Politics
Gloria Penner
KPBS remembers Gloria Penner, Senior Political Correspondent and host of "KPBS Midday Edition- Roundtable" on Fridays at noon. Gloria was the host "San Diego Week" from 2008-2011 and also hosted the first hour of KPBS Radio's "These Days" from 1995 to 1999. She served as the host of KPBS TV's "Full Focus" from 2003 to 2007. Gloria first joined KPBS Television in 1969 as director of community relations. Subsequently, she oversaw production of television programs for nine years. From 1993 to 1995, she was the host and writer for "KPBS Weekend Edition," a locally produced television program featuring highlights from the MacNeil/Lehrer News Hour. National credits include reporting and producing assignments for "Nightly Business Report" and the "MacNeil/Lehrer News Hour." She played an active part in KPBS’ election coverage for 30 years. She has moderated scores of town hall meetings on candidates races and propositions for KPBS, "Envision San Diego," and the League of Women Voters. She conducted scores of interviews with congressional, state and local candidates; and reported for television documentaries on issues and candidates. Her awards include 7 Emmys, 5 Golden Mikes, 2 Gracies from the American Federation of Women in Radio and Television, The San Diego Press Club’s Harold Keen Award for excellence in journalism, the John Swett Award from the California Teachers Association, and many honors from the Society for Professional Journalists and the San Diego Bar Association. An annual Gloria Penner Award for Civic Service was established in 2003 by the League of Women Voters of San Diego County, and Gloria was the first recipient. Gloria earned her bachelor’s degree from Brooklyn College. She did graduate work in English at New York University and earned her Master’s Degree in English from Syracuse University. She started her radio career in San Francisco in the 1950s as an associate producer on a program called Housewives Protective League. Her first job in television came after a move to Washington, D.C. where she was associate producer of the Washington segment of the "Today Show." After a stint in Hawaii and a return to Washington, D.C., she relocated to San Diego and took a few years off for family life. Gloria is survived by her husband Bill Snyder of La Jolla; two sons, Brad Penner of San Diego and Steve Penner of Tucson, Arizona.
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