Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Reading the Tea Leaves

— One of San Diego's richest and most powerful players is also one of its most enigmatic. John Jay Moores -- Padres owner, downtown development magnate, University of California regent, confidante and patron of ex-president Jimmy Carter -- rarely communicates directly with the taxpaying public, save for a few throwaway lines handed to sportswriters about the ups and downs of his professional baseball franchise. But the wealthy ex-Texan and nominal Democrat is never far from the minds of local political insiders and pundits, who see his shadowy influence -- much of it mediated by ex-Democratic state senator Steve Peace, now a well-paid Moores executive -- almost everywhere.

Sponsored
Sponsored

A recent case in point: a hush-hush six-month lobbying effort in Washington, D.C., financed by his JMI Realty holding company. Disclosure statements on file with the U.S. Senate reveal that on September 30 of last year, Del Mar Heights-based JMI hired Wayne Berman and Stewart Hall of the Federalist Group, LLC, to lobby Congress and the president regarding "base closure and realignment issues." The company also represents the University of California and Science Applications International Corporation. A year-end 2005 filing, dated February 7 of this year, described the influence peddling on behalf of JMI as being about "issues related to base closure redevelopment." According to that filing, the lobbyists had contacted the "Executive Office of the President," along with the House and Senate. The contract, worth $160,000, ended this April 1, says an August 9 filing by the lobbyists.

The timing of JMI's lobbying effort parallels progress of the controversial Navy Broadway Complex project, ultimately awarded to rival developer Doug Manchester on March 31. Days before that, on March 27, the Irvine Company, then regarded by many as the front-runner to win development rights from the Navy, announced it was hiring ex-Padres president Charles Black and former JMI executive Thomas Sullivan, a move that suggested they would lead the Broadway project. A March 8 U-T story said that JMI "chose not to bid" for the project's long-term lease rights. Almost since the day it was announced, Manchester's proposal has been opposed by a host of critics, who complain about its lack of public spaces and schlocky design. They've found a seemingly unlikely ally in the Union-Tribune, known for boosting most big local development projects. The paper, which has repeatedly bashed Manchester's Broadway complex concept, has long been editorially friendly to Moores.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Live Five: Sitting On Stacy, Matte Blvck, Think X, Hendrix Celebration, Coriander

Alt-ska, dark electro-pop, tributes, and coastal rock in Solana Beach, Little Italy, Pacific Beach

— One of San Diego's richest and most powerful players is also one of its most enigmatic. John Jay Moores -- Padres owner, downtown development magnate, University of California regent, confidante and patron of ex-president Jimmy Carter -- rarely communicates directly with the taxpaying public, save for a few throwaway lines handed to sportswriters about the ups and downs of his professional baseball franchise. But the wealthy ex-Texan and nominal Democrat is never far from the minds of local political insiders and pundits, who see his shadowy influence -- much of it mediated by ex-Democratic state senator Steve Peace, now a well-paid Moores executive -- almost everywhere.

Sponsored
Sponsored

A recent case in point: a hush-hush six-month lobbying effort in Washington, D.C., financed by his JMI Realty holding company. Disclosure statements on file with the U.S. Senate reveal that on September 30 of last year, Del Mar Heights-based JMI hired Wayne Berman and Stewart Hall of the Federalist Group, LLC, to lobby Congress and the president regarding "base closure and realignment issues." The company also represents the University of California and Science Applications International Corporation. A year-end 2005 filing, dated February 7 of this year, described the influence peddling on behalf of JMI as being about "issues related to base closure redevelopment." According to that filing, the lobbyists had contacted the "Executive Office of the President," along with the House and Senate. The contract, worth $160,000, ended this April 1, says an August 9 filing by the lobbyists.

The timing of JMI's lobbying effort parallels progress of the controversial Navy Broadway Complex project, ultimately awarded to rival developer Doug Manchester on March 31. Days before that, on March 27, the Irvine Company, then regarded by many as the front-runner to win development rights from the Navy, announced it was hiring ex-Padres president Charles Black and former JMI executive Thomas Sullivan, a move that suggested they would lead the Broadway project. A March 8 U-T story said that JMI "chose not to bid" for the project's long-term lease rights. Almost since the day it was announced, Manchester's proposal has been opposed by a host of critics, who complain about its lack of public spaces and schlocky design. They've found a seemingly unlikely ally in the Union-Tribune, known for boosting most big local development projects. The paper, which has repeatedly bashed Manchester's Broadway complex concept, has long been editorially friendly to Moores.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Woodpeckers are stocking away acorns, Amorous tarantulas

Stunning sycamores, Mars rising
Next Article

Drinking Sudden Death on All Saint’s Day in Quixote’s church-themed interior

Seeking solace, spiritual and otherwise
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader