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

As thick as thieves

Ignoring the revolving door law

Orange County politico Curt Pringle is making himself known around San Diego city hall.
Orange County politico Curt Pringle is making himself known around San Diego city hall.

San Diego’s political merry-go-round of big-money influence-peddling never stops. Ex–Republican assemblyman and onetime mayor of Anaheim Curt Pringle, known as one of Orange County’s most powerful politicos in recent memory, has been making the rounds at San Diego city hall. Four years ago, the Voice of Orange County uncovered emails showing how Pringle, now proprietor of Curt Pringle & Associates, a governmental affairs and lobbying shop, used his ties to former political associates — including those on the state’s High Speed Rail board, which he chaired before resigning in July 2011. “The records reveal Pringle’s penchant for walking right to, perhaps even over, the line drawn by the state’s revolving door law, which governs how a former elected official may interact with the public agencies for which he or she served,” noted the website.

Sponsored
Sponsored

In San Diego, Pringle vice president Jennifer Fitzgerald, a controversial member of the Fullerton City Council, has been up to see Kevin Faulconer staffer Francis Barraza, who recently returned to the mayor’s office after four months as Faulconer’s reelection campaign manager. Pringle’s client, Mobilitie of Newport Beach, is in the frequently contentious business of putting up cell-phone towers and other wireless communications gear not always favored by those who live nearby. Much of the cell and data business also involves so-called micro-trenching of city streets to accommodate fiber-optic cable, breaking up pavement that has not always been fully repaired. According to Pringle’s August 8 lobbying disclosure filing, Mobilitie forked over $30,000 for lobbying services regarding a “greater understanding” of city “permitting.” In 1998, Pringle beat then-Poway assemblyman Jan Goldsmith in the Republican primary for state treasurer, thanks in large part to the endorsement of GOP governor Pete Wilson, the ex–San Diego mayor.

As a consolation prize, Wilson then named the defeated Goldsmith to a superior court seat, which he left eight years ago to run for the position of San Diego city attorney. Soon to be termed out of that gig, Goldsmith is widely believed to be eager to hang out his own law and lobbying shingle next year.

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

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

Seeking solace, spiritual and otherwise
Orange County politico Curt Pringle is making himself known around San Diego city hall.
Orange County politico Curt Pringle is making himself known around San Diego city hall.

San Diego’s political merry-go-round of big-money influence-peddling never stops. Ex–Republican assemblyman and onetime mayor of Anaheim Curt Pringle, known as one of Orange County’s most powerful politicos in recent memory, has been making the rounds at San Diego city hall. Four years ago, the Voice of Orange County uncovered emails showing how Pringle, now proprietor of Curt Pringle & Associates, a governmental affairs and lobbying shop, used his ties to former political associates — including those on the state’s High Speed Rail board, which he chaired before resigning in July 2011. “The records reveal Pringle’s penchant for walking right to, perhaps even over, the line drawn by the state’s revolving door law, which governs how a former elected official may interact with the public agencies for which he or she served,” noted the website.

Sponsored
Sponsored

In San Diego, Pringle vice president Jennifer Fitzgerald, a controversial member of the Fullerton City Council, has been up to see Kevin Faulconer staffer Francis Barraza, who recently returned to the mayor’s office after four months as Faulconer’s reelection campaign manager. Pringle’s client, Mobilitie of Newport Beach, is in the frequently contentious business of putting up cell-phone towers and other wireless communications gear not always favored by those who live nearby. Much of the cell and data business also involves so-called micro-trenching of city streets to accommodate fiber-optic cable, breaking up pavement that has not always been fully repaired. According to Pringle’s August 8 lobbying disclosure filing, Mobilitie forked over $30,000 for lobbying services regarding a “greater understanding” of city “permitting.” In 1998, Pringle beat then-Poway assemblyman Jan Goldsmith in the Republican primary for state treasurer, thanks in large part to the endorsement of GOP governor Pete Wilson, the ex–San Diego mayor.

As a consolation prize, Wilson then named the defeated Goldsmith to a superior court seat, which he left eight years ago to run for the position of San Diego city attorney. Soon to be termed out of that gig, Goldsmith is widely believed to be eager to hang out his own law and lobbying shingle next year.

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

Pie pleasure at Queenstown Public House

A taste of New Zealand brings back happy memories
Next Article

Trump names local supporter new Border Czar

Another Brick (Suit) in the Wall
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