San Diego's system of plutocracy, or government by the rich and for the rich, is poignantly on display in the lineup of backers for Prop. C, the measure on the June 3 ballot that, incredibly, would permit the mayor to appoint the auditor who goes over the mayor's own books. Real estate developers obviously favor it because they have Mayor Jerry Sanders in their pockets. The small number of heavy hitters raised $160,000 to bankroll the measure. Seventeen times more people raised $30,000 to oppose it. Among the fat cats pouring big bucks into the measure are Atlas Hotels; the Building Industry Association; lawyer John Davies, who headed the so-called charter review committee that recommended more centralization of power, including having the auditor/fox guard the henhouse; Pardee Homes; San Diego Association of Realtors; Lodging Industry Association; Horton Fourth Ave., Oliver McMillan LLC, and the Native American tribe, Sycuan. Among those who oppose the road to tyranny are Ellen Revelle; Councilmember Donna Frye; lawyers Cory Briggs, Gerald Blank, and Marco Gonzalez; Stephen Cushman; Abbe Wolfsheimer, and activists Mel Shapiro and Ian Trowbridge.
San Diego's system of plutocracy, or government by the rich and for the rich, is poignantly on display in the lineup of backers for Prop. C, the measure on the June 3 ballot that, incredibly, would permit the mayor to appoint the auditor who goes over the mayor's own books. Real estate developers obviously favor it because they have Mayor Jerry Sanders in their pockets. The small number of heavy hitters raised $160,000 to bankroll the measure. Seventeen times more people raised $30,000 to oppose it. Among the fat cats pouring big bucks into the measure are Atlas Hotels; the Building Industry Association; lawyer John Davies, who headed the so-called charter review committee that recommended more centralization of power, including having the auditor/fox guard the henhouse; Pardee Homes; San Diego Association of Realtors; Lodging Industry Association; Horton Fourth Ave., Oliver McMillan LLC, and the Native American tribe, Sycuan. Among those who oppose the road to tyranny are Ellen Revelle; Councilmember Donna Frye; lawyers Cory Briggs, Gerald Blank, and Marco Gonzalez; Stephen Cushman; Abbe Wolfsheimer, and activists Mel Shapiro and Ian Trowbridge.