Athenaeum Mini-Concerts
Felipe Hueso - Photo by Eric Wolff
Anywhere but here
On Aug. 10, the local chapter of the American Institute for Architects hosted a forum for the San Diego City Council candidates in District 6, Democrat Howard Wayne and Republican Lorie Zapf, and District 8, Felipe Hueso and David Alvarez, both Democrats.
Based on some of their responses to questions, one wouldn’t know whether they really thought much about San Diego at all.
Hueso spent much of the forum discussing his office in Calexico, which isn’t even in San Diego County. In particular, he spoke about how the lower wages in Imperial County are better for business, a position that won’t win him points with the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council, which has yet to endorse in the race. Accordingly, we issue Hueso 117 turds, one for every mile between the two cities.
Similarly, Zapf spoke at length about her favorite city, Copenhagen, and how it’s a model of livability. Whoa. We thought she was a fiscal conservative with a fierce hatred of taxes. Denmark’s VAT (similar to a sales tax) is currently 25 percent, roughly three times San Diego’s. According to The Copenhagen Post, as of 2008, Denmark had the highest income taxes in the world—an average rate of 47.4 percent. Plus, they have national healthcare.
We issue the born-again socialist a bouquet of marguerite daisies (Denmark’s national flower) to apologize. We were so very wrong.
But we also have to issue Zapf a crap for admitting that, once her children are grown, she would like to abandon District 6 for Downtown’s District 2.
Parks & Wreck
Felipe Hueso shocked the audience at the AIA forum with his position on Balboa Park. Asked how he would improve the city’s treasure, Hueso said: “It’s a tragedy we have to share it with the Navy. That’s one of the biggest travesties of this park….”
Those probably aren’t the wisest words to describe the Bob Wilson Naval Hospital, “the Pride of Naval Medicine,” which has been at Balboa Park since the 1920s—even if there’s something to be said about the overall point. While Hueso earns a turd for that response, we issue Zapf a bipartisan blossom for hers: She promised to work with District 3 Councilmember Todd Gloria—her political polar opposite—to support a nonprofit conservancy to collect funds for Balboa Park.
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