C I T Y L I G H T S
merchant-imposed credit- card fees. If “surcharges are speech”
has a familiar ring to it, you’re not the only one to sense a similarity to the 2010 Citi- zens United Supreme Court case in which the majority found political spending by organized groups such as cor- porations and unions to be a protected form of speech. The Citizens United decision led to the creation of the so- called SuperPACs that raise and spend millions to influ- ence elections. “This [credit-card fee] case
along with another Supreme Court case, the Gil- bert case, calls into question what lim- its there are that can be imposed on com- mercial and corpo- rate speech,” says San Diego attorney Steve Arnold. Arising from
C I T Y L I G H T S
C I T Y L I G H T S UNDER THE RADAR Jeff Anson
nage ordinances as spelling the end of stricter municipal sign codes that have been credited with curtailing the “visual blight” that was created by the arrival of Amer- ica’s car culture last century. Despite occa-
Steven Arnold
another sleeper case from the court’s term (which ended last spring), the Supreme Court’s deci- sion in Reed v. Town of Gil- bert jarred municipalities across the country when it was announced June 2015. A church in the town of Gil- bert, Arizona, sued the town- ship for limiting the display of signs advertising and direct- ing people to church events. The church prevailed over the town of Gilbert on First Amendment grounds. Some have interpreted
the Gilbert ruling that struck down parts of the town’s sig-
sional incursions, San Diego is often presented nation- ally by urban plan- ners as an exam-
ple of effective sign-con- trol, especially for having adopted a morato- rium on new bill- board construction. “When you look
at Citizens United, there were a num- ber of unforeseen circumstances, especially for poli- tics,” says Arnold. “This ruling, par- ticularly the Gilbert ruling, is poised to do the same with restrictions on commercial speech and the rights of con- sumers. California is known
as a consumer-friendly state.” He points to California’s
Unfair Business Practices and Unfair Advertising Practices codes as examples that typify the state’s historically tough consumer-protection laws that could be chipped away by the idea that money is speech. “So, the question for Cali-
fornia is, are these rulings a threat to these strong statutes that underpin our consumer protections?” says attorney Arnold, who fears a perma- nent overturning of the sur- charge ban could lead to fur- ther erosion of con- sumer protections. However, an outcry from consumers has not yet materialized. That may be due
Mark Arabo
to the fact that, out- side of the handful of plaintiffs who chal- lenged the ban in the first place, few mer-
chants appear interested in expressing their newly restored rights by charging credit-card customers extra fees.
continued on page 30
Un-greatest generation The death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Sca- lia has brought renewed attention to the con- servative legacy of Republican president Ronald Reagan, who appointed Scalia to the high court in 1986. In those days, Reagan was a hero to Repub- licans in California, where he had been elected to two terms as governor by large majorities. Lately, however, a pollster who is said to be a close friend and advi- sor to San Diego GOP mayor Kevin Faul- coner (an ex–pub- lic relations man who aides are talking up as a candidate for the state’s highest office) is putting out a different message. “Shining Light into the GOP’s generational black hole,” is the title of an online presentation by Competitive Edge, run by John Nienstedt, whose clients also have included the big-money GOP Lincoln Club, which shuns dis- cussion of social and ethical issues in favor of mainstream corporate lobbying. In December 2009, Nienstedt joined the
“Ronald Reagan may have been the greatest presi- dent since Lincoln, but Jared’s generation is not clued-in to that,” says the Competitive Edge analy- sis. “Cut the cord to the glory days and provide contemporary reasons for young voters to believe the GOP can bring back morning in America.” Oldsters in Rea- gan’s mold need not apply. The Grand Old Party should “Encourage and support articulate and passionate can- didates who look, act and communicate less like the greatest generation and more like Jared.”
John Nienstedt says Republicans should be “more like Jared.”
Mordida San Diego govern- ment officials, set on building a new
Republican Party, Lincoln Club, and builders lobby in a law- suit to over- turn city cam- paign contribu- tion limits. To make his point about the need for a new GOP pitch, Nienstedt’s piece cites Jared Santos, a prototypical 33-year-old roofer with two years of college, who earns $48,000 a year. Jared has a two-year-old daughter and a girlfriend, Alisa, a hotel con- cierge, making $41,000. A condo owner, Jared plays Halo 4, uses Facebook, and watches football games. “I have no recollection of President Rea- gan, Grenada, tax reform, the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty, or Morning in America,” sample lines from voters say. “In 2004, I flipped a coin in the voting booth and cast my vote for Bush. With the Iraq war, the Hurricane Katrina debacle and a flat-lining economy, I came to regret that vote over the next four years.” Says Jared, “I haven’t known a Republican president who has served as a good role model for me.” So, what should California Republicans do?
Yogurt shop sign
freight-oriented border crossing with Mexico in east Otay Mesa, want higher-ups in Mexico to pressure the United States to proceed with the project, and they’re prepared to pay good money. That’s the word from a February 9 request for pro- posals from lobbyists issued by SANDAG, the San Diego Association of Governments. “SANDAG is looking for a firm or individual(s) that have demonstrated expertise and experience to provide the combination of skills and qualifications nec- essary to effec- tively interact with Congress; the Executive branch of the
United States gov- ernment; and other Depart- ments of the United States Gov-
San Diego bureaucrats seek a lobbyist who will spearhead “a strategy to leverage Mexico’s influence on U.S. federal agencies” to get a freight-oriented border crossing in Otay Mesa.
ernment,” says the document. “The selected firm or individual(s) also will represent and effectively advocate the interests of SANDAG for this Project to the Embassy of Mexico in Washington, D.C. and
counterpart agencies in Mexico.” The chosen influence peddler, to be paid between $140,000 to $180,000, will “provide strategic advice for out- reach efforts with federal, state and local govern- ments in Mexico, including a strategy to leverage Mexico’s influence on U.S. federal agencies to acquire support for the project.”
Piping up The California Pipe Trades Council, based in San Francisco, has spent $8368 lobbying San Diego mayor Kevin Faul- coner and city attorney Jan Goldsmith regard- continued on page 30
San Diego Reader February 25, 2016 3
PHOTOGRAPH BY ANDY BOYD
PHOTOGRAPH BY ANDY BOYD
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