This week, the Padres despatched out a press release concerning the metropolis of San Diego’s choice to boost parking meter charges round Petco Park throughout main occasions.
For those who owned 1000’s of parking areas round downtown, you’d most likely cost greater than $2.50 an hour for them throughout huge occasions. However the improve was huge and surprising – leaping to $10 per hour and no free time after 6 p.m. It’s a type of tales that penetrate past these of us who observe these items deeply to the normals. They have been shocked.
The Padres jumped on it.
“The town made this choice with out significant enter from key stakeholders, together with the Padres group. We’ve got not but acquired info relating to how the brand new parking income might be reinvested regionally however look ahead to higher understanding the town’s plan,” a written assertion from the workforce mentioned.
It was a reasonably regular assertion, but it surely had a contact of irritation and the identical theme the Padres have been hitting for months. It was similar to the remark the Padres’ CEO Erik Greupner made in a harsh letter to metropolis leaders in March when the Metropolis Council fist began discussing a serious improve to the minimal wage for tourism staff, which had included staff at Petco Park.
Greupner was pissed off the town would push the Padres to pay extra. They already pay stadium staff greater than minimal wage. As tenants of a metropolis facility they pay the mandated residing wage, now greater than $21 per hour. They felt focused.
“And but, regardless of our long-standing relationship with the Metropolis, we acquired no prior discover that the Metropolis was going to focus on us with this proposal till it was introduced publicly — one week earlier than a committee listening to to think about it,” he wrote.
That’s when issues modified: One thing has occurred to the workforce, to its partnership with the town.
For its half, the workforce is setting attendance data and baseball individuals now extensively anticipate it to compete for a Nationwide League championship and World Collection look. Now the individuals who work on the Padres’ off-field presence in San Diego public affairs seems to be gearing as much as make it a political actor not like something we’ve seen for the reason that workforce orchestrated the passage of the ballpark vote and the reinvention of East Village.
The Padres are a serious establishment and have been for many years however their under-the-radar politics may now be one thing we see overtly in additional spending, endorsements or positions.
Monday, a reader obtained a ballot from Aggressive Edge Analysis and Communication that appears to supply a glimpse into what the Padres could also be pondering.
One query: “How applicable, if in any respect, is it for skilled sports activities groups to take a stand on native political points that would have an effect on their enterprise operations?”
One other: “Are you conscious or unaware that the Metropolis Council is contemplating adopting a minimal wage improve from $17.25 per hour to $25 per hour for all tourism staff and staff for any group working a lodge, conference, occasion heart, stadium, enviornment, amusement park, or zoo within the metropolis? Do you help or oppose this proposal? Do you suppose the Padres ought to actively help this proposal?”
And my favourite: “Whatever the minimal wage difficulty, suppose there was a candidate for native public workplace that you simply usually disagreed with and opposed. If the Padres group endorsed that candidate for native public workplace, would that worsen your opinion of the Padres group or would that make no distinction to you?”
The Padres didn’t need to discuss their political goals or place.
Insiders say there’s an enormous dialogue ongoing about whether or not the Padres and others will push for a better minimal wage improve or scale to handle – perhaps ramping up over time. Or will the workforce be a part of with motels and others to push the problem to a referendum.
Nevertheless it does really feel prefer it’s extra than simply concerning the minimal wage factor. The Padres appear to be speaking they really feel like they’re being not noted of too many conversations. Spending on politics can usually change that.
Nathan Fletcher, Vindicated?
Friday San Diego Superior Courtroom Choose Matthew C. Braner formally dismissed Grecia Figueroa’s sexual harassment lawsuit in opposition to former County Supervisors Nathan Fletcher. Braner didn’t rule that Fletcher didn’t harass Figueroa. He dominated that she had so horribly withheld or tainted or skewed the proof that killing the case was the one legitimate sanction in opposition to her.
“As set forth above, Plaintiff engaged in a sample of preserving solely the proof she believed was useful to her case, whereas actively deleting, or knowingly permitting to be
deleted, proof that was probably detrimental to her claims,” Braner wrote.
And so it’s over. Or is it? Figueroa instructed us her legal professionals have been already speaking to individuals who may assist them with an enchantment.
Is Fletcher coming again? After Figueroa filed her lawsuit, Fletcher vanished from public life. In a single week, in 2023, he went from being probably the most outstanding, most influential and most promising political chief in San Diego to simply gone. After that he by no means made a public look, gave an interview or was even seen past his picture in social media posts from his spouse, Lorena Gonzalez.
The Union-Tribune quoted Fletcher’s legal professional that Fletcher might make a public look.
“‘We’ll see,’ (Sam) Sherman mentioned when requested about Fletcher’s potential return to politics. ‘We’ll be popping out with issues sooner or later.’”
The 2 questions we all the time had about case have been easy: What did Fletcher do to Figueroa or together with her? And why did the Metropolitan Transit System hearth her?
Begin with the second query. We’ve had a lot of information about why MTS fired her. Then, final month, Braner dismissed the case in opposition to MTS, saying the company’s management justifiably fired her for efficiency issues. That call belied any assumption any of us had that “energy dynamics” legally forestall a high chief of a company from having clandestine sexual encounters on the workplace with a low-level worker. The decide has primarily concluded there’s no difficulty there nor did which have something to do together with her job efficiency.
The decide gave Figueroa the chance to talk.
“Thanks, your honor, first I’d prefer to say, respectfully, that I discover it disrespectful to invalidate my expertise and name abuse of energy an affair,” she mentioned.
That was the core query. The primary one. Did he assault her? In American politics, we’re properly past caring about marital constancy. However we’d prefer to suppose hurting somebody, assaulting them at work, at a public company, can be an excessive amount of.
Her claims, nevertheless, of assault have been the largest victims of the way in which Figueroa dealt with her proof and arguments. When a fuller picture emerged of what she mentioned to him and what they did, the declare he attacked her with out consent suffered. And now Fletcher intends to make her pay with an ongoing defamation case.
So no, it’s not over. However he could also be again quickly and able to discuss it.
You probably have any suggestions or concepts for the Politics Report, ship them to scott.lewis@voiceofsandiego.org.
