voiceofsandiego.org: Neil Morgan... Searching for a Leader

Friday, Aug. 11, 2006 | As more bad news came down from city hall, I felt I had to at least try. I called Pete Wilson, the most effective mayor San Diego has ever known, and asked him what Mayor Jerry Sanders should be doing.

The 11 years that Pete Wilson was mayor of San Diego -- from 1971-83 -- should be reexamined as a new regime seeks to shape itself at city hall.

Despite the bankruptcy threat, there is no reason why Jerry Sanders' tenure should be less successful than Wilson's, during which a seedy downtown was salvaged and reborn, tax inequalities adjusted and runaway sub-dividers reined in.

Wilson later became a United States senator and governor of California, but he was never again as audacious as during his San Diego years.

Smart deeds flourished at city hall. Wilson chose his staff for talent, not for politics. He built alliances within the City Council to support his ambitious goals for rejuvenating our city. To demonstrate his toughness in his first month, he shut down a public school that was flouting city regulations.

When Teamsters Union organizers from Los Angeles threatened to shut down Lindbergh Field if San Diego city police were not unionized, Wilson called a 7 a.m. media conference to make their blackmail public. That ended it.

Pete was a persuasive politician, but it was the city itself that profited from his dealings. Leaning hard on the developer Ernie Hahn, he caused Horton Plaza to appear as the lifeline of a dying downtown. The first San Diego downtown apartment towers rose to join El Cortez Hotel in the city's first tentative high-rise skyline.

He understood blackmail too. He quietly warned builders that if they wanted to continue to receive permits for profitable home subdivisions, they'd have to invest in rebuilding downtown.

Neither Wilson nor any back-lobby colleagues grew rich from his tenure.

I wish I could announce a Pete Wilson platform for San Diego today. I asked him for one, but he's far too wise to play that game. As he says more politely, it's none of his business. But, from the first exposure of the city's pension fund disaster, he urged bankruptcy for the city. He was probably right then too.

Twenty-three years after Wilson's tenure as mayor, San Diego is different. As Wilson recognizes, labor unions -- and particularly the public employees union -- are far more powerful. Money floods into government from unions and Indian casino gambling.

But it was the wry old Wilson who said to me: "We are seeing far too many people in government everywhere who can tolerate anything but the reform of political corruption. The trouble is, too few people in government are exercising common sense. And we are seeing a level of spending that not even Ronald Reagan would have tolerated."

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BobbyD wrote on Aug 15, 2006 10:40 AM:

" Aguirre couldn't fill one of Pete Willson's shoes. Willson was a leader, and builder. Aguirre's game has always been to destroy our city. He's been playing since I can remember. "

John Savino wrote on Aug 12, 2006 10:04 AM:

" Pete Wison was the first Republican I ever voted for when he ran for Governor. It was based more on the immigration/border issue than anything else. Regardless of where he resides now that issue is more important today than ever before. If he really believed in that issue he would be involved with it today One never grows to old or needs to be paid if you care. With his influence I question his honesty and commitment then and now. "

Jack Smith wrote on Aug 11, 2006 4:53 PM:

" There has been no leadership in San Diego since Pete Wilson. He saw where the city could go and he set it in motion. But that process is like a clock winding down. It kept excellent pace for so long, no it needs winding again. "

BobbyD wrote on Aug 11, 2006 11:18 AM:

" Aguirre is the only one in city government who gives a damn about this city and is the one man gang that is trying to rid the city of it's corrupt and incompetent city council. Sanders has been absolutley a coward and completely ineffective. Pardon my language, but he has no balls to do a damn thing. It is a disgrace the way that the developers bully and bribe the city to get exactly what they want. The city council should be completed cleaned out and Sanders need to grow a pair. Aguirre for president!! "

Philip Paulson wrote on Aug 11, 2006 10:23 AM:

" Former Mayor Pete Wilson, named San Diego "The Finest City in America." We were very proud of our City then. Today, we must marvel at his political genius and superb leadership skills. For example, Wilson led by advocating growth management and requiring developers to pay their fair share of infrastructure costs needed for new communities. Moreover, he also demonstrated superior leadership in directing and guiding the revitalization of downtown San Diego. This new focus resulted in a healthy wrangling between the developers against the environmentalists. And the San Diego Planning Department become the referee between them. "

Pension Hawk wrote on Aug 11, 2006 9:51 AM:

" Wilson an idol? How utterly ridiculous. It was during Wilson's tenure that the infamous "Waterfall" was created and the notion of "surplus Undistributed Earnings" was created. This was the very first action on the long road to the pension disaster we now have. Yeah, thanks a LOT, Wilson. Just like later City leaders would help redevelop the East Village with the anchor of a beautiful ballpark, only to discover unethical back-room delaings that accompanied that, I have a hard time lauding Wilson for his achievements, when it took us 2 decades to realize his harm. "

mickeymanaster wrote on Aug 11, 2006 9:38 AM:

" why does jerry sanders not use the knowledge and leadership of the one person in sandiego who is a problem solver=that is peter q davis "

Pat Flannery wrote on Aug 11, 2006 8:53 AM:

" Wilson urged bankruptcy? What would that achieve? - disgrace for the city you both claim to love. A bankruptcy judge would ask the same questions Mike Aguirre is asking - are retroactive pension benefits legal? Of course not. Rollbacks are inevitable either way. Why not do it Mike's way? It's a helluva lot cheaper and enhances our reputation rather than destroying it. "

Jacque Pagano wrote on Aug 11, 2006 7:27 AM:

" How can you say unions have too much power? All over the country unions are getting bashed right and left. Perhaps you should qualify your remark to government unions. If it weren't for the unions in the past we would have no middle class. Granted, too much power was given to them, and you know how power corrupts, but there should be a middle ground. Wall Mart is an example of how worker's rights are pre-empted while the Walton clan gets richer and richer. "

Searching for a Leader

By Neil Morgan

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