Updated 4:50 p.m. to include campaign finance information.
The labor union representing sheriff’s deputies has endorsed Imperial Beach City Council incumbents Jim King and Brian Bilbray because “they both have strong ties to IB and are supportive of public safety.”
So says Lt. Hank Turner, a member of the Deputy Sheriffs’ Association of San Diego County who worked at what was then the IB station from 2004 to 2006.
Since the beginning of the month, the organization's Political Action Committee (PAC) has spent more than $13,000 on signs and mailers championing their pick for IB City Council, or three times more than the candidates have amassed.
According to financial disclosure documents filed last week, King and Bilbray's campaigns have pulled together about $4,000 since the start of the year.
King and Bilbray seek re-election against challengers Bobby Patton, Erika Lowery, Valerie Acevez and write-in Ron Moody in the Nov. 6 election.
An endorsement was reached following an interview with candidates and deputies at the IB substation, Turner said.
There is no litmus test, Turner said, but candidates were asked questions like what are their priorities and where they stand on public safety issues.
"One of the issues for us that we really struggle with is the dispensary issue," Turner said. "They don't have to be opposed to them, but the specific example is, speaking strictly for the deputies association, we're not opposed to medical marijuana, but we are opposed to the way it's being done as people selling medical marijuana as basically drug dealers."
In a candidate forum held last month, Jim King said he opposes Proposition S. Brian Bilbray declined to state whether he plans to vote yes or no, but did sign the petition which eventually put the Safe Access Ordinance of Imperial Beach on the ballot.
Candidates approached the deputy sheriff's to seek their endorsement, Turner said, and no other IB City Council candidates sought the DSASD's endorsement.
The Imperial Beach Fire Fighters Association, Local 4692 does not endorse candidates, said president Craig Weaver.
i support bilbray, but we need to get rid of jim king ... we can't afford any more council members that are puppets from the lobbyists... anyone thinking of voting for king - go back and read his comments about how hard he worked on the budget....and they ask yourself: if he worked so hard on the budget in the last 4 years how did he never noticed that the budget is all fake????
erika lowery is the one we really need in office....she's got a finance background and can help straighten up the accounting department.... we have a system of 'checks & balances' to safeguard against corruption....one of our problems is that the city manager made the finance director the treasure - which makes the person counting the money and the person overseeing the person counting the money the same person ... let's review: city manager & finance director sign checks - treasurer oversees signing of checks.....city manager appoints finance director to be treasurer.... did the city manager have the power to appoint the finance director to treasurer? no, it is the job of the council to appoint the treasure and to understand the duties of the treasurer... in the past it was a member of the council that was appointed treasurer - and erika can fill that position ...
we'll be hearing the screams of rage at the 'outside influence' and 'carpetbaggers' ....right...??? when money comes from out of town for the council candidates it's far worse than money for prop s because legalizing weed is a state issue, but our council candidates is strictly a local issue... so let's either hear the screams of rage equally or we're going to take the 'carpetbaggers' b.s. off the table as 'excuses' for not allowing individual rights and small business to prosper...