Daily Business Report — Nov. 6, 2012

DeMaio, Filner Make Final Push
In San Diego’s Mayoral Race

Councilman Carl DeMaio and Rep. Bob Filner (D-San Diego) made their final pitches for mayor Monday at separate campaign events. DeMaio was joined at a news conference on Harbor Island by Mayor Jerry Sanders, and current and incoming members of the City Council, to push for a continuation of the fiscal changes implemented over the past two years. Filner gathered with Latino leaders to encourage Hispanic voters to cast ballots.

“Tomorrow, voters will go to the polls to decide who the 35th mayor of San Diego will be,” Sanders said. “They’ll either choose a leader who will continue the substantial progress we’ve made, or they’ll choose one who will undo everything that we’ve done.” Sanders said DeMaio is the best choice to move the financial changes forward and implement adjustments to the pension system approved overwhelmingly by voters in June. His opponents haven’t suggested any ideas that will save taxpayers a nickel, he said.

At an event in front of a library in Logan Heights, Latino voters chanted “Bob, si puedas (Bob, he can)” and “Roberto Filner” to express their support for the congressman. Assemblyman Ben Hueso, D-San Diego, told the crowd Latinos will decide who becomes the next mayor. “If people vote in this election, Bob Filner will win,” Hueso said.

The final pre-election poll by SurveyUSA, conducted for 10News, shows Filner ahead 49 percent to 45 percent. The firm sampled 611 likely and actual voters between Wednesday and Sunday. The results showed a slight closing by DeMaio of a six-point lead once held by Filner. A recent poll by another company gave DeMaio a slim lead, and one conducted by U-T San Diego last month showed the councilman up by 10 points.

A SD METRO/Probolsky poll of likely voters, conducted in late October, showed DeMaio favored by 41.3 percent of the voters and Filner with 40.5 percent, with 18.2 percent unsure or refused to answer.

A table that accompanied the SurveyUSA poll gave Democrats a 12-point sampling edge, roughly equivalent to voter registration in the city of San Diego.
 (City News Service)

California Economic Health Improving,
Recession Receding, New Report Says

A recently-released report measuring the economic security of the nation’s households finds the recession is beginning to loosen its grip, KPBS reports. California’s improvement on the Economic Insecurity Index was better than the national average, but the recession’s impact is still being felt. The Rockefeller Foundation and Yale professor Jacob Hacker found just over 20 percent of California’s households experienced major economic losses in 2011. That’s a decline of 1.4 percent, and it is a tenth of a percent better than the national decline. The economic security index is updated once a year and looks at changes in household income. The recession is still squeezing the financial health of one in five California households, according to the study.

Trolley Extension Plan to be Explained
Wednesday at SANDAG Headquarters

Plans to extend the San Diego Trolley system from Old Town to University City will be aired on Wednesday at the headquarters of SANDAG, 401 B St. in Downtown San Diego. The extension would serve major destinations such as UC San Diego and the Westfield UTC Mall. The 3:30 p.m. meeting will provide the latest information on the project status and schedule, a summary of issues being analyzed in environmental studies, and planned public involvement activities. Those who are unable to attend the meeting can listen to it live via the sandag.org home page. The listen live link will be posted 15 minutes prior to the meeting.

Higgs Law Firm Awarded Diversity Award

Higgs Fletcher & Mack has been presented the Earl B. Gilliam Bar Association’s Corporate Diversity Award for commitment to diversity in the San Diego legal community. The association’s annual awards and scholarship dinner also presented financial scholarships to several law students. A total of $15,000 in scholarships were awarded to eight students. The Higgs firm has headed several diversity-oriented initiatives during the past year, including an annual $10,000 scholarship given to a University of San Diego law student. Susan Hack, a law firm partner and Diversity Committee chair, accepted the award for the firm.

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The Daily Business Report is produced by SD METRO. Contact: Manny Cruz (619) 287-1865. manny@sandiegometro.com.