Category Archives: July

San Diego Should Lead, Not Just Follow, on Open Government

Yesterday, San Diego News Room reported that despite the state reigning in costs associated with the Ralph M. Brown Act, both the San Diego County Board of Supervisors and the San Diego City Council both committed to following open government and transparency measures laid out in the 1953 legislature-enacted law.

As a point of information, the Brown Act was enacted by the state legislature back in the 50′s to allow the public right of knowledge and participation in municipal government meetings.

For years, Councilwoman Donna Frye championed open government in San Diego, and expressed her thoughts recently about the state’s move to curb certain parts of the Brown Act.

Although there’s much I may disagree with Mrs. Frye on, I must applaud her past and current efforts in highlighting government transparency at City Hall — and I encourage it at all levels of government. Continue reading

U-T San Diego’s @sdutzeigler: America’s Olympic Capital

With the London 2012 Olympic Games starting this week, U-T San Diego’s Mark Zeigler offers this great profile “San Diego: America’s Olympic Capital.”

This has become the world’s five-ring capital, a place where the Olympic flame is more like a raging beach bonfire, a place that increasingly produces more Olympic athletes in more sports on a more regular basis per capita than anywhere else maybe on the planet. The 2012 Summer Games begin Friday in London, and San Diego — a city of 1.3 million, a county of 3.1 million — can claim 80 athletes who either grew up here or currently live and train here.

And that doesn’t include another two dozen rowers who have wintered on Lower Otay Reservoir for the past several years, which would push the number north of 100 — or roughly one in five members of the U.S. Olympic team. San Diego County has roughly one-hundredth of the U.S. population.

Read more here: http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/jul/21/san-diego-americas-olympic-capital/

HuffPost: Politicians Who Look Like Disney Characters

I totally thought this was amusing! LOL!

Good laugh for the day :-)

From Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/13/politicians-disney-characters-photos_n_1670736.html

My Statement on Our Lawsuit Against Arturo ‘Art’ Pedroza

May this be the first — and last time — I ever have to address this.

Arturo ‘Art’ Pedroza makes many claims about many people.  More often than not, his claims are false with the intent of being malicious.  Art Pedroza has written about me, and people I know and associate with — on more than one occasion over the years – and I made the personal decision to stay quiet about my thoughts. Until now.

Lately, I have been asked by a couple folks, “Who is this Art Pedroza guy, and why is he writing about you?” Simple. Continue reading

Council Approves Balboa Park Centennial Plan

Yesterday, the San Diego City Council voted 6-1 to approve over $45 million worth of traffic and aesthetic  improvements, in order to celebrate the centennial of the Panama-California Exposition, which our great city hosted in 1915-16.

I want to offer thanks and support for the Council in approving this project, largely envisioned by Qualcomm founder Irwin Jacobs, and put forward by the Plaza de Panama Committee.

For more news on the project, check out the coverage in U-T San Diego.

The Committee was formed a few years ago and developed an all-encompassing master plan to remove vehicular traffic from the plaza’s central square, restoring the area to its’ former glory, with additional modern aesthetics.

Although the plan is not without a few, nuanced faults — my personal beef being the addition of a paid parking structure replacing years of free parking — the overall plan does much to help re-envision our city’s cultural center in the veil of its’ 1915 heyday.

The original Exposition transformed Balboa Park — which had only been dedicated as a large, open space — into a cultural center for San Diego. This, in turn, helped transform San Diego.

As a regional asset, it’s important to keep a dedicated focus in continuing to renovate and improve Balboa Park, as necessary, to survive through generations.

Vote History (2008-2012)

A close friend of mine who works as a political consultant put this chart together showing the progression of votes I’ve received from Republican voters in San Diego County since 2008.

He proceeded to tell me, “If you were a stock, people should be buying and investing.” I figured I’d post this and let you all decide.

I gotta tell you, there’s not a more rewarding feeling then having random folks — having just met some of them — communicate that they believe in you, and like the job you’re doing.

Can’t say I’d be as successful though if I didn’t listen to the needs of others and do my best to make it happen. Honesty, trust, and sincerity is a hard thing to find in politics. My advice: just keep yourself grounded and real.

– Ryan.

City Redistricting Coverage

With the efforts on San Diego city redistricting heating up, here is a Letter to the Editor I penned to the San Diego Union-Tribune that was posted today (July 7, 2011):

Letter to the Editor, San Diego Union-Tribune

Continue reading

Celebrating Independence Day, and Remembering America’s Fallen

Today, we celebrate our Independence Day!

234 years ago, our forefathers founded this nation built on the ideals of life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. As we celebrate our independence from tyranny and oppression, let us also not forget those brave souls who have fallen to protect our freedoms here at home.

Show your support to those we’ve lost by joining the Facebook group, In Memory of America’s Fallen.

5,494: The Votes Have Been Counted

It’s been almost a month since the June Primary Election, and I wanted to wait until all the votes have been counted. As of this week, the Registrar of Voters for San Diego County have tallied all the votes cast, and I’d like to take this time to say “Thank You” to all those who did vote for me for Central Committee.

In total, I received 5,494 votes — an increase of almost 150% better from my performance in 2008. Although I was unsuccessful, it will not deter my motivation to continue to help our candidates, and our party going into the November General Election.

You can check election results from San Diego County here.