Written by Daniel Smiechowski
There is growing talk of a recall petition against San Diego City Councilmember Jennifer Campbell. However, this is a futile attempt by mostly disgruntled voters with buyer’s remorse. Like baseball, this is politics. To quote former Secretary of State Colin Powell during the Iraq fiasco, “You break it, you own it.” The voters own it.
From the time of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, American voters have seldom considered how and why their future leaders have become candidates. Locally, in District 2 of the San Diego City Council, this could not be more apparent. Campbell was a setup, a plant and inside selection by Democratic elites who, at any cost, had to undermine my own nascent campaign for the same seat.
Campbell was rocketed to prominence in large part by her famous cousin, Dave Axelrod, who served as chief strategist for former President Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. The dominoes fell. Soon after, Congressmen Scott Peters and Juan Vargas were hand-in-hand with the lady from Clairemont. In 2018, a campaign bash was held in La Jolla with the who’s who of San Diego politics lining up for Axelrod’s autograph. Unbeknownst to voters, this juggernaut overwhelmed and dwarfed the competition. My campaign was dead on arrival.
Despite a personal penchant for truth telling, honesty, and sincerity, voters took the bait of my opponent—hook, line, and sinker. With the wind to her back, powerful San Diego elites laid her foundation of invincibility. Make no mistake, I am not blaming Councilmember Campbell for deceiving voters, but rather the ignorance of the voters themselves. Perhaps they ought to know how the sausage is made before they eat it.
In a sort of perverse way, I feel vindicated. I vowed to exact truth upon San Diego, except San Diego exacted falsities on me. I never sought the position for anything but supporting the will of my community. We do not elect saints to public office otherwise Mother Teresa would have been Prime Minister of India. There is nothing more common than hypocritical voters in America. You reap what you sow.
