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S A N D I E G O M A Y O R ’ S R A C Emeasure turned into the first serious discussionsabout a sales tax hike once DeMaio’seffort failed. The tax increase made the ballot.DeMaio found a new cause. He becameits most outspoken and energetic opponentand danced on its grave when it lost by almost25 points.Three days after the tax hike failed, De-Maio used his momentum to begin his mayoralcampaign. He released the financial planthat’s become the foundation of his bid forthe mayor’s office. The plan included a proposalto give most new city workers 401(k)-style retirements, instead of guaranteedpensions. He brokered a deal with MayorSanders, who also wanted to eliminate pensions,for a new ballot measure.DeMaio made the initiative, PropositionB, synonymous with his campaign. Themeasure’s popularity and Republican supportforced Fletcher and Dumanis eventually toendorse it and even Filner couldn’t escape iton the trail. DeMaio’s yard signs had “CarlDeMaio For Mayor” on top and “Yes on B:Pension Reform!” on bottom. Prop. B wonon primarly election night, passing by morethan 32 points.DeMaio’s success happened as part of agrowing Republican and business insurgency.Groups like the Lincoln Club, theSan Diego County Taxpayers Associationand the local Republican Party united to defeatthe sales tax and stayed together to pusha more aggressive 401(k) initiative. DeMaio’scombative and uncompromising stance fittheir worldview better than those whoshared the city’s traditional, moderate Republicanoutlook.The Republican insurgency solidified inMarch. The party endorsed DeMaio overDumanis and Fletcher, both Republicans atthe time, despite Fletcher’s frantic efforts toblock the decision.Fletcher Goes IndyThe party’s endorsement led to the race’sturning point. Less than three weeks afterthe GOP went for DeMaio, Fletcher decidedto cast off the Republican Party andbecome an independent. This was no smallmove. When he was in his mid-20s, Fletcherworked as a political director for the stateRepublican Party. He married a campaignstaffer for former President George W. Bush.Big-name Republicans — Newt Gingrich,Karl Rove, Mitt Romney and Pete Wilson— had supported personally Fletcher’s bidfor office.He seemed to be following in Wilson’spolitical footsteps as well. A career in theMarines, followed by a stint in the Assembly,followed by a bid for San Diego mayor, followedby statewide success. It didn’t hurt thatFletcher is 35, a few years younger than Wilsonwhen he ran for mayor, and has matinee-idolgood looks.”Fletcher is right out of central casting,”Erie said.But a big part of Wilson’s political identityas mayor was his moderate Republicanism.When Fletcher shed that label he sold it asif the party had left him. He argued his consensus-buildingstyle no longer had a homein the party.Fletcher and his campaign executed thisdeclaration of independence without a hitch.In the days before he announced the switch,he flew to Washington to meet with NewYork Times columnist David Brooks. Brooks’subsequent column told the story of a pragmaticIraq war veteran who the polarizingRepublican party could no longer tolerate.Brooks’ piece cemented Fletcher’s independencenarrative and made him a nationalcause célèbre. He raised $1.3 million fromdonatons, by far the most of anyone in therace, attracting the likes of fashion designerDiane von Furstenberg and the mayor of Tupelo,Miss.The decision gave Fletcher the namerecognition he needed to boost his standingin the polls. His quick climb from singledigitsmade it a three-way race with DeMaioand Filner. This unnerved his rivals. But initiallyany efforts to blunt Fletcher’s rise onlyseemed to strengthen him. DeMaio blamedan intern for one failed hit. And Filner’scampaign continued its long slumber.Filner Wakes Up With SomeHelp From a RivalIn the race’s first 10 months, Filner hadmade a habit of talking big on the trail. Hehad promised “the most aggressive campaignSan Diego has ever seen,” an overflowingfundraising treasury and a waltz into thegeneral election because he was the only Democratin the race. Instead, he relied moreon his past stances and broad ideology to winpeople over rather than a detailed vision ofwhere he wanted to take San Diego. If De-Maio’s yard signs told the story of his campaign,Filner’s did, too. Filner didn’t buymany of his own. Instead, they read, “paid forby labor” at the bottom.Immediately after Fletcher’s move, Filner’scampaign continued its downward trajectory.Filner was so lost on education policy at a2 7 T H A N N I V E R S A R Y 1 9 8 5 - 2 0 1 2 | J U LY 2 0 1 2 | S A N D I E G O M E T R O . C O M1 9