By Donald H. Harrison
SAN DIEGO — As of the end of January, Democrats had a slight registration lead in San Diego’s First City Council District – 26,107 Democrats (34.8 percent) to 22,448 Republicans (29.95 percent) among a total pool of 74,941 voters.
Independent voters, listed as “decline to state” also outdrew Republicans with 23,135 voters (30.9 percent). The balance of the electorate included registrants in the parties on the right (AIP and Libertarian) with 2,698 voters, and those on the left (Green, Peace & Freedom) with 375 voters. Another 178 voters were listed in miscellaneous categories.
To the extent that Ray Ellis and Barbara Bry have communicated to the party faithful that he is a Republican and she is a Democrat (their parties are not listed on the city’s nonpartisan ballot), the race on its face would appear to be a battle for the independent voters in the district which includes middle class-to-affluent neighborhoods in La Jolla and Carmel Valley.
However, political insiders say that Ellis, the Republican, has a distinct advantage over Bry because the two candidates—without any other contestants to complicate the race by forcing a runoff—are engaged in a head-to-head battle during the June primary rather than the November general election.
Democrats are said to be less likely than Republicans to turn out in a primary election unless there is a hot race at the top of the ticket compelling their interest.
Assuming that Democrats in other states already will have decided that party’s presidential nominee by the time California’s June 7 election rolls around, but that the more crowded Republican presidential race will be an ongoing battle, there is an expectation that Republican voters will be more motivated to go the polls than Democrats. If the insiders are right, that is bad news for Bry and good news for Ellis.
At the end of Calendar 2015, candidates were required to tell how much money they had raised for their campaigns, and here again Ellis had the advantage. His report showed that $367,480.67 had been raised for his campaign, compared to $272,050.66 for Bry. That gave him an advantage of $95,430.01 going into Calendar 2016. Put another way, of the total $632,531.33 raised in the First District Race, Ellis had garnered 58 percent of the total, compared to 42 percent raised by Bry.
Jews are an important and numerous constituency in the First Council District, with many Jews willing to donate money to their favorite candidates. It is perhaps no wonder, therefore, that Bry’s campaign wants to let Jewish voters know that she is a member of Congregation Beth El who is quite active in the Jewish community, having served in such capacities as vice chair of the San Diego Jewish Community Foundation, and chair (currently) of the Jewish Women’s Foundation. Her campaign manager Hilary Nemchik reports that Jewish Family Service gave Bry a Mitzvah Award in 2013 for her support for Girls Give Back, a leadership program for Jewish teenage girls.
While Bry is a member of the Jewish community, Ellis, a Christian, also has been able to win Jewish support in this race which many say will either retain or change the political makeup of the San Diego City Council, which now stands at 5 Democrats and 4 Republicans.
Two Jewish businessmen – Charles Wax of Waxie Sanitary Supply and Julian Josephson, who owns a number of fast food franchises – are sponsoring with their wives a St. Patrick’s Day (March 17) fundraiser for Ellis, which they anticipate will attract fellow members of the Jewish community.
On their year-end contributions reports, both Bry and Ellis reported contributions from some recognizable names in our community. We print some of those names with the caveat that other people who we believe to be Jews—but aren’t sure enough to say so—also are listed on both candidates’ reports. Following are supporters of the two candidates who we can identify with reasonable certainty as members of our community.
Barbara Bry supporters listed on the December 31, 2015 report included: Robert Caplan, Leslie Caspi, Shlomo Caspi, Lawrence Cushman, David Ellman, Pam Ferris, Michael Flaster, Yehudi Gaffen, Shana Hazan, Swelwyn Isakow, Emily Jennewein, Benjamin Katz, Richard Kornfeld, Lauren Lizerbram, Arthur Rivkin, Fred Schenk, Shari Schenk, Brian Seltzer, Maureen Steiner, and Alan Viterbi.
Campaign manager Nemchik told San Diego Jewish World other Bry backers from the Jewish community are Karyn Viterbi, Andrew Viterbi, Jeff & Karen Silberman, Emily Einhorn, Amy Corton & Carl Eibl, Irwin & Joan Jacobs, Natasha Josefowitz, Gad Shaanan, Rob & Gloria Stone, Rich Leib, and Taal Safdie & Ricardo Rabines.
Ray Ellis supporters listed on the December 31, 2015 report included: Geoffrey Berg, Jeremy Berg, Jeremy Cohn, Bard Cosman, Stephen Cushman, Mitchell Dubick, Jessica Cohn Feinman, Gordon Gerson, Charles Kaufman, Gary Levitt and Sandor Shapery. He said some other Jewish community members supporting him are Marty Goodman, Rob Fink, Larry & Audrey Jackel, Chris & Daphne Stewart, Michael & Marjorie Morrison, Stacy Farfel, Kenneth & Sari Rudy, Dr. Bob Shillman, Victor & Monica Mizrachi and “my Campaign Manager, Hannah Castillo is a Sephardic Jew.” With the Wax-Josephson March 17 fundraiser just a few weeks away, Ellis says he anticipates that there will be many more Jewish supporters to list in the future.
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Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com. Comments intended for publication in the space below must be accompanied by the letter writer’s first and last name and by his/ her city and state of residence (city and country for those outside the U.S.)