Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Zapf eludes O.B. Town Council

Had commitment with Taste of Mira Mesa

Ocean Beach Town Council meeting
Ocean Beach Town Council meeting

It's not uncommon for a roster of participants in a debate for elected office to include a representative for one of the candidates. Last October, when a previous engagement prevented Nathan Fletcher from attending a forum for mayoral candidates hosted by the Ocean Beach Town Council, he sent his campaign communications director in his stead to joust with the other hopefuls.

So it was no surprise when a Town Council press release last week listed campaign manager Sara Kamiab to represent San Diego City Councilwoman Lorie Zapf in a March 26 forum for candidates vying for the council's District 2 position.

What did come as a surprise was the paucity of Kamiab's participation. Though offered an opening statement of three minutes, Kamiab's comments lasted less than 60 seconds — the entirety of which was devoted to explaining why Zapf had declined to show up in person.

Sponsored
Sponsored

After her terse remarks, Kamiab quickly exited the Point Loma Masonic Lodge, and the forum continued with a lineup of Sarah Boot, Jim Morrison, Mark Schwartz and Kamiab's empty chair, her name still taped to the back rest.

Kamiab struck a tone that took on a hint of defiance when explaining that Zapf several months ago had committed to speak at the Taste of Mira Mesa, an event that raised money for Mira Mesa High school.

“Mira Mesa High school is the third-largest high school in her district, serving over 2,500 students,” Kamiab said. “Because she is dedicated to serving the community she represents as a current city council member, this was her first priority.”


She characterized Zapf's decision as leadership over politics. “When elected to represent District 2, you can count on the fact that helping local schools and supporting her constituents will be her top priority regardless of whether or not she's campaigning,” Kamiab said.

“We attempted to work together to schedule the debate on a later date that would work for all the candidates, but the date had already been set for today,” she said.

Asked after the meeting for clarification, Town Council President Gretchen Kinney Newsom called Kamiab's explanation “a little disingenuous.”


Newsom said she invited all candidates by email nearly six weeks in advance of the March meeting and asked for a response by March 7. She hadn't heard back yet when she encountered Zapf February 22 at a spaghetti dinner hosted by the Peninsula Lions, where Newsom repeated the invitation in person. Zapf said she thought she had a conflict, Newsom said.

Newsom followed up with an email to Zapf's campaign consultant offering to host the debate at the Town Council's following meeting, April 23 (the council meets every fourth Wednesday) but stressed she would still need a response by March 7. The deadline passed by the time Kamiab emailed Newsom, offering “to work out a date,” on March 8.

The forum consisted of seven questions from the audience, in which candidates sounded off on subjects like pension reform, climate change planning, and education. In the final question, posed by board member Dave Cieslak, all three candidates underscored their support for same-sex marriage — one of their few areas of agreement — and noted Zapf's reported remarks characterizing homosexuality as a sin.

Zapf, who currently represents District 6 on the council, is giving up that seat because redrawn district boundaries approved last year now place her Bay Ho residence in District 2.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

20 Best Online Casinos USA For Real Money (2024 List)

USA Online Casinos: Top 20 Online Casino Sites of 2024
Ocean Beach Town Council meeting
Ocean Beach Town Council meeting

It's not uncommon for a roster of participants in a debate for elected office to include a representative for one of the candidates. Last October, when a previous engagement prevented Nathan Fletcher from attending a forum for mayoral candidates hosted by the Ocean Beach Town Council, he sent his campaign communications director in his stead to joust with the other hopefuls.

So it was no surprise when a Town Council press release last week listed campaign manager Sara Kamiab to represent San Diego City Councilwoman Lorie Zapf in a March 26 forum for candidates vying for the council's District 2 position.

What did come as a surprise was the paucity of Kamiab's participation. Though offered an opening statement of three minutes, Kamiab's comments lasted less than 60 seconds — the entirety of which was devoted to explaining why Zapf had declined to show up in person.

Sponsored
Sponsored

After her terse remarks, Kamiab quickly exited the Point Loma Masonic Lodge, and the forum continued with a lineup of Sarah Boot, Jim Morrison, Mark Schwartz and Kamiab's empty chair, her name still taped to the back rest.

Kamiab struck a tone that took on a hint of defiance when explaining that Zapf several months ago had committed to speak at the Taste of Mira Mesa, an event that raised money for Mira Mesa High school.

“Mira Mesa High school is the third-largest high school in her district, serving over 2,500 students,” Kamiab said. “Because she is dedicated to serving the community she represents as a current city council member, this was her first priority.”


She characterized Zapf's decision as leadership over politics. “When elected to represent District 2, you can count on the fact that helping local schools and supporting her constituents will be her top priority regardless of whether or not she's campaigning,” Kamiab said.

“We attempted to work together to schedule the debate on a later date that would work for all the candidates, but the date had already been set for today,” she said.

Asked after the meeting for clarification, Town Council President Gretchen Kinney Newsom called Kamiab's explanation “a little disingenuous.”


Newsom said she invited all candidates by email nearly six weeks in advance of the March meeting and asked for a response by March 7. She hadn't heard back yet when she encountered Zapf February 22 at a spaghetti dinner hosted by the Peninsula Lions, where Newsom repeated the invitation in person. Zapf said she thought she had a conflict, Newsom said.

Newsom followed up with an email to Zapf's campaign consultant offering to host the debate at the Town Council's following meeting, April 23 (the council meets every fourth Wednesday) but stressed she would still need a response by March 7. The deadline passed by the time Kamiab emailed Newsom, offering “to work out a date,” on March 8.

The forum consisted of seven questions from the audience, in which candidates sounded off on subjects like pension reform, climate change planning, and education. In the final question, posed by board member Dave Cieslak, all three candidates underscored their support for same-sex marriage — one of their few areas of agreement — and noted Zapf's reported remarks characterizing homosexuality as a sin.

Zapf, who currently represents District 6 on the council, is giving up that seat because redrawn district boundaries approved last year now place her Bay Ho residence in District 2.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

20 Best Online Casinos USA For Real Money (2024 List)

USA Online Casinos: Top 20 Online Casino Sites of 2024
Next Article

Best Sports Betting Sites - 10 Online Sportsbooks Ranked for 2024

Best Sports Betting Sites (2024) - Reviews of TOP Online Sportsbooks
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.