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

Shamu pays off big for San Diego pols

Execs for controversial aquatic park spreading fishy political wealth

Still image from Blackfish
Still image from Blackfish

With their bread and butter, and anchovies and chum, under attack by animal-rights activists, executives at Sea World, the profitable San Diego aquatic park, have been turning to a traditional American means of persuasion: campaign contributions.

Previously owned by beer giant Anheuser-Busch, the now-independent Florida-based operation has long been a major giver to San Diego pols, kicking in a total of $47,320 via its employees to city candidates since 2007, according to contribution data posted online by the San Diego city clerk's office.

And this year the pace has quickened.

The records show that SeaWorld favored Kevin Faulconer for mayor, with president John T. Reilly and government-affairs person Corrine Brindley giving the winning Republican a total of $2800.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Brindley gave losing Republican-turned-Democrat Nathan Fletcher’s 2012 and 2013 mayoral campaign committees a total of $950. Democrat David Alvarez, who lost to Faulconer in the runoff, got nothing, according to the data.

The whale emporium kicked in big for the GOP Lincoln Club, which waged a take-no-prisoners war of hit pieces against Fletcher and later Alvarez during the mayor's race, contributing $7500.

The prosperous tourist attraction also gave $5000 to the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce's political action committee and $2750 to San Diego Restaurant and Beverage PAC, both big Faulconer-backers.

Retirement compensation doesn't seem to seem to be an issue with Shamu, but in 2011 SeaWorld gave $15,000 to the Lincoln Club's drive against what the business lobbyists asserted were overly generous city-worker pensions.

Meanwhile, members of San Diego’s House delegation have been checking in with the briny contributor for their own share of fishy big bucks.

According to a federal disclosure report filed February 20 and covering the period of January 1 through February 12, the SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment, Inc. PAC handed out a total of $29,000 of campaign cash, a goodly amount of it to local and California representatives.

Democratic congresswoman Susan Davis got $1000 on January 7, as did fellow House Democrat Scott Peters and Republican Duncan Hunter. California senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, both Democrats, also picked up $1000 each.

Sea World has lately been fighting a battle for public opinion spawned by the documentary Blackfish; California Democratic assemblyman Richard Bloom of Santa Monica has introduced a bill to ban the amusement park's lucrative whale shows.

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

San Diego Reader 2024 Music & Arts Issue

Favorite fakers: Baby Bushka, Fleetwood Max, Electric Waste Band, Oceans, Geezer – plus upcoming tribute schedule
Next Article

Didja know I did the first American feature on Jimi Hendrix?

Richard Meltzer goes through the Germs, Blue Oyster Cult, Ray Charles, Elvis, Lavender Hill Mob
Still image from Blackfish
Still image from Blackfish

With their bread and butter, and anchovies and chum, under attack by animal-rights activists, executives at Sea World, the profitable San Diego aquatic park, have been turning to a traditional American means of persuasion: campaign contributions.

Previously owned by beer giant Anheuser-Busch, the now-independent Florida-based operation has long been a major giver to San Diego pols, kicking in a total of $47,320 via its employees to city candidates since 2007, according to contribution data posted online by the San Diego city clerk's office.

And this year the pace has quickened.

The records show that SeaWorld favored Kevin Faulconer for mayor, with president John T. Reilly and government-affairs person Corrine Brindley giving the winning Republican a total of $2800.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Brindley gave losing Republican-turned-Democrat Nathan Fletcher’s 2012 and 2013 mayoral campaign committees a total of $950. Democrat David Alvarez, who lost to Faulconer in the runoff, got nothing, according to the data.

The whale emporium kicked in big for the GOP Lincoln Club, which waged a take-no-prisoners war of hit pieces against Fletcher and later Alvarez during the mayor's race, contributing $7500.

The prosperous tourist attraction also gave $5000 to the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce's political action committee and $2750 to San Diego Restaurant and Beverage PAC, both big Faulconer-backers.

Retirement compensation doesn't seem to seem to be an issue with Shamu, but in 2011 SeaWorld gave $15,000 to the Lincoln Club's drive against what the business lobbyists asserted were overly generous city-worker pensions.

Meanwhile, members of San Diego’s House delegation have been checking in with the briny contributor for their own share of fishy big bucks.

According to a federal disclosure report filed February 20 and covering the period of January 1 through February 12, the SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment, Inc. PAC handed out a total of $29,000 of campaign cash, a goodly amount of it to local and California representatives.

Democratic congresswoman Susan Davis got $1000 on January 7, as did fellow House Democrat Scott Peters and Republican Duncan Hunter. California senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, both Democrats, also picked up $1000 each.

Sea World has lately been fighting a battle for public opinion spawned by the documentary Blackfish; California Democratic assemblyman Richard Bloom of Santa Monica has introduced a bill to ban the amusement park's lucrative whale shows.

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

Angry Pete’s goes from pop-up to drive-thru

Detroit Pizza sidles into the husk of a shuttered Taco Bell
Next Article

OSHA rules wall falls our fault

Who, U.S.?
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.