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

Congressman Peters and the dark arts

Newspaper king of attack campaigns bemoans “slimy affair"

Scott Peters
Scott Peters

Before it began, San Diego power players predicted that victory in the battle between Democratic House freshman Scott Peters and GOP ex-city councilman Carl DeMaio would ultimately come down to big money and the dark arts of politics.

Practiced by a circle of expert political consultants, the techniques, including so-called opposition research and the manipulation of print and electronic outlets to shift public opinion, can make the key difference in a closely fought race, as the Peters-DeMaio was shaping up to be.

At first, it appeared that DeMaio had the inside track. He was backed by his longtime friend and financial supporter Douglas Manchester, who with young Russian-born second wife Geniya funneled cash to the GOP candidate through a Georgia-based campaign finance committee.

Manchester and the newspaper he owns, U-T San Diego, had come off the hit-piece-filled triumph of Republican Kevin Faulconer against Democrats David Alvarez and Nathan Fletcher in fighting form.

The direct-mail attacks against Fletcher and his employer Qualcomm from the GOP Lincoln Club had become so intense that Qualcomm's then-CEO Paul Jacobs demanded a retraction.

Sponsored
Sponsored

"Is the Lincoln Club so desperate and out of constructive ideas that they are resorting to attacks on private employers, forsaking their supposed principles and lying to serve a political agenda?" wrote Jacobs.

This year came charges by ex-DeMaio staffer Todd Bosnich, denied by U-T San Diego editor Jeff Light, that DeMaio and his staff had been allowed to craft an anti-Peters editorial furnished to the U-T’s Chris Reed.

"Our writers do their own writing and their own research," retorted Light in a statement he posted online. "Anyone familiar with Chris Reed's formidable intellect and scrupulous character would be struck by how utterly preposterous this claim is."

As it turns out, Peters, who ultimately won the war, had a key ace in hole.

Federal campaign disclosure filings of the Peters campaign show that Oakland-based VR Research, founded by former state Democratic Party research director Mike Rice, has received a total of $8442 through October 14 for "Campaign Research Services."

Rice didn't respond to requests for comment; his biography on VR's website says, "Mike has spent his entire career in public records and opposition research."

In August 2003, during the recall campaign against Democratic governor Gray Davis, the Los Angeles Times investigated the role of opposition research.

As the paper explained it, "If the recall campaign follows the normal pattern, opposition research material will be spun into television and radio spots, mailings and news conferences — when not leaked to the media."

The paper quoted Rice as saying, "That's your best outlet — to give it to a reporter."

In October 1994, when Kathleen Brown, Jerry Brown's sister, was running for governor against Republican Pete Wilson, the Times identified Rice as a major player.

"All politicians keep tabs on their opponents — reading their direct mail, watching their television ads, even researching their backgrounds. But in the midst of a campaign, nothing beats following the enemy around," the paper reported.

"The Brown campaign has a few high-level employees — press secretary John Whitehurst, for example, and senior adviser for research Michael Rice — who sometimes attend Wilson events throughout the state.

"After Wilson speaks, these people often hold their own news conferences to poke holes in his claims. Other times, they attempt to persuade reporters one-on-one, passing out Brown campaign materials and offering instant analysis."

Interviewed by phone, Peters campaign spokesman Alex Roth cast Rice's role for Peters as a defensive one, including researching Peters's city council voting history to rebut various DeMaio allegations. Roth added that he hadn’t talked to Rice.

Beth Ford Roth

Roth's services to the campaign were billed through BFR Freelance, Inc., whose president is his wife, Beth Ford Roth. She also works as a paid blogger on military issues for San Diego State University–run public television operation KPBS.

Roth says his wife played no role in the Peters campaign, from which BFR has received $16,000 through October 15 for "communications services," the campaign's disclosure filings show.

One of the station's major financial backers, Qualcomm Democratic billionaire Irwin Jacobs, for whom the KPBS newsroom is named, is a longtime donor to Peters and hosted a Peters fundraiser featuring president Barack Obama at his La Jolla mansion earlier this year.

That fueled criticism by DeMaio backers of sexually related allegations aired by the station against the GOP candidate the Sunday afternoon before the election.

“By resurrecting this outrageous lie in the last 48 hours of the campaign, Scott Peters has sunk to a new low,” DeMaio spokesman Dave McCulloch was quoted by U-T San Diego as saying.

Such as it is, San Diego's intrigue-filled battle of the dark arts may not yet have reached its denouement, at least if mega-millionaire Manchester has anything to do with it.

In the wake of the post-election arrest of ex-DeMaio aide and accuser Bosnich for allegedly assaulting his mother, the Republican’s paper appears ready for another bout of research, asserting in a November 13 editorial, "the timelines and police records have only raised more questions for all involved in this slimy affair."

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

Nation’s sexy soldiers stage protest at Pendleton in wake of change in Marine uniform policy

Semper WHY?
Next Article

San Diego Reader 2024 Music & Arts Issue

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

Before it began, San Diego power players predicted that victory in the battle between Democratic House freshman Scott Peters and GOP ex-city councilman Carl DeMaio would ultimately come down to big money and the dark arts of politics.

Practiced by a circle of expert political consultants, the techniques, including so-called opposition research and the manipulation of print and electronic outlets to shift public opinion, can make the key difference in a closely fought race, as the Peters-DeMaio was shaping up to be.

At first, it appeared that DeMaio had the inside track. He was backed by his longtime friend and financial supporter Douglas Manchester, who with young Russian-born second wife Geniya funneled cash to the GOP candidate through a Georgia-based campaign finance committee.

Manchester and the newspaper he owns, U-T San Diego, had come off the hit-piece-filled triumph of Republican Kevin Faulconer against Democrats David Alvarez and Nathan Fletcher in fighting form.

The direct-mail attacks against Fletcher and his employer Qualcomm from the GOP Lincoln Club had become so intense that Qualcomm's then-CEO Paul Jacobs demanded a retraction.

Sponsored
Sponsored

"Is the Lincoln Club so desperate and out of constructive ideas that they are resorting to attacks on private employers, forsaking their supposed principles and lying to serve a political agenda?" wrote Jacobs.

This year came charges by ex-DeMaio staffer Todd Bosnich, denied by U-T San Diego editor Jeff Light, that DeMaio and his staff had been allowed to craft an anti-Peters editorial furnished to the U-T’s Chris Reed.

"Our writers do their own writing and their own research," retorted Light in a statement he posted online. "Anyone familiar with Chris Reed's formidable intellect and scrupulous character would be struck by how utterly preposterous this claim is."

As it turns out, Peters, who ultimately won the war, had a key ace in hole.

Federal campaign disclosure filings of the Peters campaign show that Oakland-based VR Research, founded by former state Democratic Party research director Mike Rice, has received a total of $8442 through October 14 for "Campaign Research Services."

Rice didn't respond to requests for comment; his biography on VR's website says, "Mike has spent his entire career in public records and opposition research."

In August 2003, during the recall campaign against Democratic governor Gray Davis, the Los Angeles Times investigated the role of opposition research.

As the paper explained it, "If the recall campaign follows the normal pattern, opposition research material will be spun into television and radio spots, mailings and news conferences — when not leaked to the media."

The paper quoted Rice as saying, "That's your best outlet — to give it to a reporter."

In October 1994, when Kathleen Brown, Jerry Brown's sister, was running for governor against Republican Pete Wilson, the Times identified Rice as a major player.

"All politicians keep tabs on their opponents — reading their direct mail, watching their television ads, even researching their backgrounds. But in the midst of a campaign, nothing beats following the enemy around," the paper reported.

"The Brown campaign has a few high-level employees — press secretary John Whitehurst, for example, and senior adviser for research Michael Rice — who sometimes attend Wilson events throughout the state.

"After Wilson speaks, these people often hold their own news conferences to poke holes in his claims. Other times, they attempt to persuade reporters one-on-one, passing out Brown campaign materials and offering instant analysis."

Interviewed by phone, Peters campaign spokesman Alex Roth cast Rice's role for Peters as a defensive one, including researching Peters's city council voting history to rebut various DeMaio allegations. Roth added that he hadn’t talked to Rice.

Beth Ford Roth

Roth's services to the campaign were billed through BFR Freelance, Inc., whose president is his wife, Beth Ford Roth. She also works as a paid blogger on military issues for San Diego State University–run public television operation KPBS.

Roth says his wife played no role in the Peters campaign, from which BFR has received $16,000 through October 15 for "communications services," the campaign's disclosure filings show.

One of the station's major financial backers, Qualcomm Democratic billionaire Irwin Jacobs, for whom the KPBS newsroom is named, is a longtime donor to Peters and hosted a Peters fundraiser featuring president Barack Obama at his La Jolla mansion earlier this year.

That fueled criticism by DeMaio backers of sexually related allegations aired by the station against the GOP candidate the Sunday afternoon before the election.

“By resurrecting this outrageous lie in the last 48 hours of the campaign, Scott Peters has sunk to a new low,” DeMaio spokesman Dave McCulloch was quoted by U-T San Diego as saying.

Such as it is, San Diego's intrigue-filled battle of the dark arts may not yet have reached its denouement, at least if mega-millionaire Manchester has anything to do with it.

In the wake of the post-election arrest of ex-DeMaio aide and accuser Bosnich for allegedly assaulting his mother, the Republican’s paper appears ready for another bout of research, asserting in a November 13 editorial, "the timelines and police records have only raised more questions for all involved in this slimy affair."

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

Best Sports Betting Sites - 10 Online Sportsbooks Ranked for 2024

Best Sports Betting Sites (2024) - Reviews of TOP Online Sportsbooks
Next Article

Top Websites To Buy Instagram Likes + Bonus Tip!

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.