Mayor Jerry Sanders formally endorsed Bonnie Dumanis for San Diego Mayor in the upcoming 2012 election.
The Dumanis campaign announced the endorsement Wednesday morning, releasing a YouTube video with Sanders’ comments on the San Diego District Attorney.
“Bonnie has incredible integrity, does the right thing for the right reasons and she’s been a public servant for her entire career,” Sanders said in the video.
Dumanis formerly served as a Superior Court Judge and was elected District Attorney for three consecutive terms. She has lived in San Diego for 37 years. Sanders’ commended Dumanis for her CEO experience in the DA’s office, and her “strong leadership skills and a no non-sense style.”
Last year, Voice of San Diego published a series of articles about Dumanis, dubbing her one of the most powerful politicians in San Diego. Many law enforcement and political officials respect her for legislative success and willingness to listen to the community.
Yet some defense attorneys expressed disappointment with her decision-making style, arguing that her choices as DA have often been politically charged, according to one article in the series.
Dumanis also received the endorsement of City Councilman Kevin Faulconer, who bowed down from the mayoral race in support of Dumanis.
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Both Sanders’ and Faulconer’s endorsement came as somewhat of a surprise, as Dumanis publicly opposes a ballot measure that would replace pensions guaranteed to most new city hires with 401(k)s. Sanders and Faulconer teamed up with one of Dumanis’ competitors, Carl DeMaio to write the measure.
Dumanis said in an interview that she does not support the inclusion of firefighters in the 401(k) plan.
“I’m never going to find anybody that's going to agree with me on every issue," Sanders told a local television reporter.
Dumanis will compete against DeMaio and state Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher for the republican seat. State Sen. Christine Kehoe (D-San Diego) may run for mayor, and Congressman Bob Filner (D-CA) will announce his candidacy Wednesday afternoon.
