With emotions already running high as San Diego leaders try to come up with a stadium plan to keep the Chargers in San Diego, it looks like a local Republican business club with ties to Mayor Kevin Faulconer is taking steps to muddy the waters between the city and the club.
The San Diego-based Lincoln Club, which paid close to $50,000 in negative advertising during Faulconer’s mayoral campaign as well as publicly endorsed him, recently sponsored a negative Facebook post criticizing the Chargers.
Sponsoring Facebook posts in an effective and inexpensive way to hit a targeted audience.
It wasn’t the only negative Facebook post the Lincoln Club directed at the Chargers, as you can see here.
The mayor isn’t the only stadium-related link to the Lincoln Club. Turns out the spokesman for Mayor Faulconer’s stadium task force – Tony Manolatos – represented the Lincoln Club in 2014 when the club was accused of going too far in paying for a negative ad against City Councilman and then-mayoral candidate David Alvarez.
Manolatos told me this morning he no longer works for the Lincoln Club.
Needless to say, the message and timing of the recent Facebook posts aren’t just curious, it’s potentially damaging.
The Chargers will meet with city officials for the second time in less than a week on Monday – and will bring the team’s financing, land use and election law experts.
Needless to say, the club is not happy at all with the recent tactics.
That sentiment was expressed Sunday in a statement by Chargers’ counsel Mark Fabiani:
“This new negative advertising campaign against the Chargers – launched just as the team began negotiations with the city – speaks volumes about what the Mayor and his political operatives have really been up to on this issue from the start: They have always seemed more concerned with political cover than with actually building a stadium.” Fabiani said.
I put a call into Mayor Faulconer’s Chief of Staff – Stephen Puetz – at 5 pm Sunday but at had not heard back from him by the time this post was published. I will update as needed.
Late Sunday night, Lincoln Club Executive Director Ryan Clumpner emailed me the following statement:
“We are a private organization and post on Facebook as we see fit. We sponsor all our posts. No elected officials have any say in what we post, nor will we be bullied by Mr. Fabiani
“The question we asked on Facebook was whether the Chargers want a new stadium or would rather move to L.A. If Mr. Fabiani was so threatened by that question that he is complaining about it to the NFL, then I think we all know the answer.”
In any event, with time of such an essence as the Chargers try to secure a new home in San Diego – or look to Los Angeles for a new home – this probably isn’t the best time to be throwing mud.
Should make for an interesting meeting Monday, that’s for sure.
