I just spent the last hour or so watching Mayor Jerry Sanders speak and take Q&A from the students at Hoover High School in San Diego. If you're interested, you can watch the video here:

http://www.studentsandleaders.org/sandiego/speakers/jerry_sanders.asp

I have to say, it was one of the most refreshing civic related events I have seen in a long time, if not ever. Jerry is hardly the most inspiring speaker, but he's so honest, so transparently open about what's happening in the city, what he's doing to address the problems the city is facing and what his motivations are, it's hard to believe he's real in today's world of camera preening, uberegotistical, self-serving politicians.

I'm confused, however, about his party affiliation. Even though during this talk, Jerry said he was basically a Republican in name only because of his general lack of interest in a career in politics, I don't get why he is a Republican at all.

Here's what I learned about Jerry in the last hour:

1) He has an incredibly nuanced view of the homeless problem. Rather than treat it a monolithic and daunting task, he breaks down the homeless into differentiated groups that all require a unique solution to get them off the street.

2) He's a multiculturalist and explains that the strength of the community lies in its diversity, not in it's homogeneity.

3) He's pro-Gay rights.

4) He doesn't kowtow to deep pocketed housing developers but rather makes them understand that they need to work with the city to provide low cost housing.

5) He understands that the crime issue can't be solved by merely increasing the amount of money in the budget for the police force, but requires a comprehensive view of the causes of crime which can be ameliorated by increased funding for early education and community recreational programs.

6) He knows how important it is for the local economy to keep the San Diego Chargers in town, but he's not going to give away tax payer money to fund a new stadium. Instead he's going to work with the team to find a creative solution that will keep the team in San Diego County and not burden tax-payers or overwhelm the budget.

8) He wants to balance the budget and he actually said that he doesn't believe that it's right to push fiscal problems down the road for future generations to deal with. (Hello, George Bush, are you listening?)

9) He's thinks the warrantless wiretapping by the NSA by the president represent high crimes and misdemeanors, has created a constitutional crisis and that Congress has a responsibility to impeach the president.

Ok, so I made the last one up, but the rest 1-8 were all laid out in perfectly clear English for the 11th graders at Hoover High. He's certainly made me a believer. Why someone as honest as Jerry would want to represent the party of Duke Cunningham, Karl Rove, Jack Abramoff, Don Rumsfeld, and Dick Cheney, is hard to understand. At the very least, I think he should consider changing his affiliation and becoming an Independent.

Other than that, he only disappointment I have is Jerry's insistence that he has no interest in a political career, because I think he would make an unbelievable governor. Anyway, sort of makes me want to move to San Diego. We need more people like Jerry in office all over the country in every level of government.