Donna Frye Caves on Wal-Mart, San Diego Open to Supercenters

by Lucas O'Connor [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

After consistently voting to ban supercenters in San Diego, Councilwoman Donna Frye yesterday switched her vote in a surprise move, killing any opportunity to override the Mayor's veto.  After years of opposition, Frye said:

I heard from many, many people that want to have that choice, and I think there's a way to give people that choice, to hopefully put something in place that also protects small businesses by doing an economic impact report and allowing the communities to have a greater oversight of that process

Essentially, she's decided that the effect of Supercenters can be mitigated by nibbling around the edges, turning her back on the UFCW, the Neighborhood Market Association, and any supporter of responsible growth or sound economic policy in San Diego
The word is that Frye received enough of a reaction from her district in support of Wal-Mart that she was compelled to change her vote, which is a hell of a mixed blessing.  Responsiveness is fantastic, but not at the expense of leadership.  This is a case in which it's the responsibility of elected officials to actually know better than their constituents, and in that regard, Donna Frye has failed.  The negative impacts of Supercenters on environment, traffic, community development, small businesses and the general economic conditions are well documented.  Indeed, Donna Frye has made the anti-Supercenter case very well herself many times, so she knows what she's dealing with.

Yet here we find ourselves.  A city with major environmental concerns and traffic congestion problems adding a big, fat, polluting roadblock.  Cheap liquor and guns coming to a community near you. And of course, the replacement of high-paying jobs with low-paying jobs.  Because in all of my experience, cities with more poor people tend to be desirable.  People have clamored for the option of buying cheaper groceries (not that they're actually cheaper, but whatever), and apparently this swayed Donna Frye.  I wonder though whether people would be as enthusiastic about having no option BUT to buy the cheapest possible products.  Because that's what happens.

The City government's job is to manage the growth and development of the city in a wise way.  That's why, for example, there's zoning.  Or height restrictions for buildings near airports. Donna Frye has abandoned what's best for San Diego in favor of what's popular in San Diego.  That's not her job, she knows better, and I'm exceptionally disappointed.

The article mentions the suspicion that this might have been a political maneuver to protect the Democratic Party next November.  With this issue gone, Wal-Mart won't be sponsoring a ballot measure and skewing the Mayor, City Attorney, and four City Council elections with money, advertising and GOTV.  If that's the case, it's a pretty tricky bit of maneuvering that she's playing with.

What I'd like to think (really really like to think), is that this is the first step towards placing so many restrictions on the location of Supercenters that there wouldn't be any suitable locations in San Diego.  This would be exceptionally difficult and while the folks at Wal-Mart are many unflattering things, stupid isn't one of them.  They also aren't going to be shamed out of building a location because of an environmental impact study or public scrutiny.  As long as there's a lack of political will to stand up to corporations which exist only insofar as they can keep people poor and desperate, Wal-Mart won't police itself.  One more time, Democrats have rolled over rather than taking on a necessary fight.  I hope there's another legitimate step coming, but I'm not holding my breath.