Congressman Bob Filner has cited “inaccuracies” in our recent reporting on his remarks concerning the Port of San Diego — claiming the numbers prior to 2003 “Were not $4 billion.”
“[The ‘more than $4 billion’ numbers were from] this administration,” he said during an interview on KPBS Evening Edition, claiming he told inewsource the “no commerce” quote was meant for years “before that.’”
We just pulled up tonnage data from the Pacific Maritime Association, which goes back to 1995. This data is calculated using something called “revenue tonnage,” which takes into account worker hours and uses a formula to arrive at the total. So while these numbers do not represent the actual tonnage or overall value, they are closely related to both — and consistent in showing the port’s growth throughout the years prior to 2003.
Once again, Filner’s claims are wrong. The volume, according to the data, has nothing to do with the “current administration.”
(Note: We could not use actual tonnage or values because the Port of San Diego has delayed releasing the information).