Why this matters
National City’s next mayor will need to win what has been a contentious race to represent 58,000 National City residents and help manage the cash-strapped city’s $90 million annual general fund budget.
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National City mayoral candidate Jose Rodriguez is standing behind his campaign’s misleading ads accusing his opponent of MAGA ties.
The two-sided mailer sent to voters reads “MAGA Marcus Bush” and features images of Bush, Rodriguez’s opponent, and President Donald Trump pasted next to each other. MAGA is short for the 2016 Trump campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again.”
“He Picked MAGA’s Side,” the flyer stated.
But Rodriguez’s evidence to support the claims may be a stretch. He points to Bush’s vote as a councilmember earlier this year to postpone business tax reform and donations that Bush’s campaign has received from Republicans.
And while his ad includes an excerpt of a Union-Tribune article reporting that Bush was supported by Republicans, it doesn’t mention that the quote comes from Rodriguez’s own comments from a press release.
The ad also cites the wrong news article.
While the mayoral race is officially nonpartisan, both Rodriguez and Bush are registered Democrats. Bush denies any allegiance to MAGA and called Trump “the worst president ever.”
‘MAGA Marcus’ claim
In an interview with inewsource, Rodriguez argued that because Bush was one of three councilmembers to reject a ballot initiative for business license tax reform that could have generated up to $7 million annually in new revenue, the vote equates to Bush having “killed funding for 911 and seniors” — another claim in the mailer. The initiative would have asked voters to decide this November, but Bush instead led the passage of a motion to postpone the tax reform vote for a future election cycle.
Rodriguez has continued to advocate for reforms, saying that bigger National City businesses are not paying their “fair share” in taxes under the current licensing costs.
Bush previously said that he supports increasing the rates but wants to seek a good-faith compromise with business leaders to ensure a successful ballot measure.
Bush acknowledged that Republicans have donated to his campaign. One donation: $1,230 on Aug. 12 from Jenifer Ball-Reinebach, a business owner on the Mile of Cars who has been pictured in a Trump hat on social media.
Records show a Jenifer Ball also donated $250 to Rodriguez, but that he returned the money.
Bush called Rodriguez’s mailer “divisive.”
“These are non-partisan races,” Bush said. “It’s not about me changing any of my values. They support me because I’m honest, I’m direct, and I fight for our National City.”
‘Republican political establishment’
Rodriguez’s ad uses a brief excerpt from a Union-Tribune article reporting on National City’s business tax discussions. But the mailer — which states that Bush was running “with the support of the city’s business and Republican political establishment” — does not mention that the excerpt is Rodriguez’s own words.
When asked why he quoted himself in the flyer, Rodriguez told inewsource he didn’t see the flyer. He said his campaign consultants designed the ad.
“I haven’t seen the details, and I’ll have to look into it. But that is a fair observation that I did not see,” Rodriguez said.
Still, Rodriguez said he stands by the themes of his arguments surrounding Bush’s political alignments. The San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce has endorsed Bush and has sent out political mailers opposing Rodriguez.
“I don’t think it is a secret that the San Diego Chamber of Commerce is the local Republican and business establishment group,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez and Bush are among three candidates, along with community organizer Jacobb Castrejon, seeking to replace Mayor Ron Morrison. Morrison is not running for re-election and has endorsed Bush.
inewsource breaks down election ads and claims that matter to National City voters. Your support keeps this critical local election coverage coming.
Type of Content
News: Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
