This was a first for one of my pages. This was a guest post by longtime Encinitas activist Lorri Greene about the drama in the 2018 49th District Congressional Campaign and the dark and deceptive campaign of Mike Levin. Enjoy.
I don’t remember when I first heard about a group called Flip the 49th. They were doing weekly protests at Darrell Issa's office in Vista, in an attempt to get a Democrat into the office instead of another 4 years of Darrell Issa. I went to many of them and they were inspirational.
When Issa decided to announce his retirement, I don't think many people knew what to do next. We were no longer going to run against Issa, so should the rallies continue? The answer was "Yes they should". So they did. Friends were made, people felt they had a purpose, and that was to "Flip the 49th" Congressional District to a Democrat.
The group, in the beginning, was not trying to "sell" one Democratic candidate, as we all figured it would be Issa against, hopefully, a Democrat. However, things have not gone that way. As in most groups, several leaders sprang up. In Flip's case, it was Ellen Montanari, Costa del Sol, and a few others. They hung in there, inspired people, and it seemed good and even noble.
Just as leaders spring up in groups, other Democrats decided to take a shot at the position. In 2016, only Douglas Applegate took on Darrell Issa and only lost by 1621 votes, which at the time, seemed amazing. Issa is a millionaire several times over. Applegate is not. Applegate got little help from the Democratic Party, and he kept on plugging away anyway. Here we are in 2018, and Applegate is once again trying to be the Democrat who took over for Issa. However, he is not alone. There are 3 other Democrats who also want the job. They are Mike Levin, Sara Jacobs, and Paul Kerr.
So, it was with some surprise I found out the other day that Ellen Montanari was pushing hard for Mike Levin. In fact, she is now working for him. Questions began to arise. How long has she wanted Levin in, and how has she influenced Flip, if at all? Did Mike Levin pay her for her efforts? There was a rally a few days ago, not at the regular meeting time, but at a different time where all of the supporters of Levin were there. It was a Flip event, but not all people in Flip necessarily want Levin. So what happened? No one got a vote on endorsing anyone. In fact, Flip decided not to endorse anyone. Did we all get duped? Did any of us see this coming? What do you think about it? For me, I no longer trust Flip the 49th, as I see it as another in a long list of betrayals in this primary. And this is coming from the Democratic side.
If any of you have seen the mailers or broadcast ads that have come from the Democrats, (excluding Applegate) you will see things being said about the other candidates.
From Paul Kerr's campaign:
"Sara Jacobs Insulted Veterans, Active Duty Members, and Their Families"
On Mike Levin "Follow the money to find out the truth about Mike Levin's multi-million dollar ties to big oil."
From Mike Levin's campaign: "Doug Applegate: One problem after another".
From the Sara Jacobs Campaign: "A Fresh Face we need in Congress, and the only woman".
I am saddened by all of the vitriolic attacks from Democrats to other Democrats. I am angry that the perceived leader of Flip the 49th decided to openly support Mike Levin less than 3 weeks before the primary, and then go to work for him. And I can't help but wonder why? She has every right to like Mike Levin and to vote for him. But, she knew she was considered the "leader" of the Flip group. She was interviewed by local media as the leader, she was the one with the megaphone at the rallies, and she was also inspirational. This action was taken in opposition to the feelings of Flip the 49th's own membership.
Something certainly did happen along the way, and I wonder if we Democrats can survive this? Not just whether we get a candidate on the ballot, but survive the much deeper wounds of a feeling of anger, hurt, betrayal, and depression that many feel after this long and brutal battle, all within the Democratic Party. I guess time will tell.
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