And “Mr. Anti-Tax” has no problem promoting large military expenditures, especially when it involves the development of military installations and related public “investments.” He also has no problem forcing taxpayers to pay for new stadiums, hotels, and other infrastructure, whether or not the local people want it or can afford to pay for it.
After Mr. Manchester bought the newspaper last November, he brought in Mr. Lynch, a radio executive who, like Mr. Manchester, believed that a new stadium for the Chargers was crucial to the city’s future. In an interview soon after the purchase, Mr. Lynch told Mr. Davis the sports pages should advocate for a new stadium and “call out those who don’t as obstructionists.”
A longtime sports columnist, Tim Sullivan, was skeptical. He noted that the previous stadium deal had not worked out well for the city and wrote that if a new stadium was to be erected, due caution was required.
A week ago Friday, he was brought in to the editor’s office and fired. A huge uproar ensued, with posts on Facebook and Twitter and many calls of protest to the newspaper. Mr. Sullivan has since entered negotiations over his departure and would not discuss the specifics of his firing. But in the days after he was let go, he did comment to a local blog on what he believed was behind his dismissal.
“Mr. Lynch appears to be of a mind to make the stadium happen and bulldoze the opposition or even those who raise questions,” Mr. Sullivan told the Sherman Report, a sports media blog…
…The reporters and others have pointed to the frantic level of promotion for various political candidates as over-the-top and damaging to the paper’s credibility. For instance, The U-T presented a wraparound of a sample ballot for the conservative, pro-development candidates it endorsed on the Sunday before the election and again last Tuesday, the day of the election. On Monday, there was a front-page editorial in support of Carl DeMaio, the candidate for mayor that Mr. Manchester supports.
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Lynch, a former radio station owner with a linebacker’s build at age 65, speaks bluntly. He recently wrote to Scott Peters, a Port of San Diego commissioner and Democratic nominee for Congress, demanding to know his position on a shipping contract to unload bananas that could complicate the publisher’s plans for the downtown waterfront redevelopment. He wanted an exit clause.
“Otherwise this will become a major issue in the campaigns and the UT will be forced to lead a campaign to disband the PORT,” he wrote.
