Republicans back ‘Duke’; Demos on attack
Local Republicans are closing ranks around Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham, who is facing accusations that he received suspicious financial favors from a defense contractor.
Meanwhile, Cunningham’s Democratic rivals are viewing the longtime congressman’s ethical difficulties as an opportunity to unseat him.
(See related editorial.)
The eight-term congressman and former Navy pilot is reportedly being investigated by both the FBI and a federal grand jury over the December 2003 sale of his Del Mar home to Mitchell Wade, president of MZM, Inc., a Washington, D.C.-based defense and intelligence firm.
Wade bought the congressman’s four-bedroom house for $1.67 million and almost immediately put it back on the market where it sat for eight months before selling for $700,000 less than what he had paid. Cunningham, in the meantime, used the proceeds from that sale to purchase a $2.5 million home in Rancho Santa Fe.
Adding further fuel to the fire are the multi-million defense contracts Wade has won since then with Cunningham’s support. The congressman, for several years now, has been a member of the influential House Appropriations Committee and its Defense Subcommittee. He also sits on the House Select Committee on Intelligence.
But local Republicans, for the most part, are giving Cunningham the benefit of the doubt.
“Duke is truly a hero of mine,” said state Sen. Dennis Hollingsworth, whose 36th District encompasses both sides of the I-15 Corridor from Rancho Bernardo south through Scripps Ranch and eastward to Poway. “Before passing judgment based solely on media reports, we should hear from this great American and get his side of this.”
Liza Georges, board chairman of the Conservative Order for Good Government, a North County Republican political action committee that meets monthly at the Rancho Bernardo Inn, said COGG would not comment due to reports that Cunningham is the subject of an FBI investigation. “But his real estate deals have very little to do with his leadership,” Georges added.
Barbara Warden, president of the San Diego Downtown Partnership and a former District Five City Councilwoman, also touched on Cunningham’s exemplary leadership in the 50th District, which includes Rancho Bernardo, Rancho Penasquitos, Carmel Mountain Ranch and 4S Ranch.
“For me, as a constituent and an elected official, Duke has always been more than helpful doing things for people in our area,” Warden said. “And over the years, he has risen to a position in Congress where he could do even more for us.”
Warden, a former newspaper publisher and longtime Rancho Bernardo resident, said she is surprised the issue has garnered so much attention.
“It did sound odd to by a home for $1.7 million and then sell it for $900,000 less,” she said. “But I have no clue as to the value of property over there.”
Tim Fernholz, spokesman for the Francine Busby for Congress Campaign Committee, said Monday that Busby has been receiving phone calls from Democrats and Republicans alike since the news broke about Cunningham’s real estate dealings with Wade.
“We’re getting a lot of reaction from moderate Republicans,” Fernholz added. “People haven’t had a choice in a long time and Cunningham hasn’t had to really run a campaign in years.”
Busby, who lost to Cunningham in 2004, was in hot pursuit of the Democratic nomination for the 2006 congressional race even before the bribery allegations against Cunningham surfaced last week.
“We’re really very thankful that we started early,” said Busby from her Encinitas campaign office on Monday. “We’ve had a lot of supporters calling us and this really shows the district is ready for someone new.”
Busby, who garnered 37 percent of the vote in her previous run for Cunningham’s seat, said the allegations have certainly increased awareness that this will be an open and competitive race. “There’s a huge difference in the dynamics this time, something voters haven’t had in 14 years,” Busby said.
A Republican-turned-Democrat, the 54-year-old Busby said she’s been hearing from Republicans and Independents as well as Democrats.
“The Republican far right has left a lot of moderate Republicans in this district far behind,” she said. “I built a nice base of supporters last time and now when I call, they’re ready. After all this, people are feeling re-energized.”