Down to Business . . .

By Tom Blair

HINDSIGHT: Every month is peoplewatching month when you’re in the magazine- editing business. But each January, San Diego Magazine pulls out all the stops. For more than two decades, we’ve taken it upon ourselves to tell you which San Diegans you should keep an eye on. And each year, we’ve been surprisingly accurate with our forecasts—though not always for the reasons we expected. The year 2004 was no exception.

We told you to watch Mayor Dick Murphy. Slam dunk. But we didn’t know, when the year began, we’d be watching him along with media from around the world as he presided over a city that had become a fiscal and political laughingstock.

We suggested you watch banker/Port Commissioner Peter Q. Davis and County Supervisor Ron Roberts challenge Murphy for the mayor’s job. Davis washed out in the primary, and Murphy subsequently removed him from the Port Commission. Roberts, looking like a winner in the general election, was blindsided by write-in candidate Donna Frye, who turned the process on its ear. A year ago, Frye wasn’t on our radar at all. You can bet she is this year.

Fire Chief Jeff Bowman—the antithesis of the entrenched bureaucrat—talked bluntly in the aftermath of the Cedar fires about the city’s lack of adequate firefighting equipment. The City Council, drowning in a budget morass, did next to nothing about it. And so, in 2004, Bowman announced he was establishing his own private, nonprofit foundation to raise bucks to purchase needed firefighting equipment.

Last January, we told you to watch Chargers owner Alex Spanos, whom we described as the multimillionaire builder of quality homes and a subquality NFL franchise. Oops! We found young political consultant Jennifer Tierney— “the It Girl”—worth watching. She was steering the campaigns of Mayor Murphy, Councilmember Toni Atkins and city attorney candidate Debbie Berger. By September, we were watching Tierney “having my good name dragged through the mud,” amid specious allegations she’d capitalized on her political connections to Murphy to win city consulting contracts.

We’ve never promised job security with our People To Watch honors. Sometimes, quite the opposite. Gay & Lesbian Times editor Amber Cyphers got her walking papers the day she accepted our award. But that was our gain. Now she’s a contributing writer for San Diego Magazine. TV weathercaster C.S. Keyes was dropped by KUSI at mid-year, but rebounded strongly as a sportscaster for Fox Channel 6. And Ernie Anderson, who had 33 years’ tenure in San Diego city management and was regarded as a financial master—was unceremoniously fired by new city manager Lamont Ewell, who effectively fired himself six months later, announcing he was quitting his job after little more than half a year in the pressure cooker. Keep these folks in mind as you peruse this year’s list of 50. Our winners win some and lose some.

LIFE IN THE CITY: Mayor Dick Murphy’s streak of bad out-oftown press continued last month with California Political Week putting him first in the category of “Giving Laid-Back a Bad Name” (a tie with L.A. Mayor Jim Hahn). But there was a bright note, too. Murphy was the cover boy on the December issue of The Journal of the American Library Association, which named him “elected official of the year.” Let’s hear it for that $312 million library program . . . The fledgling San Diego Film Festival, in just its third year, posted four top-10s in the Ultimate Film Festival Survival Guide: best regional festival, bestkept- secret festival, best party festival and best vacation festival . . . Winners and losers: With two hot San Diego–spawned musicals, Jersey Boys and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, expected to wow Broadway this year, an old turkey from La Jolla Playhouse expired there last month. Dracula, the Musical, directed by Des McAnuff, closed on Broadway after four months, losing estimated millions for its producers.

A DIRTY BUSINESS: What started a half-century ago as a oneproduct company, San Diego–based WD-40, stayed that way for 40 years. But now, after a decade of expansion, the company produces more than a dozen household products. Ten years ago, it was a $100 million company with 100 employees. Now it grosses $260 million with 227 employees. The lubricant is still the franchise, of course. It’s sold in 160 countries and can be found in eight out of 10 U.S. households (used by more Americans than dental floss). But other products have boosted the bottom line, among them 3-in-1 oil, Lava soap and Carpet Fresh deodorant. “We’re in the squeak, smell and dirt business,” says CEO Garry Ridge. The latest addition to the WD- 40 product family: 2000 Flushes toilet-bowl cleaner. “Our goal,” deadpans Ridge, “is to be No. 1 in the No. 2 business.”

MORE BLESSED: Terry Cole-Whittaker, who used to preach the gospel of “prosperity as your divine right” for the Church of Religious Science, would be proud. During a pre-Christmas service at the Midtown Church of Religious Science last month, parishioners were stunned to find themselves on the receiving end. The church, they were told, had actually surpassed its tithing goal for 2004. And so instead of passing the collection plate, each member of the congregation was passed a $25 gift certificate to Trader Joe’s.

Listen for Tom Blair’s Friday reports on KOGO News Radio (600 AM) at 7:25 a.m. You can also hear his radio column at sandiegomag.com. Items for the magazine or radio may be e-mailed to tblair@sandiegomag.com.

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