Why is Carl DeMaio so scared of his record?

There couldn't be any clearer comparison when mayoral candidate Bob Filner visited a meeting of the San Diego Tea Party this week. Attendees there hammered Filner for his politics but ultimately respected him for showing up and taking their questions. In a similar vein, several months ago Nathan Fletcher attended the non-partisan mayoral forum put on by A Better San Diego. Meanwhile, Carl DeMaio refuses to acknowledge, much less face, people who don't support him.

He wouldn't show his face at the ABSD debate, he blackballs media outlets he deems unsupportive, he bans people from his Facebook page, and good luck finding a DeMaio event near you if you live in the wide swaths of San Diego that don't fit into DeMaio's electoral arithmetic. Because he's not really running to represent all San Diegans -- he's running to represent the people who get on board with his way or the highway.

By comparison, the mayoral debate on the 13th that DeMaio did attend was co-sponsored by a number of DeMaio's political and financial allies. The Union-Tribune was recently purchased by Doug Manchester, who promptly installed John Lynch to run the operation. Manchester and Lynch partnered on DeMaio's San Diego Citizens for Accountable Government, providing nearly $150,000 in support. Manchester later hosted a fundraiser for DeMaio's city council campaign. Two other sponsors, the Lincoln Club and San Diego Taxpayers Assocation, are outspoken backers of DeMaio's pension measure, helping to fund and promote the campaign. DeMaio's previous campaigns have also received financial and promotional backing from the groups.

That doesn't mean the fix was in when it comes to the questions. But it does mean that DeMaio had a friendly crowd and a set of groundrules that adhered exactly to what he was and was not willing to talk about. And true to the rules that DeMaio has decreed for appearing in public for questions, nobody asked him a single question about his long political record -- which covers nearly two full decades. So Carl DeMaio once again was granted free reign to spin whatever story about himself he wanted.

A far cry from actually facing tough environments like Filner or Fletcher, but to be expected from someone who's apparently desperately afraid to be held accountable.