E-mail Prompts Port to Fire Lobbyist

The Port of San Diego has fired a lobbyist who allegedly sent e-mails boasting that she was "spoon feeding" talking points to a state coastal commissioner.
     
The chairman of the Board of Port Commissioners sent an apology letter to the California Coastal Commission on Friday saying it wouldn't renew Susan McCabe's contract.  McCabe was hired by the port to help secure Coastal Commission approval for a $228 million redevelopment of the downtown San Diego waterfront.
     
The fired lobbyis made comments regarding her efforts to convince Commissioner Patrick Kruer to vote for it. He ultimately recused himself from the vote because his brother had a role in the proposed development, and the commission rejected the project.
     
McCabe has declined to comment about the e-mails, which were obtained by activists fighting the project.

After the e-mails came to light, a port spokesman told the Los Angeles Times that "the Port of San Diego disagrees with her choice of words. We do not use that language ourselves."