Column: Assembly candidate shows he’s tough on crime — by catching a suspected car burglar
James Elia isn’t about to add “superhero” to his November ballot bio, even though friends are urging the Democratic candidate for state Assembly to do so.
Doctored pictures transforming the District 71 Assembly candidate into Batman have popped up from visitors to his Facebook page since early Sunday morning when Elia thwarted a possible vehicle burglary on the El Cajon street where he lives.
Shortly after 2 a.m., Elia was in his car smoking a cigarette after a late-night gym workout when he noticed a stranger he estimated to be in his late 30s tampering with a truck parked down the street.
Elia jumped out and, in his bare feet, chased the man for about five blocks before catching him. When the suspect mentioned he had a wife and kids and pleaded with his captor not to call the cops, Elia’s soft side triumphed.
The former high school wrestler figured the would-be thief had suffered enough, released his grip and warned the intruder not to come back. Infamous last words.
A few minutes later, as Elia resumed smoking and checking email in his car, the same figure stealthily returned and began taking the wheels off a neighbor’s trailer.
This time, the 280-pound Elia showed no mercy and, delivering a jiu-jitsu maneuver he thinks would have made his former instructor proud, held the would-be thief captive until El Cajon police arrived. They determined that a crime hadn’t actually been committed and no arrest was made.
After the suspect was apprehended, Elia recorded the exchange on Facebook Live as he related his story to police.
The video quickly triggered superhero comments, including: “I am so getting you a cape today;” “It’s a bird, it’s a plane;” “Can I be your Robin?”
Political responses came in, too: “Who says that progressives are not tough on crime?” and “The only thing better would have been if the thief had been Randy Voepel (Elia’s GOP opponent).”
Others expressed concerns about his safety: “Don’t be a hero, be alive!” And the caveat: “Stop smoking — THAT will definitely kill you.”
The downside, confesses the neighborhood hero, is that his wife saw the video and discovered he was covertly smoking in the car.
The show goes on: Former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney had to cancel his appearance at Friday evening’s Rancho Santa Fe fundraiser for GOP Congressional candidate Diane Harkey. She is campaigning for the seat of retiring Rep. Darrell Issa.
Cheney cited family medical issues. They involved not the former VP, who had a heart transplant in 2012 after suffering five heart attacks, but his wife, Lynne, explained Tony Krvaric, chairman of the San Diego County Republican Party.
The fundraiser at the Inn at Rancho Santa Fe still took place as planned without Cheney. With Issa stepping down, the GOP is fighting an expensive battle to keep a Republican in the hotly contested 49th District seat where Harkey is pitted against Democrat Mike Levin in the general election.
The Cheneys’ daughter, Liz Cheney, is a GOP congresswoman representing Wyoming.
Timing is everything: San Diego’s new Fire-Rescue Department Chief Colin Stowell was being lauded by Mayor Kevin Faulconer at his Aug. 13 swearing-in outside Fire Station 1 when an alarm went off, not once, but twice, during the ceremony.
The emergencies sent several firefighters scrambling away aboard hook and ladder trucks. Stowell stayed to complete his swearing-in ceremony at the station where he began his city firefighting career 30 years ago.
Seems Stowell was quite prescient when he stood in front of the same station July 2 as Mayor Faulconer announced his selection as the city’s new fire chief, beginning Aug. 13. At the time, Stowell announced he was well aware of the current issues and, “come August, we’ll be able to hit the ground running to start addressing those issues.”
They did, indeed, hit the ground running on Aug. 13.
Fake news fallout: As more than 300 newspapers around the country, including The San Diego Union-Tribune, jointly published editorials supporting a free press Thursday, locally owned KUSI-TV delivered a lengthy explanation on its morning news show and website explaining why it chose not to climb aboard the media bandwagon.
News Director Steve Cohen was interviewed about his station’s decision on KUSI’s “Good Morning San Diego” broadcast. “We’re not going to join this stampede,” he said, noting that a national association representing about 1,200 radio, TV and digital news directors had recommended that they, too, join the outcry.
In referring to President Trump’s administration, Cohen explained: “It’s our job to give them a hard time, and it’s their job to give us a hard time, and you just have to stand tall about it.”
A statement prepared by the McKinnon family, who own and operate the station, called it a “politically correct campaign” and “another example of pack journalism. … We do NOT fear the comments of the President, nor are we part of the prevailing anti-administrative narrative.”
The KUSI management suggested that practicing quality journalism is the best way to protect the First Amendment.
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