A lobbyist who boasted in e-mails about “spoon feeding” a California coastal commissioner while attempting to secure his vote on a controversial project has been fired by the Port of San Diego.
In a letter to Coastal Commission members Friday, Robert “Dukie” Valderrama, chairman of the Board of Port Commissioners, wrote that he was “appalled” by what the port’s hired lobbyist, Susan McCabe, said in her e-mails. He said she was no longer under contract and was being replaced.
“In her zeal to be a winning advocate, she acted in poor taste, something that the Port of San Diego does not condone,” Valderrama wrote. “For that, we are deeply sorry.”