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The San Diego Ledger

America's Finest City™
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The Wiring: How San Diego Actually Works

Seven rooms. Three million people. You voted in three of them. A 9-part editorial tour for new residents, first-time voters, and lifers who never paid attention.

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How San Diego Is Wired

Seven bodies. Three million people. One mayor appoints a third of them.

San Diego's government runs through a web of city councils, county supervisors, regional authorities, and governor ex-officios — most of it invisible to voters. The dashboard maps who appoints whom, how seats are split, and where the money enters the room.

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Latest Report • June 16, 2026

The System: How San Diego's Rules Were Written to Keep You From Seeing What Your Money Buys

The Council Files — Part 4

Twenty-five investigations. Seven politicians. Both parties. One system. Season 1 concludes.

23 disclosure rules that failed to catch a single violation
Read the report → Join us to help release these faster
Active Investigations
The Campillo Files
2 reports published
The Revolving Door
1 report published
The Sanchez Files
1 report published
The Benedetto Files
1 report published
The Jacobs Files
4 reports published
The LaCava Files
4 reports published
The Meter Play
1 report published
The Campbell Files
2 reports published
The Moreno Files
2 reports published
The Wiring
11 reports published
The Ferbert Files
1 report published
The Blakespear Files
1 report published
How We Got Here
5 reports published
The Madaffer Axis
1 report published
The Whitburn Files
1 report published
The Foster Files
3 reports published
The Storm Line
1 report published
The DeMaio Files
1 report published
The Von Wilpert Files
1 report published
The Elo-Rivera Files
3 reports published
The Southwest Strategies File
1 report published
The Permanent Money
1 report published
The Hecht Solberg File
1 report published
The Council Files
4 reports published
The Lawson-Remer Files
3 reports published
The Vargas Files
4 reports published
The Defense Dollar
4 reports published
The Kent Lee Files
2 reports published
The Gloria Files
8 reports published
The Desmond Files
3 reports published
The Steppe Files
1 report published
The Trolley Question
5 reports published
The Giveaway
1 report published
7+ more investigations in progress and growing.
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The Numbers
230,767
Connections
25,381
Evidence Items
114
Politicians Tracked
All Reports
The System: How San Diego's Rules Were Written to Keep You From Seeing What Your Money Buys
The Council Files • Part 4
Jun 16
The Gap in the Shape of a Marriage
The Lawson-Remer Files • Part 3
Jun 12
The Architecture of Not Knowing: Why the Vargas Files Reopened Themselves
The Vargas Files • Part 4
Jun 9
The Returns
The Defense Dollar • Part 4
Jun 5
The Meetings You Can't Attend
The Lawson-Remer Files • Part 2
Jun 2
The Returns: What San Diego's Money Machine Produces for the People Who Pay Their Bills
The Council Files • Part 3
May 29
The Policy Pipeline
The Kent Lee Files • Part 2
May 26
The $36 Million Handshake
The Lawson-Remer Files • Part 1
May 22
The System: Every Safeguard Failed. None of Them Were Broken.
The Gloria Files • Part 4
May 19
The Words Were Not His Own: How Industry Ghostwrites Ballot Language, Staffs the Office, and Pays After the Vote
The Desmond Files • Part 3
May 15
Phantom Threats: The $620,000 Security Detail That No One Approved and No Agency Justified
The Vargas Files • Part 3
May 12
The Secret Subcommittee
The Steppe Files • Part 1
May 10
The Insiders: What the Money Machine Buys Once It Wins
The Council Files • Part 2
May 8
The Committee Chair
The Kent Lee Files • Part 1
May 5
The Cost of Getting Caught
The Defense Dollar • Part 3
May 1
The Payoff: What Todd Gloria's Donors Got for Their Money
The Gloria Files • Part 3
Apr 28
The Money Machine: How a Lincoln Club-Founded PAC Buys Democratic Votes on San Diego's City Council
The Council Files • Part 1
Apr 24
The Trolley Question, Part 2: Paying to Say No
The Trolley Question • Part 2
Apr 23
The Trolley Question, Part 1: Why the Trolley Skips the Airport, Beaches, and Zoo
The Trolley Question • Part 1
Apr 22
The Hole in the Form: How California Law Hides the Clients Who Pay Elected Officials
The Vargas Files • Part 2
Apr 21
The Budget Chose Who Could Afford To Be Cut
The Gloria Files • Part 6
Apr 19
The Developer Donor Base: How Real Estate Money Built Jim Desmond's Political Career
The Desmond Files • Part 1
Apr 17
The Hamann Machine
The Defense Dollar • Part 2
Apr 14
The Donors
The Gloria Files • Part 2
Apr 10
The Fee That Disappeared: $83-100M in Developer Fee Giveaways to Campaign Donors
The Giveaway • Part 1
Apr 7
The Empty Drawer: How San Diego County Supervisors Stopped Filing and Stopped Watching
The Vargas Files • Part 1
Apr 3
Building in the Fire Zone: How $170,000, a Silenced Fire District, and a Unanimous Vote Put 453 Homes at the End of a Two-Lane Road
The Desmond Files • Part 2
Mar 31
The Money Follows the Seat
The Defense Dollar • Part 1
Mar 27
The Machine: How Todd Gloria's Campaign Committees Move Corporate Money Past Every Safeguard
The Gloria Files • Part 1
Mar 24
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