PODCAST · society
Dear San Diego
by Tony Manolatos
Dear San Diego is a public affairs podcast with personality.Hosted by veteran communication specialists Tony Manolatos and Juan Hernandez, Dear San Diego gives newsmakers and others a platform to discuss the big issues of the day, but that’s just the beginning. Tony and Juan’s guests share what’s not in their bios, who they are away from work, secrets to success, and more. Tony and Juan also discuss work, home, fatherhood, health and wellness, and youth sports – where the politics can be way more fierce than they are at city hall. Tony and Juan met a decade ago while working for dueling mayoral candidates in San Diego. Since then, the two friends have worked together on numerous public affairs, land-use, and issue campaigns.
Episodes
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Aimee Faucett on Leadership, What People Don't See, and Why San Diego’s Housing Crisis is So Hard to Solve
Aimee Faucett has spent her career in the room where decisions get made. From City Hall to the Chamber of Commerce—and now as CEO of the San Diego County Building Industry Association—she’s built a reputation as someone who doesn’t just understand how things work in San Diego, but how to actually...
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Deacon Jim Vargas on Homelessness, Hope, and the Human Beings Behind the Crisis
Deacon Jim Vargas, CEO of Father Joe’s Villages, joins Dear San Diego for a powerful conversation about homelessness, housing, behavioral health, and what it really takes to move people from the streets to stability. But this episode goes beyond policy and systems. Deacon Jim shares his journey...
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Little League & Travel Baseball: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
In this new episode of Dear San Diego, Tony and Elizabeth sit down with their twins Alex and Nicky, who are 12, to talk about baseball — not just the stats and scores, but the lessons the game teaches. As a former Division I athlete and CEO of a large nonprofit, Elizabeth knows athletes at every...
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Family, Leadership, and San Diego’s Talent Challenge - Mark Cafferty
In this episode of Dear San Diego, Tony and Juan sit down with the CEO of the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation - Mark Cafferty, to talk about family, leadership, boxing, and the challenges facing San Diego’s economy. From his Boston upbringing shaped by strong role models to...
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Focused on Helping Others - John Van Cleef
A revered and longtime North County neighbor, the Community Resource Center (CRC) provides meals and other services to senior citizens, low-income families, and others who need a helping hand. But its downtown Encinitas location has attracted critics recently because of expansion plans on the...
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San Diego Unified is Getting Into the Housing Business
San Diego Unified School Trustee Shana Hazan sits down with Tony and a very special guest co-host, Tony’s wife Elizabeth Fitzsimons, to discuss what’s happening locally with the state’s second largest school district, and why it’s getting into the housing business and what that is expected to…
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Youth Baseball Parents: Stop Talking!
As little league seasons kick off across San Diego we take a deep dive into youth baseball with three guests who are as committed as anyone to the sport: Jeff Rosa, Joe Lewis and Chad Starkey. Our guests shared essential advice for parents, coaches, and players, on handling nerves, failure, car...
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Creating Beauty from Devastation, Mariah Dawn on her new book, Dragon In You: A Memoir
Unable to catch her breath because of PTSD – brought on by years of abuse and trauma she suffered at the hands of her husband – Mariah Dawn sat down and tried something new. She opened a Word document and started writing. She noticed right away that she felt better. The writing was a release. It...
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Election Special 2024 - Chris Cadelago
POLITICO’s Chris Cadelago joined Tony and Juan for a special 2024 Election Episode of Dear San Diego. Chris provided really smart takes on local, state, and national races, and shared some behind-the-scenes info, too. Chris covered the Trump White House and the Biden White House. He is currently...
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Padres Uniforms and Persuadable Voters: The Art of Polling with John Nienstedt
The Padres sensed they had a problem. So they called John Nienstedt, who helped them figure out they should switch to brown jerseys. John brought in models who wore different jerseys to a series of focus groups. Each participant in the room was armed with a dial that they cranked one way for...
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Preserving Community While Tackling Growth: Michael Inzunza's Vision for Chula Vista
Michael Inzunza is running for Chula Vista City Council. He comes from a long line of public servants and political dynamos. Next year will be the 50th anniversary of his parents’ first major campaign victory. They ran a bilingual campaign as a couple for two local school board seats. They both...
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Treating the Invisible Wounds: A Clinician's Mission to Help Vets
Kelly Williams takes care of people who need care, and she’s creating an army of therapists like her to try and meet the needs of people wrestling with PTSD throughout San Diego. Williams is Clinic Director of The Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinic at Veterans Village of San Diego. In her…
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Chad Peace on Marketing, Love, Family and his Finicky Fisker
A licensed attorney, Chad Peace never expected to lead a digital communications company that serves an impressive list of clients. With dozens of designers, project managers, and others, IVC Media, LLC’s binational team has offices in Mission Valley and Tijuana. Politically, Chad has sort of...
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Car guy lands dream job as CEO of San Diego Automotive Museum
Lenny Leszczynski is a car guy, dating back to his days as a young man who drove a Daytona Blue 1964 Chevy Impala, but his wife was not expecting him to land this job. After all, Lenny had never been a CEO before. He did take advantage of all the free time the pandemic gave us by going back to...
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Steve Peace on San Diego Politics and Reforming his own California Voting Reform - EP3
The author of California’s Top Two Candidates Open Primary, which took effect in 2012, wants to reform his reform. Steve Peace, a founder of the Independent Voter Project, wants California to move to a system that would ask voters to rank 4 or 5 candidates instead of voting for just one. Alaska…
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Family, Labor, Politics & Poker: A Sit-Down with Michael Zucchet
Michael Zucchet is one of those guys who listens more than he talks, and his calm and thoughtful demeanor has served him well at the poker table and at the negotiating table. Zucchet oversees the City of San Diego’s largest labor union as General Manager of the San Diego Municipal Employees...
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The Women Leading the Building Industry Association
The majority of San Diegans are renters, but rents are crazy expensive because supply is so low. Very few new homes are built, so those that are sold come with a steep price. The average home in San Diego sells for $900,000. How did we get here? What caused our region’s housing crisis? How do we...
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Monica Montgomery Steppe on the Importance of Opportunity
San Diego Councilmember Monica Montgomery Steppe is expected to win the county supervisor special election on November 7, 2023 to replace Nathan Fletcher. If so, she would leave her job as a councilmember representing District 4, which includes the communities of Chollas View, Emerald Hills,...
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Chris Cate On Life After City Hall
During his 8 years as a San Diego City Councilmember, Chris Cate was known as the smartest guy on the 10th floor, but he became more than a policy wonk. He worked with council members on both sides of the aisle to create positive change for San Diegans, and he became a force for his District 6...
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Mastering Crisis Communications: James Canning Reveals Strategies for Personal and Professional Success
James Canning was the PR pro for one the region’s most popular politicians. Everything was going exceptionally well for his boss and for James. And then one morning that all changed. Nathan Fletcher abruptly ended his State Senate campaign and days later, after being accused of sexual harassment,...
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Navigating the Art of Political Messaging: Insights from Pollster Drew Lieberman
Drew Lieberman counts San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, Hawaii Governor Josh Green, and the U.S. Navy among his clients. Drew has worked with Tony and Juan on several land-use campaigns. A savvy and seasoned pollster, Drew is Executive Vice President at Strategies 360. He also is a dedicated father of...
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Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: Jessica Grounds’ push to Level the Playing Field and Advance Young Leaders
Jessica Grounds does not shy away from a challenge and that’s a good thing considering she spends her days developing young leaders and striving for change in board rooms, on committees, and in corner offices. Backed by years of experience and painstaking research, Jessica is CEO Corporate...
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Homelessness: Tamera Kohler on Why Homelessness in San Diego is Solvable
Tamera Kohler is the leading voice on homelessness in our region. As CEO of RTFH or the San Diego Regional Task Force on Homelessness, Kohler is deeply invested in the region’s most pressing issue. Tamera wears a lot of hats but she and her team are best known for collecting and analyzing data…
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Beneath the Headlines: Art Castañares’ Mission for the Truth
Beginning his journey as a high school intern for a well-known political figure, Art Castañares quickly proved his mettle in the world of state and local politics. As Chief of Staff for former California Senator Steve Peace, Art fostered a deep understanding of public affairs. In addition to...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Dear San Diego is a public affairs podcast with personality.Hosted by veteran communication specialists Tony Manolatos and Juan Hernandez, Dear San Diego gives newsmakers and others a platform to discuss the big issues of the day, but that’s just the beginning. Tony and Juan’s guests share what’s not in their bios, who they are away from work, secrets to success, and more. Tony and Juan also discuss work, home, fatherhood, health and wellness, and youth sports – where the politics can be way more fierce than they are at city hall. Tony and Juan met a decade ago while working for dueling mayoral candidates in San Diego. Since then, the two friends have worked together on numerous public affairs, land-use, and issue campaigns.
HOSTED BY
Tony Manolatos
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Dear San Diego have?
Dear San Diego currently has 24 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Dear San Diego about?
Dear San Diego is a public affairs podcast with personality.Hosted by veteran communication specialists Tony Manolatos and Juan Hernandez, Dear San Diego gives newsmakers and others a platform to discuss the big issues of the day, but that’s just the beginning. Tony and Juan’s guests share what’s...
How often does Dear San Diego release new episodes?
Dear San Diego has 24 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Dear San Diego?
You can listen to Dear San Diego on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Dear San Diego?
Dear San Diego is created and hosted by Tony Manolatos.
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