Business had been booming along in San Diego-Tijuana region so much that the cross-border maquiladora industry had trouble finding enough workers.

Plans for expansion were afoot, with additional and enhanced border crossings in the works. Nothing but growth was seen in the future and the big question was, could the region and its infrastructure keep up?

Now the question is, will President Donald Trump take what some business folks view as San Diego’s golden egg and splatter it against the wall?

The border industrial titans and their advocates probably aren’t worried so much about the president following through on building a wall along the entire U.S.-Mexico border that has caused such anxiety among others.


Communities and interests on both sides of the border have had a fence here so long that dealing with it has become routine. Whatever its sweeping effects, the wall hasn’t stopped commerce.

An overhaul of the North American Free Trade Agreement that doesn’t work in their favor is a bigger concern, not to mention any tariffs or fees on goods coming across the border that the Trump administration is threatening. The president appears to have embraced a 20 percent tax on imported goods from Mexico to pay for the extended wall.

What ultimately happens is anybody’s guess. Even some Republicans question spending all that money on a border barrier and others are concerned about a tax that certainly would hurt some U.S. businesses, workers and consumers — not just those in Mexico.

The uncertainty apparently has given some businesses reason for pause already.


Mark Cafferty, president and CEO of the San Diego Economic Development Corp., recently told the Union-Tribune’s Joshua Stewart that “Oftentimes the proximity (to the border) is one of the anchors why a business would move here.”

He added that he has spoken with companies that are considering expanding to San Diego because of its proximity to Tijuana, only to lose interest after the election as they wait to see how Trump handles border relations.

This no doubt isn’t what some people imagined when they longed over the years for a businessman in the White House.

Businesses well beyond border regions have thrived on immigrant labor, a good deal of it illegal. Speaking out against a crackdown on illegal immigration isn’t something they’ve done over the years, but they have lobbied to tamp down workplace immigration enforcement.


There’s talk about the Trump administration requiring all businesses to use the E-Verify, Internet-based system to make sure job applicants have legal status before hiring them. That idea has come around for years, but if Trump actually pursues it and succeeds that would be another game-changer that would require a lot of companies to find a new way of doing business.

Faulconer’s on the political hot spot

Mayor Kevin Faulconer had a nuanced response this past week to Trump’s initial executive orders to build the wall and punish “sanctuary cities” that don’t cooperate with federal immigration authorities.

He flatly denied San Diego is the latter and didn’t really address the former. He noted San Diego already has a “safe and secure” border, without mentioning the multiple-fence barrier along it.

He also said San Diego’s economic and cultural ties south of the border “have my unwavering support.”


This came around the same time of thunderous denunciations about Trump’s actions by Democrats big-time and small across the state.

Faulconer already had been getting a lot of notice for being a Republican elected twice in a city with a dominant Democratic voter registration. And he presides over a city right on what has become an international political hot spot: the border with Mexico.

So people were listening.

David Siders, who writes for Politico, prefaced a shortened version of Faulconer’s statement on Twitter with this: “Potential GOP candidate for California governor. ...”


The border flare-up came about the same time another statewide poll had the mayor running second for governor behind Democratic Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom.

A Public Policy Polling survey had Newsom with 25 percent and Faulconer at 18 percent. That’s about the same November Field Poll (23-16 percent, respectively).

One thing a lot of people don’t seem to be listening to is Faulconer’s insistence that he’s not running for governor in 2018. Last May he made a pledge and has repeated it more than once.

“My position has not changed since I was here when I told you no, and I’m going to serve the four years,” he told the Union-Tribune editorial board Jan. 14, before he delivered his State of the City speech.


Could Chargers at the Stub be a hit?

This isn’t a popular notion, but despite all the trashing in San Diego and L.A. of the Chargers’ decision to move, the team could become buzz-worthy in no time.

The franchise has been ridiculed for a number of things, including having to play in the puny, by NFL standards, StubHub Center. But that liability could be an asset.

Let’s say the team starts off like world beaters. Hey, I know what kind of season they had, but while they blew games, they lost a number of close ones. With a little luck, a good bounce and some additional fortitude, they could have won those.

Suddenly catching a game at the intimate Stub would be would be an experience unlike any in the entire NFL.


Sez me. ;)

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