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 Association. 

In addition to his day job, Michael is one of San Diego’s leading political minds, frequently called on for his strategic advice and recommendations. He’s also a fierce poker player, enjoying rare success in Vegas. Michael also serves as a San Diego Port Commissioner.

He’s married with two kids and he and his family reside in Ocean Beach. It’s his family life, he says, that’s the priority and it may not have been if his political career did not take an unexpected turn.

Michael has seen a lot in and around City Hall over the years. He discusses local politics, poker, leadership, work-life balance, his wife and kids, and much more with Juan and Tony on the latest episode of Dear San Diego.

The key moments in this episode are:

00:00:00 - Introduction and Guest's First Impression
00:01:20 - Podcast Overview
00:05:29 - Guest's Background and Personal Life
00:10:29 - Balancing Work and Family
00:13:36 - Career Aspirations of the Guest's Son
00:14:33 - World Series of Poker Win
00:15:12 - Endurance and Emotions
00:16:31 - World Series of Poker Experience
00:19:42 - Poker and Life Skills
00:26:50 - San Diego Municipal Employees Association
00:29:59 - Discovering Local Politics
00:31:08 - Partisanship in Politics
00:33:22 - Changing Dynamics in Politics
00:36:43 - Impact of Media and Public Perception
00:41:18 - Political Endorsements and Races
00:46:26 - Political Race Predictions
00:47:45 - Impact of National Politics
00:48:33 - Personal Lifestyle Choices
00:49:36 - Daily Habits and Routines
00:59:33 - Closing Remarks
01:01:12 - Michael Zuchett's Leadership Style
01:01:39 - Getting to Know Michael Zuchett
01:02:10 - Unique Woodworking Family
01:03:19 - Zuchett's Political Insights
01:03:40 - Conclusion and Gratitude

<a href="https://www.sdmea.org/union/staff/michael-zucchet/">Michael Zucchet</a> 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 Association. 
In addition to his day job, Michael is one of San Diego’s leading political minds, frequently called on for his strategic advice and recommendations. He’s also a fierce poker player, enjoying rare success in Vegas. Michael also serves as a <a href="https://www.portofsandiego.org/people/board-port-commissioners/michael-zucchet">San Diego Port Commissioner.</a> 
He’s married with two kids and he and his family reside in Ocean Beach. It’s his family life, he says, that’s the priority and it may not have been if his political career did not take an unexpected turn.
Michael has seen a lot in and around City Hall over the years. He discusses local politics, poker, leadership, work-life balance, his wife and kids, and much more with Juan and Tony on the latest episode of Dear San Diego.
The key moments in this episode are:
00:00:00 - Introduction and Guest's First Impression 00:01:20 - Podcast Overview 00:05:29 - Guest's Background and Personal Life 00:10:29 - Balancing Work and Family 00:13:36 - Career Aspirations of the Guest's Son 00:14:33 - World Series of Poker Win 00:15:12 - Endurance and Emotions 00:16:31 - World Series of Poker Experience 00:19:42 - Poker and Life Skills 00:26:50 - San Diego Municipal Employees Association 00:29:59 - Discovering Local Politics 00:31:08 - Partisanship in Politics 00:33:22 - Changing Dynamics in Politics 00:36:43 - Impact of Media and Public Perception 00:41:18 - Political Endorsements and Races 00:46:26 - Political Race Predictions 00:47:45 - Impact of National Politics 00:48:33 - Personal Lifestyle Choices 00:49:36 - Daily Habits and Routines 00:59:33 - Closing Remarks 01:01:12 - Michael Zuchett's Leadership Style 01:01:39 - Getting to Know Michael Zuchett 01:02:10 - Unique Woodworking Family 01:03:19 - Zuchett's Political Insights 01:03:40 - Conclusion and Gratitude

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. 

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.

Dear San Diego

Hosted by veteran public relations specialists, Tony Manolatos and Juan Hernandez discuss the not so obvious talents, attributes, and behaviors of fellow colleagues. Learn what's not in the bios and CV's and what's be the secret to the sauce of their success.

Hosted by veteran public relations specialists, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonymanolatos">Tony Manolatos</a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/juan-m-hernandez-pisano-3166a275/">Juan Hernandez</a> discuss the not so obvious talents, attributes, and behaviors of fellow colleagues. Learn what's not in the bios and CV's and what's be the secret to the sauce of their success.

Family, Labor, Politics & Poker: A Sit-Down with Michael Zucchet

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 cornered the market when it comes to talking to independent or NPP (No Party Preference) voters for a variety of campaigns, but he and his team do much more for a wide variety of businesses, nonprofits, government agencies and others.

Tony and Juan unpack all that with Chad, CEO of IVC Media. Chad also explains what full stack digital means; that he has never seen the movie Love Actually, even though the love story he shares with his wife, Arieli, is similar to the best love story in Love Actually; and why he drives an electric car no one can repair.

Tune in to this entertaining episode of Dear San Diego to hear what Chad has to say about digital communications, marketing, family life, and his “high potential teenager,” aka his Fisker Ocean One.

Subscribe or follow at olasmedia.com

The key moments in this episode are:

00:00:01 - Inside Successful Families
00:01:31 - Karaoke Go-Tos
00:02:26 - Remote RV Trip
00:04:09 - Culture Inside a Home
00:09:29 - Growth and Expansion
00:12:51 - Lack of outreach to independent voters
00:13:48 - Non-partisan voters' preferences
00:15:10 - Significant number of independent voters
00:18:27 - Family culture and success
00:22:58 - Personal life balance
00:25:05 - The From the Nest Podcast
00:25:33 - The Independent Voter Project
00:26:17 - The Fisker Ocean One
00:27:43 - Should People Go All Electric?
00:35:14 - Chad's Lifestyle Choices
00:37:26 - Importance of Confidence
00:38:46 - Trusting Yourself
00:40:00 - Resilience in Business
00:43:16 - Building Partnerships
00:45:27 - Impact of Resiliency 

A licensed attorney, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/chadpeace/">Chad Peace</a> never expected to lead a digital communications company that serves an impressive list of clients. With dozens of designers, project managers, and others, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/ivc-media-llc/">IVC Media, LLC</a>’s binational team has offices in Mission Valley and Tijuana. 
Politically, Chad has sort of cornered the market when it comes to talking to independent or NPP (No Party Preference) voters for a variety of campaigns, but he and his team do much more for a wide variety of businesses, nonprofits, government agencies and others.
Tony and Juan unpack all that with Chad, CEO of IVC Media. Chad also explains what full stack digital means; that he has never seen the movie Love Actually, even though the love story he shares with his wife, Arieli, is similar to the best love story in Love Actually; and why he drives an electric car no one can repair.
Tune in to this entertaining episode of Dear San Diego to hear what Chad has to say about digital communications, marketing, family life, and his “high potential teenager,” aka his <a href="https://www.fiskerinc.com/">Fisker Ocean One</a>.
Subscribe or follow at <a href="olasmedia.com">olasmedia.com</a>
The key moments in this episode are:
00:00:01 - Inside Successful Families 00:01:31 - Karaoke Go-Tos 00:02:26 - Remote RV Trip 00:04:09 - Culture Inside a Home 00:09:29 - Growth and Expansion 00:12:51 - Lack of outreach to independent voters 00:13:48 - Non-partisan voters' preferences 00:15:10 - Significant number of independent voters 00:18:27 - Family culture and success 00:22:58 - Personal life balance 00:25:05 - The From the Nest Podcast 00:25:33 - The Independent Voter Project 00:26:17 - The Fisker Ocean One 00:27:43 - Should People Go All Electric? 00:35:14 - Chad's Lifestyle Choices 00:37:26 - Importance of Confidence 00:38:46 - Trusting Yourself 00:40:00 - Resilience in Business 00:43:16 - Building Partnerships 00:45:27 - Impact of Resiliency

Chad Peace on Marketing, Love, Family and his Finicky Fisker

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 school to earn an advanced degree. He was in Disneyland with his wife and kids hours after his job interview when he received the call. He got the job. He was the new CEO of the San Diego Automotive Museum located in Balboa Park.  

That was four years ago. Since then, Lenny and his team have taken several steps to breathe new life into the automotive museum, and they have some ambitious plans for one of the city’s coolest spaces. And Lenny knows a thing or two about cool. Just ask him about that Impala he purchased when he was 17.

He discusses all that and more with Tony and Juan in this episode of Dear San Diego.

<a href="https://sdautomuseum.org/pages/our-staff">Lenny Leszczynski</a> is a car guy, dating back to his days as a young man who drove a Daytona Blue <a href="https://issuu.com/jordanrpm/docs/muscle_car_plus_aug-sept_2021_issuu/s/13061092">1964 Chevy Impala,</a> 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 school to earn an advanced degree. He was in Disneyland with his wife and kids hours after his job interview when he received the call. He got the job. He was the new CEO of the <a href="https://sdautomuseum.org/">San Diego Automotive Museum</a> located in Balboa Park.  
That was four years ago. Since then, Lenny and his team have taken several steps to breathe new life into the automotive museum, and they have some ambitious plans for one of the city’s coolest spaces. And Lenny knows a thing or two about cool. Just ask him about that Impala he purchased when he was 17.
He discusses all that and more with Tony and Juan in this episode of Dear San Diego.

Car guy lands dream job as CEO of San Diego Automotive Museum

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 and Maine have adopted a similar Rank Choice Voting system.

Peace looks through the national political lens and the local one too to discuss voter reform on this episode of Dear San Diego. Listeners also get to hear about his family life (he says he’s an Uber driver for his grandkids) and the advice he gives young people.

The key moments in this episode are:

00:00:00 - Introduction to California's top two primary
00:01:29 - Inception of the top two primary
00:03:22 - How the top two primary works
00:08:24 - Flaws in the current political system
00:14:01 - Manipulation of the top two primary system
00:15:26 - The Power of Campaigns Driven by Turnout
00:17:27 - Political Maneuvering and Campaign Strategies
00:19:23 - The Influence of Committees and Political Alliances
00:22:29 - Advancing Electoral Reform: Ranked-Choice Voting
00:26:29 - The Need for Continuous Electoral Reform
00:31:02 - Ranked Choice Voting System
00:33:21 - Nonpartisan Top Four or Top Five System
00:35:17 - Reducing Campaign Costs
00:41:13 - Fixing Ranked Choice Voting
00:46:35 - Misjudging Willie Brown
00:48:27 - Steve Peace's Personal Life
00:53:30 - Motivations and Family
00:55:50 - Privacy Rights and Identity
01:00:17 - Childhood Influence
01:03:39 - Reflection on past behavior
01:05:13 - Advice for life
01:05:59 - Importance of facing adversity
01:07:02 - Perception of need and resilience
01:08:57 - Closing remarks

The author of <a href="https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/politics/sdut-new-primary-system-could-shake-california-politics-2011aug13-htmlstory.html" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/politics/sdut-new-primary-system-could-shake-california-politics-2011aug13-htmlstory.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1707975593537000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2RlRX0MlBfgIN4qrGZKb-d">California’s Top Two Candidates Open Primary,</a> which took effect in 2012, wants to reform his reform.
Steve Peace, a founder of the <a href="https://independentvoterproject.org/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://independentvoterproject.org/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1707975593537000&amp;usg=AOvVaw34n0_KhZWHqPPmu1SBxfvu">Independent Voter Project,</a> wants California to move to a system that would ask voters to rank 4 or 5 candidates instead of voting for just one. Alaska and Maine have adopted a similar Rank Choice Voting system.
Peace looks through the national political lens and the local one too to discuss voter reform on this episode of Dear San Diego. Listeners also get to hear about his family life (he says he’s an Uber driver for his grandkids) and the advice he gives young people.
The key moments in this episode are:
00:00:00 - Introduction to California's top two primary 00:01:29 - Inception of the top two primary 00:03:22 - How the top two primary works 00:08:24 - Flaws in the current political system 00:14:01 - Manipulation of the top two primary system 00:15:26 - The Power of Campaigns Driven by Turnout 00:17:27 - Political Maneuvering and Campaign Strategies 00:19:23 - The Influence of Committees and Political Alliances 00:22:29 - Advancing Electoral Reform: Ranked-Choice Voting 00:26:29 - The Need for Continuous Electoral Reform 00:31:02 - Ranked Choice Voting System 00:33:21 - Nonpartisan Top Four or Top Five System 00:35:17 - Reducing Campaign Costs 00:41:13 - Fixing Ranked Choice Voting 00:46:35 - Misjudging Willie Brown 00:48:27 - Steve Peace's Personal Life 00:53:30 - Motivations and Family 00:55:50 - Privacy Rights and Identity 01:00:17 - Childhood Influence 01:03:39 - Reflection on past behavior 01:05:13 - Advice for life 01:05:59 - Importance of facing adversity 01:07:02 - Perception of need and resilience 01:08:57 - Closing remarks

Family, Labor, Politics & Poker: A Sit-Down with Michael Zucchet

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