San Diego mayoral candidate Steve Francis is attempting to tie Republican incumbent Jerry Sanders to President Bush in a new mailer hitting San Diego mailboxes two weeks ahead of the June 3 primary.

“Why has the Republican Party endorsed Jerry Sanders for Mayor?” the mailer asks under a picture of Sanders sitting next to President Bush. The mailer then seeks to answer that question in a list, including: “Because Sanders has no plans to protect the environment and stop global warming,” “Because Sanders gives favors to fat cat developers at the expense of working families,” and “Because Sanders puts political cronies on the payroll instead of truly reforming City Hall.”

Sanders campaign manager Michael McSweeney hit back, accusing Francis, a registered Republican who is seeking to push Sanders to the right during a cycle in which the GOP brand is potentially poisonous, of being disingenuous.

“I find it utterly amazing that Mr. Francis was the state Republican Party’s finance chair in 2007… and finds it necessary to announce to the rest of the world that the mayor was endorsed by the Republican Party. I think it’s about time Mr. Francis changed his voter registration,” McSweeney told PolitickerCA.com.

Charles Gallagher, Francis’s campaign manager, responded to McSweeney’s charge. “I think the Bush-Sanders record of head in the sand decision making, lack of fiscal discipline and spending with no end in sight speaks for itself…”