August 13, 2009

Karma Strikes: Marriage “Defender” Doug Manchester in Midst of Ugly Divorce

We’ve been hearing the rumors (and so have many of you, judging by the number of Google queries for “Doug Manchester” and “divorce” we’ve been getting for months), and now we have the facts: Doug Manchester — the hotelier who donated a whopping $125,000 to Proposition 8, who has been suffering the backlash via a boycott of his properties (by gay folks and union workers and lawyers and other groups who don’t cotton to propping up the bigot brigades with their hard-earned money) for more than a year (and he is suffering), and who tried to buy off the LGBT community with a token donation to HRC (which was rejected; well done, HRC) and hotel credits for queers — is getting a D-I-V-O-R-C-E from his wife (and $1,000 Prop H8 donor), Elizabeth:

H/T to Justin McLachlan

Ironic divorce
Protector of traditional marriage Doug Manchester
leaving wife of 43 years

In July 2008, hotelier and developer Doug Manchester donated $125,000 to help gather signatures for a proposition that would ban same-sex marriage in California. The early money was crucial to getting the initiative—which ultimately passed—on the ballot. At the time, he told The New York Times that he made the donation because of “my Catholic faith and longtime affiliation with the Catholic Church,” which preferred that marriage remain between a man and a woman. Indeed, the Catholic Church has vehemently opposed gay marriage. Then again, it’s also not too keen on divorce.

On Oct. 9, 2008, Manchester ended 43 years, eight months and nine days of marriage to Elizabeth Manchester by moving out of their La Jolla abode. The couple spent the next several months trying to reach a quiet settlement on how best to distribute millions of dollars in cash and other assets. In July, those talks totally broke down, and Doug started playing financial hardball with Elizabeth, allegedly draining the couple’s shared accounts and stealing her mail. On Aug. 6, Elizabeth filed a petition for redress in family court. …

The court records say Doug pushed very hard for a speedy divorce agreement after he moved out, but Elizabeth would have none of it. She insisted on hiring lawyers and forensic accountants to fully assess Doug’s assets. Doug controls the Grand Del Mar Resort, the Manchester Hyatt, the Torrey Executive Center and the Manchester Financial Building. …

In March, Doug told Elizabeth he’d no longer maintain the bank account the two shared to pay her expenses, and that she should submit her bills to his office. She followed this procedure, but was surprised to get a call from AT&T saying her bill was past due. …

It gets much uglier (and just wait ’til you hear how much the ex-wifey “needs” to “live” every month) — hit the link.

Our reaction? We’ll tell you as soon as the uncontrollable snickering subsides.

For now, we can’t think of many people we’d rather see humiliated by his own hypocrisy in this way. May Elizabeth suck you dry, Dougie (and not in a good way).

Oh, and Dougie? Congratulations! You just earned yourself an entry (coming very, very soon!) in Conservative Babylon!

Posted by: Sapphocrat

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