Three great examples of San Diego's way of dealing with itself:
Update: I'm an idiot, who needs to learn to read a bit closer. I had a bit in here making fun of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce for awarding its own CFO the best CFO of the year award. But reading closer you can see that the award for best CFO was given "during a San Diego Business Journal awards ceremony." I read over that press release a few times but I missed it each time. That's nobody's fault but mine. My apologies to the Chamber.
With a little more comprehensive product of self-analysis on hand, Mayor Jerry Sanders made a show of the presentation of the report his staff did about ... well ... his staff. Sanders released the findings of a report on his office's failings with regard to the controversial Sunroad debacle.
The U-T scooped everyone having apparently secured an advance copy of the report. But the paper's article does not actually mention who "the investigators" were that authored the report.
It just says "investigators." The report's chief author was JoAnne SawyerKnoll, whom the mayor hired to run the Office of Ethics and Integrity. The mayor created the office shortly after his election.
And -- this is related -- the final oddity of the day: Did anyone else find it strange to learn that City Attorney Mike Aguirre decided to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Sanders as he presented the report? Aguirre had accused Sanders of acting in a corrupt manner dealing with Sunroad and his staff of committing illegal acts. The report the mayor was releasing basically denies that:
No evidence was found whatsoever of conspiracy, fraud, corruption, illegal conduct, violation of any federal or state law or regulation or improper influence by or of any City staff related to any staff actions which may have played a part in the Sunroad Centrum 12 building reaching an elevation in violation of the FAA regulations.
So let's get this straight: Aguirre decides to stand with the mayor when he released this report. Aguirre utters conciliatory statements about the mayor and says something about reconciling their differences.
Does this mean Aguirre endorses the report? He refused to contest it and stood right there with the mayor to roll it out. How else are we supposed to interpret that?
If the mayor was still corrupt in Aguirre's eyes and if he was presenting a report that said he wasn't corrupt, wouldn't Aguirre be obligated to argue that either a) the report was an invalid whitewash or b) that he, Aguirre, now recognizes he was wrong?
Doesn't sound like he's interested in doing either.
Aguirre is not going to stand up to the mayor, not now or ever again, atleast during this term. Aguirre needs to reconcile with the public and hope the citizens of SD forget his blunders and he can somehow get back in their good graces. Sanders on the other hand still has his hands dirty and I doubt he will ge re-elected. Sanders has not managed to fix any of the problems, specifically the exodus of the police officers. We have lost three more to other agencies this month so far, and another 12-15 will be leaving for the DA's office very soon. Sanders is all fluff, and a good talker but talk isn't gonna get the job done or protect the residents of this city.
That this report was issued by the Office of Ethics and Integrity is sickening. Mrs. Knoll, an attorney, has a client/attorney relationship with her boss - the Mayor. The report conludes that "16. No evidence was found of conspiracy,fraud,ill conduct, violation of any federal or state law or regulation..." not until the report's end do you see that CITY Regulations were violated - 95.60 and 3.10 and that the high "ethical" standards the city purports to demand from their employees was violated "..gave the strong impression that the City was allied with Sunroad against other agencies". What does Mrs. Knoll conclude? More employee training thus ensuring more millions for her Office who will do the "training"...again.
When is our Mayor going to fire Escobar-Eck? Development services screwed up... this is not acceptable. I question and am concerned about our City Attorney's action or inaction. Aguirre always has something to say so I expect he will comment soon. When he does I can judge if he's going to be a man or another game playing politician. As for Sanders report....does he really think the people of San Diego believe or trust him? He should resign!
If you read that Chamber press release a little more carefully ... it actually says the SD Business Journal gave the award, not the chamber itself. Although I admit when I first read it I thought it was a chamber award too.
If you look at city budget docs, the Office of Ethics and Integrity's actual budget for ethics is actually pretty small. Call me crazy, but I think if Sanders cared about ethics, he'd actually give them *more* money.
As far as I can tell the City has different levels of ethics and integrity. They use the same color code as homeland security. I think they are at level green right now. At least the city attorney is. So, Scott, you asked the question, "How else are we supposed to interpret that?" How about that Aguirre is a fruit loop? By the way, I need an 8x10 of that picture, I'd be happy to pay for it, I'll call your office. Check out those thick soles on Aguirre's shoes. That's about as close as he'll ever get to a "soul" again.
If this "report" had any credibility, it would have included the date on which Jim Waring and Marcela Escobar-Eck would no longer be employed by the City of San Diego. The credibility in the mayor's office, from the top down, has hit a new low. And it appears that Mike became the latest member of the SawyerKnoll "deer in the headlights" Club.
So does Aguirre still believe that Sanders is corrupt or not? Maybe one of you news guys can ask him. Seems to me that if an elected prosecutor makes a public accusation of corruption, and then (at least appears) to endorse a report that says otherwise, that he should at issue a public retraction. (Better still would be to hold off on accusations of corruption until AFTER the investigate, but that bridge has already been crossed).
Strange that Aguirre would be shoulder to shoulder with the Mayor at a press conference? Given his yearning for the limelight, his actions seem to be the norm at City Hall.
I too wondered about Mike Aguirre's attire. Was it Casual Thursday? Did he come in from vacation? Why was he there? Aguirre is in the catbird seat on Sunroad and everyone knows it, especially Hizzoner. Aguirre is the Annoying-But-Right City Attorney; the "findings" from the Mayor's own office of "Ethics and Integrity" were a big deal; why shouldn't Aguirre be present as witness and reminder of the mess Jerry Sanders is making of our city government? Mike can afford to be nice. I notice today that both a Union-Tribune editorial and a voice letter from a resident dissident call for the firing of Jim Waring and Marcela Escobar-Eck. If that isn't a sign that Sanders is in deep trouble, I don't know what is. The Mayor should have come to his press conference with their heads on a plate.
The Office of Ethic and Integrity had a 2008 proposed budget of $2,400,244...that seems to be plenty for what they have accomplished, which seems to amount to a couple of PowerPoint presentations, no doubt a lot of meetings, a survey where employees told them they had no confidence in the ethics of the city managers, a hot line that was taken from the last Auditor and Comptroller, and a whitewash of Sunroad. Not paid enough? That's a matter of opinion. Maybe they should produced an accomplishment list before I'll believe they are worth the money. I can think of other things I'd rather see it spent on.
Col. Sanders should have fired Jim Waring and Marcela Escobar-Eck MONTHS ago-who cares if they get fired now? NO ONE CARES. No one cares about Sanders either. I cannot wait until a NEW Mayor is elected.....even if it is surfer chick-at least she is on the level and tells you up front she is going to raise taxes to pay for the pension scam-and that is BETTER than do nothing Sanders....as much as I hate DF's playform-at least the City will be moving forward and trying to end the financial mess.
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Scott Lewis on Politics
The Scott Lewis on Politics blog, abbreviated cleverly as SLOP, is a collection of observations, insights and the occasional scoop on public affairs in San Diego. Please feel free to e-mail Scott at scott.lewis@voiceofsandiego.org.
Listen to voiceofsandiego.org's radio program on AM 600 KOGO: Latest Episode (November 8): Scott Lewis and Michael Zucchet talk about the city's budget
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