I agree with being skeptical here, remember that the section reads in part: No officer or employee shall solicit or accept any donation or gratuity in money, or other thing of value, either directly or indirectly...... So, if Aguirre's employees donated to his 2004 campaign as part of his well publicized recent effort to pay back his campaign debt TO HIMSELF, that certainly, arguably, would be an indirect donation to Aguirre, depending on the intent and knowledge of Aguirre and that deputy. Stir in an immediately subsequent raise, and well, who knows. One thing is certain: if Sanders were in that scenario, Aguirre would be calling him corrupt

Posted by Not so fast | reply to this comment
October 10, 2007 5:16 pm

Channel 10 news..."No comment from Aguirre." This thing may fall apart but it shut him up for one day. WOW!!!

Posted by Dukestir Wilkes | reply to this comment
October 10, 2007 5:27 pm

Scott, thanks for writing what so many of us have noticed. Did somebody ever put their feet in it - the only problem is that what they hurriedly stepped into just happened to be quicksand. Of the variety that will have huge repercussions if followed. Mike should not take this lying down, which I doubt he will. It appears that the powers that be do not want him to be either a contender for the mayorial race or to have the position to point fingers at wrong-doers. There seems to be a hoard of them at City Hall in San Diego, not that any city is immune from the good-old-boy syndrome or the builders/developers and their "gifts". Thanks for being always vigilant and calling it like it is.

Posted by San Marcos says, | reply to this comment
October 10, 2007 5:36 pm

The UT editorial Board should be absolutely ashamed for meddling in local politics and such a glaring lack of due diligence!

Posted by Basic Civics | reply to this comment
October 10, 2007 5:40 pm

Another bogus HIT piece from the UT falls on it's face.....never ends.

Posted by Billy Bob Henry | reply to this comment
October 10, 2007 5:52 pm

Another one? Did Alex Roth's piece fall on its face? Hardly. And see the post by Not So Fast above. Sounds like we have indirect donations to your man. And it is a certainty that if this was falling on Sanders, you and your man would be working the cameras calling him corrupt and unstable. A couple of loons.

Posted by Really BBH? | reply to this comment
October 10, 2007 6:28 pm

Why is everyone so quick to forgive Aguirre? I don't get it. Are not the facts that he accepted donations in June 2007 while in office not while on the campaign trail? How do you get around this fact? And they he did give those people raises. You know he would be calling for everyone else's resignation if it were someone else. But poor Mike is now a victim of his own beloved charter. I am a City employee and I could not contribute to Dick Murphy's campaign as they (Murphy campaign) did not allow City employees to contribute. Apparently Murphy took the high road. Go figure.

Posted by Andy | reply to this comment
October 10, 2007 6:32 pm

Wouldn't giving Aguirre money to help him pay off his loans to himself for the 2004 election actually be DIRECTLY giving Aguirre money, not INDIRECTLY? The debt is to himself, not an outside lender. Aguirre's defense from one press conference today seemed to be that others do it, so no one should pay attention when he does it (ignore the man behind the curtain). I agree with others who have commented that if, say, he knew about Scott Peters or Toni Atkins doing this, he would be the first and the loudest to call them on the carpet re: violations of the Charter.

Posted by Posted | reply to this comment
October 10, 2007 6:53 pm

If the good old boy establishment tried to trash Aguirre and failed due to negligence, then it suggests that the establishment fell into the trash when they tried to push Aguirre in. This may not make headlines, but it is an indicator of weakness and ineptness. And for the little local Republican Party to jump on the false accusation shows ignorance heaped upon negligence -- again this may not make the headlines, but it demonstrates that they are foolish, easily tripped up and perhaps even a bit lost, or at a loss to effectively strategize. // I think there is a perfect storm brewing that will upend the Republican Party and their good old boy club. Honest conservatives will rise out of the ashes, but they will have to weather the storm first, and I believe it will be a category 5.

Posted by Christopher Hall | reply to this comment
October 10, 2007 7:10 pm

so there you have Theresa McAteer, SEC expert, enviromental expert, and now first amendment expert. Well maybe not . . .

Posted by yikes | reply to this comment
October 10, 2007 7:57 pm

If this were any other politician in the City of San Diego or anywhere else, Aguirre would be yelling his head off about corruption, unethical behavior, adverse domination, etc, etc. Bub-Bye Mikey!!

Posted by Gayle Clarkson | reply to this comment
October 10, 2007 8:22 pm

The UT accomplished exactly what it set out to with this editorial. You can literally see Aguirre falling aprt at the seems. Basic Civics...a local newspaper editorial page meddling in local politics shameful? Pleeeeese. Get a clue.

Posted by Kellie | reply to this comment
October 10, 2007 11:00 pm

As I said in another post, the real question is why Mike chooses to surround himself with blindly loyal but spectacularly incompetent people. That is an issue that should be investigated.

Posted by Califia | reply to this comment
October 11, 2007 6:56 am

This "thing" is not exploding in the Republican's faces. Aguirre is worse than a worthless incompetent, he prevents progress. His supporters say that he's exposing corruption and that EVERY single person working for the city other than Mike is a corrupt politician. Simply not true. We need to get rid of Mike any way possible, so I say (as a registered Democrat who is on the side of "best person for the job" not the party line) GO REPUBLICANS, oust Aguirre!

Posted by Save Our City | reply to this comment
October 11, 2007 10:51 am

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