Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Cate debt fund gets big Kilroy cash

Lobbyist and execs backing lucrative One Paseo ante up for payoff committee

Chris Cate
Chris Cate

The ongoing battle between Los Angeles–area real estate giants Kilroy Realty and Donahue Schriber over the fate of Kilroy's One Paseo mega-development has been financially fortuitous for both San Diego's city hall lobbying corps and members of the city council, at least one of whom has recently been raising big campaign cash from the employees and lobbyist of a key player.

Republican Chris Cate was until this past December a lobbyist for the San Diego County Taxpayers Association, powered by major money from the local hotel and development industry.

Elected to the council last November with the financial might of the GOP Lincoln Club and its wealthy backers — including exiting U-T San Diego owner Douglas Manchester and controversial Beverly Hills developer Michael Schlesinger — Cate has lately turned to Kilroy representatives to help retire his lingering five-figure campaign debt to the "brain" of Republican mayor Kevin Faulconer.

According to the Cate campaign committee's May 19 disclosure filing with the city clerk, covering the period between January 1 and May 13 of this year, more than 20 employees of Kilroy came up with a total of $8150 from March 27 through April 22.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Kilroy donations to the committee, Cate for Council 2014, flowed from both high and mighty executives of the firm and those somewhat lower down on the totem pole. Senior vice president Robert C. Little gave $500 on March 27. Building manager Michael J. Nelson kicked in $100 on April 22.

Kilroy donors included residents of Malibu, Altadena, Oakland, Calabasas, Manhattan Beach, San Francisco, Santa Monica, San Pedro, Danville, Hillsborough, Laguna Niguel, Chula Vista, and Los Angeles; $600 came from those listing a San Diego address.

The biggest cluster of contributions arrived on March 31, when nine employees anted up for a total of $2950.

Rachel Laing

In addition to the employees, Kilroy contract lobbyist Rachel Laing gave the Cate campaign fund a total of $400 during the period, the latest $50 coming on April 20, according to the filing.

Her lobbyist disclosure statement shows Laing received $2000 from Kilroy during the first quarter of the year.

Personal contributions aren't reimbursable under city law, so the Kilroy employees and consultants must dip into their own funds for Cate cash.

Those firms who do reimburse and later get caught sometimes pay a steep price. In a 1996 case that drew a record $420,000 fine from the state's Fair Political Practices Commission, Walmart developer Frank Gatlin and his attorney Mark Ostoich acknowledged they had used friends, clients, employees, and business associates to make subsequently reimbursed contributions to then–city council members Ron Roberts, Juan Vargas, Barbara Warden, George Stevens, and Judy McCarty.

The officials who benefited from the payouts denied knowledge of the arrangement and escaped sanctions.

Jason Roe
Ashley Hayek

The Kilroy-related donations to Cate's committee began about a month after he voted with the majority in a heavily lobbied 7-2 February 23 city-council decision to approve the One Paseo complex at the corner of Del Mar Heights Road and El Camino Real in Carmel Valley.

"We encourage you to reach out and thank our council members for their leadership on this issue," says a Kilroy website listing the email addresses of Cate and his council colleagues who backed the proposal.

Rival developer Donahue Schreiber, whose workers are not listed among this year's Cate donors, subsequently funded a costly but successful referendum drive to require the council to rescind its move or put the matter to voters.

As a result, Kilroy negotiated a behind-the-scenes compromise with Donahue Schriber, and on May 21 the council was believed ready to pull its approval of the project pending submission of a scaled-down plan.

The Kilroy delegation was by far the single largest employee-related group of donors to the Cate committee, which raised a total of $52,201 during the disclosure period, the filing says. Running a distant second were employees of Sempra Energy with $1400 and its subsidiary San Diego Gas & Electric with $1200.

Vendors paid off with the money included Revolvis Consulting, co-owned by controversial political consultant Jason Roe — widely known as the political "brain" behind GOP mayor Kevin Faulconer — which got $25,000. Golden State Consultants, a fundraising firm run by former Lincoln Club staffer Ashley Hayek, picked up $27,493.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Why Unified® Review: What To Expect Dropshipping (Positive & Negative)

Next Article

Will L.A. Times crowd out San Diego U-T at Riverside printing plant?

Will Toni Atkins stand back from anti-SDG&E initiative?
Chris Cate
Chris Cate

The ongoing battle between Los Angeles–area real estate giants Kilroy Realty and Donahue Schriber over the fate of Kilroy's One Paseo mega-development has been financially fortuitous for both San Diego's city hall lobbying corps and members of the city council, at least one of whom has recently been raising big campaign cash from the employees and lobbyist of a key player.

Republican Chris Cate was until this past December a lobbyist for the San Diego County Taxpayers Association, powered by major money from the local hotel and development industry.

Elected to the council last November with the financial might of the GOP Lincoln Club and its wealthy backers — including exiting U-T San Diego owner Douglas Manchester and controversial Beverly Hills developer Michael Schlesinger — Cate has lately turned to Kilroy representatives to help retire his lingering five-figure campaign debt to the "brain" of Republican mayor Kevin Faulconer.

According to the Cate campaign committee's May 19 disclosure filing with the city clerk, covering the period between January 1 and May 13 of this year, more than 20 employees of Kilroy came up with a total of $8150 from March 27 through April 22.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Kilroy donations to the committee, Cate for Council 2014, flowed from both high and mighty executives of the firm and those somewhat lower down on the totem pole. Senior vice president Robert C. Little gave $500 on March 27. Building manager Michael J. Nelson kicked in $100 on April 22.

Kilroy donors included residents of Malibu, Altadena, Oakland, Calabasas, Manhattan Beach, San Francisco, Santa Monica, San Pedro, Danville, Hillsborough, Laguna Niguel, Chula Vista, and Los Angeles; $600 came from those listing a San Diego address.

The biggest cluster of contributions arrived on March 31, when nine employees anted up for a total of $2950.

Rachel Laing

In addition to the employees, Kilroy contract lobbyist Rachel Laing gave the Cate campaign fund a total of $400 during the period, the latest $50 coming on April 20, according to the filing.

Her lobbyist disclosure statement shows Laing received $2000 from Kilroy during the first quarter of the year.

Personal contributions aren't reimbursable under city law, so the Kilroy employees and consultants must dip into their own funds for Cate cash.

Those firms who do reimburse and later get caught sometimes pay a steep price. In a 1996 case that drew a record $420,000 fine from the state's Fair Political Practices Commission, Walmart developer Frank Gatlin and his attorney Mark Ostoich acknowledged they had used friends, clients, employees, and business associates to make subsequently reimbursed contributions to then–city council members Ron Roberts, Juan Vargas, Barbara Warden, George Stevens, and Judy McCarty.

The officials who benefited from the payouts denied knowledge of the arrangement and escaped sanctions.

Jason Roe
Ashley Hayek

The Kilroy-related donations to Cate's committee began about a month after he voted with the majority in a heavily lobbied 7-2 February 23 city-council decision to approve the One Paseo complex at the corner of Del Mar Heights Road and El Camino Real in Carmel Valley.

"We encourage you to reach out and thank our council members for their leadership on this issue," says a Kilroy website listing the email addresses of Cate and his council colleagues who backed the proposal.

Rival developer Donahue Schreiber, whose workers are not listed among this year's Cate donors, subsequently funded a costly but successful referendum drive to require the council to rescind its move or put the matter to voters.

As a result, Kilroy negotiated a behind-the-scenes compromise with Donahue Schriber, and on May 21 the council was believed ready to pull its approval of the project pending submission of a scaled-down plan.

The Kilroy delegation was by far the single largest employee-related group of donors to the Cate committee, which raised a total of $52,201 during the disclosure period, the filing says. Running a distant second were employees of Sempra Energy with $1400 and its subsidiary San Diego Gas & Electric with $1200.

Vendors paid off with the money included Revolvis Consulting, co-owned by controversial political consultant Jason Roe — widely known as the political "brain" behind GOP mayor Kevin Faulconer — which got $25,000. Golden State Consultants, a fundraising firm run by former Lincoln Club staffer Ashley Hayek, picked up $27,493.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Will L.A. Times crowd out San Diego U-T at Riverside printing plant?

Will Toni Atkins stand back from anti-SDG&E initiative?
Next Article

Dating Sites For Little People: Best Platforms & Tips

Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.