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

Did Sanders violate "cooling off" ban on Filner Mexico trip?

2010 letter of advice to ex-mayor's aide outlines year-long prohibition on ex-staff contacts with current city officials

Back in December 2010, when Kris Michell - then chief of staff to San Diego Republican mayor Jerry Sanders - departed for the greener pastures of a special interest group called the Downtown San Diego Partnership, she was handed an eight-page advice letter from the city's ethics commission barring her from lobbying anyone at city hall for a year:

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/apr/30/44634/

To the extent that you worked on a particular project while with the City, you may not, during your one-year post-employment period, have any communications (outside of a public hearing) with the City on behalf of DSDP regarding that project, nor may you, on behalf of DSDP, provide assistance to someone else who is making such communications.

Moreover, you may not lobby (outside of a public hearing) any City Officials during the one-year post-employment period on behalf of DSPD with regard to any other types of municipal decisions.

So where does that leave Michell's ex-boss, former San Diego mayor Jerry Sanders, the new head of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, who just got back from a trip to Mexico City with his successor Bob Filner?

According to an account in Sunday's U-T San Diego, the Republican made direct, apparently non-public contact with his Democratic replacement:

[Sanders] said the two talked generally about city operations.

“He and I are the only two that have ever had the strong-mayor job so there’s not really a big group of people you can go talk to about it,” Sanders said.

“I think that he feels now how large it is and he’s understanding a lot of the issues so I think it’s a learning process.

According to the December 16, 2010 letter of advice from the city's ethics commission to Michell, signed by commission program manager Stephen Ross:

“Influencing a decision” means “affecting or attempting to affect an action by a City Official on one or more municipal decisions by any method, including promoting, supporting, opposing, participating in, or seeking to modify or delay such action.”

It also includes “providing information, statistics, analysis, or studies to a City Official.”

These prohibitions will remain in effect for a one-year period following your separation from the City.

So did Sanders step over the influence line?

The matter is legally complicated enough to provide a field day for political defense lawyers:

There are two prongs to the City’s post-employment prohibitions: the project ban and the cooling off period.

The “project ban” prohibits former City Officials from communicating (or helping others communicate) with current City officers and employees on behalf of a new employer with regard to projects they worked on while with the City.

The “cooling off” period prohibits former City Officials from lobbying current City Officials for the purpose of influencing all types of municipal decisions on behalf of a new employer.

The chamber of commerce, which is registered as a lobbyist with the city, has a considerable influence agenda, according to its most recent disclosure statement, covering the first quarter of this year, filed this morning and posted online by the city clerk's office.

Signed by Leah Hemze, the group's acting executive director of public policy, the filing shows a broad advocacy reach, including support for the controversial effort by the city's big hotel moguls to force Filner to sign the so-called Tourism Management District funding contract; an unspecified "Infrastructure Initiative"; the San Ysidro port of entry infrastructure project; and "small business regulatory reform," including relief for "those with sidewalk cafes."

Hemze and chamber policy coordinator Mark Nagy are listed as lobbying a host of city officials, including council members Todd Gloria, Sherri Lightner, Mark Kersey, and their staff.

AT&T external affairs vice president Mark Leslie, a chamber board member and former chairman, is listed as lobbying Filner regarding the hotel funding matter.

In response to a request to talk to Sanders, a chamber staffer said this morning that the ex-mayor was "pretty well booked up this week," and not available for comment.

The staffer, who did not want to be quoted for attribution, maintained that the ex-mayor's conversations with Filner were general in nature and that Sanders had therefore made no illegal contacts with the current mayor during their Mexico trip.

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

Previous article

A poem for March by Joseph O’Brien

“March’s Lovely Asymptotes”

Back in December 2010, when Kris Michell - then chief of staff to San Diego Republican mayor Jerry Sanders - departed for the greener pastures of a special interest group called the Downtown San Diego Partnership, she was handed an eight-page advice letter from the city's ethics commission barring her from lobbying anyone at city hall for a year:

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/apr/30/44634/

To the extent that you worked on a particular project while with the City, you may not, during your one-year post-employment period, have any communications (outside of a public hearing) with the City on behalf of DSDP regarding that project, nor may you, on behalf of DSDP, provide assistance to someone else who is making such communications.

Moreover, you may not lobby (outside of a public hearing) any City Officials during the one-year post-employment period on behalf of DSPD with regard to any other types of municipal decisions.

So where does that leave Michell's ex-boss, former San Diego mayor Jerry Sanders, the new head of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, who just got back from a trip to Mexico City with his successor Bob Filner?

According to an account in Sunday's U-T San Diego, the Republican made direct, apparently non-public contact with his Democratic replacement:

[Sanders] said the two talked generally about city operations.

“He and I are the only two that have ever had the strong-mayor job so there’s not really a big group of people you can go talk to about it,” Sanders said.

“I think that he feels now how large it is and he’s understanding a lot of the issues so I think it’s a learning process.

According to the December 16, 2010 letter of advice from the city's ethics commission to Michell, signed by commission program manager Stephen Ross:

“Influencing a decision” means “affecting or attempting to affect an action by a City Official on one or more municipal decisions by any method, including promoting, supporting, opposing, participating in, or seeking to modify or delay such action.”

It also includes “providing information, statistics, analysis, or studies to a City Official.”

These prohibitions will remain in effect for a one-year period following your separation from the City.

So did Sanders step over the influence line?

The matter is legally complicated enough to provide a field day for political defense lawyers:

There are two prongs to the City’s post-employment prohibitions: the project ban and the cooling off period.

The “project ban” prohibits former City Officials from communicating (or helping others communicate) with current City officers and employees on behalf of a new employer with regard to projects they worked on while with the City.

The “cooling off” period prohibits former City Officials from lobbying current City Officials for the purpose of influencing all types of municipal decisions on behalf of a new employer.

The chamber of commerce, which is registered as a lobbyist with the city, has a considerable influence agenda, according to its most recent disclosure statement, covering the first quarter of this year, filed this morning and posted online by the city clerk's office.

Signed by Leah Hemze, the group's acting executive director of public policy, the filing shows a broad advocacy reach, including support for the controversial effort by the city's big hotel moguls to force Filner to sign the so-called Tourism Management District funding contract; an unspecified "Infrastructure Initiative"; the San Ysidro port of entry infrastructure project; and "small business regulatory reform," including relief for "those with sidewalk cafes."

Hemze and chamber policy coordinator Mark Nagy are listed as lobbying a host of city officials, including council members Todd Gloria, Sherri Lightner, Mark Kersey, and their staff.

AT&T external affairs vice president Mark Leslie, a chamber board member and former chairman, is listed as lobbying Filner regarding the hotel funding matter.

In response to a request to talk to Sanders, a chamber staffer said this morning that the ex-mayor was "pretty well booked up this week," and not available for comment.

The staffer, who did not want to be quoted for attribution, maintained that the ex-mayor's conversations with Filner were general in nature and that Sanders had therefore made no illegal contacts with the current mayor during their Mexico trip.

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