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

Jan Goldsmith's Office refuses to release transcripts of closed session meetings

Goldsmith denies transcripts exist despite invoices and Executive Assistant's testimony

It was a bold accusation: Mayor Bob Filner, a longtime civil rights activist ordering Executive Assistant City Attorney Andrew Jones to the back of the room during a closed session meeting earlier this year.

“To me it was tantamount to asking Rosa Parks to sit in the back of the bus,” Jones told the local NBC affiliate. "I didn't sit in the back of the bus. In fact, I sat at the table."

There's one problem with Jones' recollection: there's absolutely no evidence that it ever took place.

A request for the transcript of the exchange came back empty, despite evidence that a court reporter was present at the time.

"No transcripts for closed session meetings of the San Diego City Council exist except for the date of June 18, 2013, which has already been made public and which we have attached," read the response from a Deputy City Attorney.

It appears, however, that the City Attorney was at one point prepared to file a lawsuit against Filner for kicking Jones out of that June 18 meeting. Accompanying the transcript, Jan Goldsmith's Office sent an unsigned and undated court declaration from Jones detailing his account of the April meeting where Filner ordered him to the back of the room.

The declaration was made in the case of: "Jan L. Goldsmith, in his official capacity as City Attorney for the City of San Diego vs. Bob Filner, in his official capacity as Mayor for the City of San Diego." No case number appeared on the declaration.

"It was clear to me that Mayor Filner was referring to an incident at a prior closed session in roughly late March, early April 2013 when he had ordered me to "go sit in the back of the room" and I had refused to do so," read Jones' statement.

Jones then provided the reason for talking to the press shortly after.

"Mayor Filner's previous demeaning demand that I "go sit in the back of the room" was not a noticed issue for Closed Session discussion by City Council. There is nothing about that statement that is protected or confidential. Thus I made a public statement in April 2013 to the press about the incident. Mayor Filner has never publicly denied that he made that statement."

On the same note, however, City Attorney Goldsmith is refusing to release any transcripts showing Filner making that statement. The refusal by Goldsmith to release the records is contrary to his decision to release a partially redacted closed session transcript to the UT San Diego the very day of the request.

Invoices obtained through a public records request showing that a court reporter was present at two closed session meetings in April.

Spokesperson for the City Attorney's Office, Michael Giorgino, provided the following explanation. "There is no transcript. A court reporter attends every closed session, but no transcript is made as that is an extra expense. The one transcript made was at the request of the City Attorney because he was not present and learned that his second in command attorney was arrested and removed from the meeting."

The statement doesn't jibe with the section of the City's Municipal Code that regulates closed session meetings. Section 8.4 states that "all closed sessions shall be transcribed by a court certified reporter. All transcripts shall be retained."

The City Attorney's Office has not yet responded to a question about the Municipal Code and why they are not following the law.

Click here to read Jones' entire declaration.

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

Previous article

Not enough Readers in Mission Beach

Mayor Todd Gloria's skin color

It was a bold accusation: Mayor Bob Filner, a longtime civil rights activist ordering Executive Assistant City Attorney Andrew Jones to the back of the room during a closed session meeting earlier this year.

“To me it was tantamount to asking Rosa Parks to sit in the back of the bus,” Jones told the local NBC affiliate. "I didn't sit in the back of the bus. In fact, I sat at the table."

There's one problem with Jones' recollection: there's absolutely no evidence that it ever took place.

A request for the transcript of the exchange came back empty, despite evidence that a court reporter was present at the time.

"No transcripts for closed session meetings of the San Diego City Council exist except for the date of June 18, 2013, which has already been made public and which we have attached," read the response from a Deputy City Attorney.

It appears, however, that the City Attorney was at one point prepared to file a lawsuit against Filner for kicking Jones out of that June 18 meeting. Accompanying the transcript, Jan Goldsmith's Office sent an unsigned and undated court declaration from Jones detailing his account of the April meeting where Filner ordered him to the back of the room.

The declaration was made in the case of: "Jan L. Goldsmith, in his official capacity as City Attorney for the City of San Diego vs. Bob Filner, in his official capacity as Mayor for the City of San Diego." No case number appeared on the declaration.

"It was clear to me that Mayor Filner was referring to an incident at a prior closed session in roughly late March, early April 2013 when he had ordered me to "go sit in the back of the room" and I had refused to do so," read Jones' statement.

Jones then provided the reason for talking to the press shortly after.

"Mayor Filner's previous demeaning demand that I "go sit in the back of the room" was not a noticed issue for Closed Session discussion by City Council. There is nothing about that statement that is protected or confidential. Thus I made a public statement in April 2013 to the press about the incident. Mayor Filner has never publicly denied that he made that statement."

On the same note, however, City Attorney Goldsmith is refusing to release any transcripts showing Filner making that statement. The refusal by Goldsmith to release the records is contrary to his decision to release a partially redacted closed session transcript to the UT San Diego the very day of the request.

Invoices obtained through a public records request showing that a court reporter was present at two closed session meetings in April.

Spokesperson for the City Attorney's Office, Michael Giorgino, provided the following explanation. "There is no transcript. A court reporter attends every closed session, but no transcript is made as that is an extra expense. The one transcript made was at the request of the City Attorney because he was not present and learned that his second in command attorney was arrested and removed from the meeting."

The statement doesn't jibe with the section of the City's Municipal Code that regulates closed session meetings. Section 8.4 states that "all closed sessions shall be transcribed by a court certified reporter. All transcripts shall be retained."

The City Attorney's Office has not yet responded to a question about the Municipal Code and why they are not following the law.

Click here to read Jones' entire declaration.

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.