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Councilman Cate can use campaign cash for legal, PR costs
Cassander makes an excellent point. This act of law-breaking wasn't a part of his activities as a councilmember, it was a part of his activities as a shill for his cronies at FS Investors. But if the FPPC is going to allow Cates' campaign cash to pay for lawyers and PR spinmeisters, Tony Manolatos' [op-ed defending Cate in the VOSD][1] should have included a "Paid for by Cate for Council 2018" disclaimer. [1]: https://www.voiceofsandiego.org/topics/opinion/sh…— December 16, 2017 10:12 a.m.
Junior Theatre reformer sues city
I believe Becerra is an honorable man who is genuinely concerned about child abuse, and I have no reason to believe he has a conflict here. He expressed shock and disgust at the allegations in my complaint, and asked his staffer to contact me for follow-up information, so I do believe he is quite serious about the matter. If members of the community would like to help encourage him to take action, they can easily reach his office at [email protected]— December 4, 2017 1:18 p.m.
Junior Theatre reformer sues city
There are about 12 attorneys in that office tasked with overseeing approximately 150,000 nonprofits in California. So understaffed is an understatement. The squeaky wheel gets the oil, of course, and whether it's the AG's charitable trusts section or the Bureau of Children's Justice which eventually intervenes in the management of Junior Theatre, I won't stop squeaking until they do.— December 4, 2017 1:11 p.m.
Junior Theatre reformer sues city
In addition to sending Attorney General Xavier Becerra my 115-page, 55-exhibit complaint, I have spoken in person to him, and he expressed grave concern over the situation at Junior Theatre. He promised to take a serious look at it, and I take him at his word. Becerra also told me that he strongly supports the work of the new Bureau of Children's Justice (founded by his predecessor Kamala Harris), which I believe would be the appropriate office to handle this investigation. The most important thing, as I have said since the beginning, is to protect the safety and well-being of the children. The AG's Office of Charitable Trusts has oversight over Junior Theatre as a non-profit, but clearly the issues are bigger than just the blatant self-dealing and misappropriation engaged in by certain members of Junior Theatre's current board--including the board's president, who, I'll add, has a criminal record for contracting without a license in a declared emergency area and defrauding East County wildfire victims.— December 3, 2017 12:19 p.m.
Junior Theatre reformer sues city
Cassander, your citation of the Penal Code is absolutely correct. Unfortunately, what local agency has jurisdiction to prosecute misdemeanor offenses such as this one? The City Attorney's office. And clearly the City Attorney's office has a conflict of interest when two of its own deputies are the very ones who should be investigated and prosecuted for failing to report child abuse and conspiracy to cover it up. Thus Mara Elliott should refer the case to the District Attorney's office for prosecution, and there is no indication that has happened. But there's yet another problem: the interim DA Summer Stephan, who is running for election in 2018, has been endorsed by Mara Elliott--in addition to receiving an endorsement from Gil Cabrera, the vice-chair of the Convention Center, who played a major role in covering up the child abuse at Junior Theatre. See: https://www.summerstephanforsandiegoda.com/endors… Therefore Summer Stephan is likewise compromised by a conflict of interest. For all these reasons, I have been in touch with state Attorney General Xavier Becerra and have urgently requested his office to intervene.— December 2, 2017 6:14 p.m.