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San Diego's GOP Calls on City to Investiage Aguirre's Campaign Contributions

By Alison St John / Reporter,  KPBS Public Broadcasting
Published October 11, 2007 at 6:46 AM PDT
This story was published more than 17 years ago.

San Diego City Attorney Mike Aguirre is fighting criticism from the mayor, the city council, the Union-Tribune editorial page and now the Republican Party. The San Diego GOP has called on the city's E

San Diego City Attorney Mike Aguirre is fighting criticism from the mayor, the city council, the Union-Tribune editorial page and now the Republican Party. The San Diego GOP has called on the city's Ethics Commission to investigate Aguirre. The newspaper says Aguirre leaned on his employees to make campaign contributions and then rewarded those who did with pay raises.

Theresa McAteer, special counsel to San Diego's Republican Party, spoke at a press conference by the fountain outside City Hall.

McAteer: From the evidence presented today it appears Mr. Aguirre may have abused his office to generate political contributions and in that regard may have violated the charter and the San Diego ethics ordinance. If these chargers are found to be accurate Mr. Aguirre should be held accountable and we look forward to a full fair and open investigation.

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Aguirre disputes the allegations and calls them politically motivated.

Aguirre:  Any city employee is free to give. No employee is free to solicit. There was no solicitation and if people in the city's attorney's office believe in the city attorney, that's something that you know, you can’t take that right away.

Employees in the city attorney's office who made the contributions called the allegations "grossly reckless." 

Aguirre is also coming under fire for his handling of the landslide on Mount Soledad. The city council and the mayor want to hire outside attorneys to defend San Diego against claims from homeowners. Aguirre says they have no authority to do that.

Alison St John
Alison St John currently serves as a general assignment reporter and occasionally co-hosts KPBS Midday Edition. She fell in love with KPBS Radio when she arrived in San Diego in 1985 and first heard NPR. She has been a voice on KPBS Radio since 1989, and has served as a news reporter for radio, TV and the web, as well as anchoring, hosting, producing and editing. Alison has reported on stories about North County and was based in the KPBS' North County Bureau. Alison covered the metro beat during the critical period of the San Diego City pension crisis, and the education beat while Alan Bersin was the controversial Superintendent of San Diego City School District. She covered health when the industry was converting to managed care and told welfare reform stories in the late 1990s when Clinton was “ending welfare as we know it.” She has covered land use issues extensively, looking at the challenges of meeting a growing population while preserving community character, and developing a better transportation system to meet environmental concerns. She has done many stories on the military in San Diego, and the series she edited on the challenges veterans face returning from active duty to civilian life won “Best of Show” from the San Diego Society of Professional Journalists. She occasionally hosts the KPBS Roundtable and KPBS Midday Edition. Alison has won awards from the San Diego Press Club, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Associated Press TV and Radio Association, and the California Golden Mike Awards. Alison was born in Tanzania, brought up in Scotland, and earned her degree in psychology and sociology from Durham University in England. Her postgraduate diploma is in student counseling. She worked in England, Nigeria, Switzerland, Belgium, India, and Japan before moving to the United States in 1981. She now lives in Oceanside and enjoys how her community is growing and changing.
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