Have you all been following the lies out of the mayor's office regarding the Water Department? Alex Ruiz, Assistant Director of the Water Department was caught in several lies when questioned about the City's plan for water conservation and mandatory rationing. Taking the next step in reporting on these lies; the Voice of San Diego asked for e-mails related to the issue through a Public Records Request. Two and a half months after making the request, the City provided a partial list and refused to say how many were withheld and why.
Then the lies begin in earnest. When questioned as to how many were redacted or withheld, Ray Palmucci of the City Attorney's office said he would provide a letter of explanation in 10 days. Darin Pudgil ignored e-mails asking for this information and Palmucci sidestepped the issue feigning ignorance. The City provided 736 e-mails related to the Water issue, but withheld 692 e-mails (48%). So the question raised from this is what is the City trying to cover up? Why is Darin Pudgil refusing to respond to a legal mandate for a Public Records Request that by law is required to be completed within 10 days unless there is some exigent reason for being unable to do so. But again; what is the mayor trying to keep from the public now?
Christina DiLeva, "Press Assistant" for the mayor, wrote a letter citing Government Code sections allowing for the City to withhold e-mails and provide no explanation. So the mayor throws another underling under the bus while Darin Pudgil and Gerry Braun hide in a side office, refusing to accept responsibility for this mess.
The mayor's office provides an excuse for refusing to release all of the e-mails with the following comment; "the public interest served by not making the record public clearly outweighs the public interest served by disclosure of the record." Who wants to take a stab at what in the hell would be contained in e-mails discussing water conservation; the Irvine Ranch Water District approach to water conservation; and the City plan for conservation that the public interest is better served keeping 48% of the e-mails secret?
Lani Lutar, President and CEO of the San Diego County Taxpayers Association, made a keen observation about the mayor's office refusing to release these e-mails. Lutar said, "The speculation of what's in the emails is going to be so much worse than what's probably in them. It doesn't seem to make sense. I'm concerned from a good governance perspective why information would not be made available to the public." Maybe more lies?
In the span of a couple of months, people are starting to demand proof when the mayor or any of his minions speak about issues. In short order the taxpayers will begin to see firsthand the lack of honesty, integrity and ethics in the mayor's office on the 11th floor of the City Administration Building (CAB). I said a couple of weeks ago the lies would soon catch up with the mayor as they did when he was chief.
The 64 thousand dollar question; will he bail from the mayor's office like he bailed from the police department? We can all hope!!!
6 comments:
If their lips are moving....
I hope everyone is also watching the latest melt down at City Hall. The level of corruption and excuses is only a reflection of the TOTAL lack of ethics and integrity from the Mayor's office.
Now, thanks to the Voice of San Diego once again, we're finding out about MORE corruption. This time it involves the the City's Executive Director of the Ethics Commission. Seems her brother, Darren Fulhorst, and his business got preferential treatment, or worse, special treatment when he needed a permit to operate at La Jolla shores.
I wonder how fast and how far Sanders will distance himself from this one. Of course the first thing he'll do, is claim ignorance.
There is no doubt, Jerry Sanders is no Harry Truman. In fact, Jerry's new slogan should be; "The Buck never stops here!"
Steve,
This may be a good read for your ongoing research...
Under the Perfect Sun: The San Diego Tourists Never See
by Mike Davis (Author), Kelly Mayhew (Author), Jim Miller (Author)
Just another example of corruption out of control...
SEDC interim chief gets pay increase
By Helen Gao, Union-Tribune Staff Writer 7:18 p.m. June 24, 2009
Brian Trotier, the interim chief administrator of the Southeastern Economic Development Corp., received a 25 percent raise Wednesday and will be paid $12,500 per month starting July 1.
Guess the SEDC board didn't hear about the 6% or greater pay cuts happening all over the city!
The board approved the raise by a vote of 5-0, with three members absent.
Of course they did...they are not accountable to anyone.
Members said Trotier has done a good job since he took over in October. They justified his pay raise by noting that he does not get benefits as a consultant.
When do consultants get benefits? Never, duh, what a lame excuse...who are these arrogant people?
Furthermore, they noted that Trotier has stayed well beyond the original commitment of five to six months.
Stayed, who would want to leave a do nothing job earning 110K+ a years in these economic times?
Even with the raise, his pay is less than the base salary of the agency's former president, Carolyn Smith, who was paid $172,000 a year.
another great comparison to a person under indictment for fraud and being investigated by the FBI..
So will anyone on the 11th floor at CAB offer any explanation? Can or will they tell the truth ever???
It's getting ugly folks!!! Glad I live in the county!
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