To follow up on our story about San Diegans for City Hall Reform’s post-election activity, we posted an e-mail from San Diegans for City Hall Reform fundraiser Jean Freelove to Steve Francis.
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| Steve Francis |
Francis, a businessman who ran against Mayor Jerry Sanders in 2005, supplied $110,000 to produce and air radio ads promoting Proposition C before its passage last year. He has not ruled out challenging Sanders’ reelection in 2008.
The e-mail was sent in April, five months after the election, and inquired whether Francis would donate to the committee. Freelove said she wanted to know before she met with Sanders to discuss the committee’s progress later that week. That statement seemed to contradict claims made by representatives of the mayor and the committee that Sanders has no formal ties to the group.
Freelove wrote in this morning with this comment on our entry detailing the e-mail last week:
My e-mail Steve Francis forwarded to you was prompted by my personal frustration that while Steve was publicly expressing support for the Mayor’s reform agenda, behind the scenes he was (and is) trying to sabotage these reforms. I did not discuss Steve Francis’ contribution to San Diegans for City Hall Reform with Mayor Sanders. I sent Steve that note in an attempt to shame him into putting his money where his mouth was.
Your statement that Steve was a major contributor to the B&C campaign is not accurate. He made an unauthorized independent expenditure during that campaign in the form of radio commercials that primarily promoted himself, and only incidentally promoted Prop. C.
For the record, Francis’ radio expenditures last fall appear on San Diegans for City Hall Reform’s disclosure forms as non-monetary contributions.