It appears another Republican officeholder in the city of San Diego received a campaign contribution from a subordinate.
Former City Attorney Casey Gwinn received political donations from two lawyers on his staff during the campaign leading up to his reelection in 2000.
One of the staff attorneys who gave to the Republican Gwinn was Leslie Devaney, who would go on to become the local Republicans’ favorite in the 2004 city attorney’s race. Devaney, who gave $150 to Gwinn’s campaign on June 26, 1999, ended up losing narrowly to Mike Aguirre.
Aguirre, as you remember, was called out by the county Republican Party yesterday for the same practice — accepting donations from subordinates. The party is seeking the ouster of Aguirre, a Democrat, from the City Attorney’s Office after the Union-Tribune alleged that he could be removed from office under the city’s bylaws.
Another Republican, Councilman Jim Madaffer, was found to have received money from his staff members during his 2004 reelection campaign. The party’s spokespersons refused to comment on whether they would bring similar complaints against officials of their own partisan stripe.