Dumanis on Misdemeanors

You may remember this post, entitled “Goldsmith’s Rebuke” that I typed up last week.

Republican candidate for city attorney Jan Goldsmith was asked at a debate what he thinks about the idea of the District Attorney’s Office taking over prosecution of misdemeanors inside the city of San Diego from the City Attorney’s Office, an idea District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis has been pushing for.

Goldsmith said that although he’s proud of his endorsement from Dumanis, he disagrees with her on this point and believes the City Attorney’s Office is the best body to prosecute San Diego’s misdemeanors.

Since that post, I’ve had a few emails from readers suggesting that Dumanis’ desire to switch the prosecution of misdemeanor’s to the DA’s office probably has more to do with her animosity towards Mike Aguirre than anything else. With a Republican like Goldsmith in office, a few readers have suggested, Dumanis would probably be far more comfortable with allowing the City Attorney’s Office to carry on the prosecution of misdemeanors.

So I put in a call to Dumanis’ office and spoke with one of her spokesmen, Steve Walker, who checked with Dumanis.

Walker said Dumanis is in favor of the DA’s Office taking over the prosecution of San Diego’s misdemeanors, regardless of who is in the city attorney’s chair. That’s a position that she’s held for a long time, Walker said, and one that is based as much on financial sense as anything else.

“This has been discussed by law enforcement and is supported by the San Diego (County) Taxpayer’s Association,” Walker said.

So, no, it’s not all about Mike Aguirre, Walker said.

— WILL CARLESS