The Morning Report
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The Snapdragon Stadium saga is continuing.
San Diego City Council President Tony Young said the council won’t discuss the deal between wireless giant Qualcomm and Mayor Jerry Sanders, despite a new opinion by City Attorney Jan Goldsmith.
“There is no council willingness to retroactively approve Snapdragon stadium agreement,” Young’s spokeswoman said in a text message.
Goldsmith told the council yesterday that if it didn’t retroactively approve the deal, it would be “unauthorized and in violation” of the stadium’s naming rights agreement and the city’s charter. The mayor ignored Goldsmith’s original advice to have the council sign off on the stadium’s temporary name change before it happened.
“This is completely within the City Council’s prerogative,” said Goldsmith spokesman Jonathan Heller after learning Young’s position.
Young’s decision now means that Goldsmith considers the Snapdragon deal void. Right now, it’s unclear what that means, especially since the agreement called for a 10-day temporary stadium name change that ended last month.
Heller added that the further discussions of the deal could happen in a closed meeting of the council, which is reserved for private legal and real estate matters.
Our pals at NBC 7 San Diego covered the Snapdragon deal yesterday. I make an appearance talking about double standards.
View more videos at: http://nbcsandiego.com.
Our coverage of Snapdragon has focused on two issues: checks and balances, and money. The mayor dismissed the authority of Goldsmith and the City Council by not having the city attorney sign the Qualcomm contract and failing to seek council approval beforehand.
We also quoted an advertising expert who estimated the deal gave Qualcomm $125,000 worth of television exposure for its new Snapdragon mobile processor product line. The company paid the city $1,000 for staff time.
Liam Dillon is a news reporter for voiceofsandiego.org. He covers San Diego City Hall, the 2012 mayor’s race and big building projects. What should he write about next?
Please contact him directly at liam.dillon@voiceofsandiego.org or 619.550.5663.
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