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You wouldn’t know that San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis met with Sheriff Bill Gore and Jose Susumo Azano Matsura, the wealthy Mexican citizen at the center of a campaign finance scandal, from looking at her calendar for March 2, 2012.
It’s blank.
The meeting, which occurred during the period Azano was allegedly illegally funneling hundreds of thousands of dollars to Dumanis’ failed mayoral bid, did show up on Gore’s calendar. The sheriff said the group talked about golf and other mundane topics.
Dumanis has insisted she barely knew Azano. She told U-T San Diego she only met him once – at an early 2012 luncheon at Azano’s Coronado estate – then said it could have been more than once. It’s since been revealed that she wrote a recommendation letter to the University of San Diego for Azano’s son, and accompanied Azano to an introductory meeting at the office of another high-level law enforcement official.
NBC 7 San Diego’s Wendy Fry, who had previously requested Dumanis’ calendar, was told that some meetings wouldn’t be disclosed on the district attorney’s schedule, such as personal events unrelated to her official duties. Many public officials take pride in listing meetings on their calendars as a way to be transparent about their affairs. Dumanis told Fry she released her calendar in the interest of open government.
I asked Dumanis spokesman Steve Walker whether there was a specific reason the meeting didn’t appear on the district attorney’s calendar. He said the meeting wasn’t redacted. It just wasn’t there.
“Not every meeting makes it onto the DA’s calendar,” Walker said.
Wendy Fry contributed to this report.