In National City, some critics say Jose Rodriguez, a councilmember, is using city funds to help fuel his reelection campaign, reports our new South County reporter Jim Hinch.
The line between campaigning and city business is sometimes thin in cities all across the region — but in this case, critics say the line has been crossed.
Even National City’s Mayor Ron Morrison has criticized Rodriguez’s use of city funds.
Two years ago, National City councilmembers voted to give themselves $100,000 per year to hire staff or pay for expenses, such as travel. Critics have described the pots of money as slush funds.
Rodriguez recently used the money to hire four people. Three of them have ties to his current campaign or a previous bid for mayor.
“City documents show that virtually all the work the new employees have done for Rodriguez has been on issues—rent control, affordable housing and maximizing opportunities for food vendors—central to the councilmember’s election pitch to voters,” Hinch writes.
San Diego Returns State Cannabis Equity Dollars
The city of San Diego couldn’t – and likely won’t for the foreseeable future – get a cannabis social equity program off the ground, so it’s returning a $880,000 grant it got from the state.
The cannabis social equity program would have helped people charged with crimes related to cannabis enter the legal market.
We knew this was coming: Mayor Todd Gloria cut the program from the city budget in April because the city was facing a $137 million deficit. Aside from the state grant, the City Council had planned on putting $1 million toward the effort.
Is there still a shot? The Union-Tribune previously reported that although there wasn’t enough support on the Council to save the program, Counclmember Henry Foster III said he and the mayor would propose a cannabis equity policy.
Why It Matters
Our editor Scott Lewis went on KPBS to explain the beef between Assembly candidate Carl DeMaio and the Republican Party of San Diego County. As he wrote last week, it’s an all out war. Watch the video here.
Why It Matters is a new segment on KPBS. It is in partnership with Voice of San Diego and part of the Public Matters initiative. You can learn more about the partnership here and catch up on the latest stories.
In Other News
- The Port of San Diego has installed two new badass electric cranes to unload cargo. Not only are the cranes much more eco-friendly than their diesel counterparts, they can lift four times as much weight. (Union-Tribune)
- As Jim Hinch reported earlier this week, Chula Vista is set to adopt a homeless encampment ban. It would be one of the many cities to adopt such a policy. The City Council voted on Tuesday to move it forward and a final vote is set to happen in a few weeks.
- It’s official, Poway is getting a 1,200-megawatt-hour battery storage facility. The project passed its final hurdle Tuesday and it could be up and running by next year. (Union-Tribune)
Correction: A Wednesday Morning Report item misstated the start dates for two county executives. Veteran county executive Caroline Smith will begin serving as assistant chief administrative officer effective Sept. 30 and Dahvia Lynch began as the deputy chief administrative officer for land use and the environment on Wednesday
The Morning Report was written by Will Huntsberry and Andrea Lopez-Villafaña. It was edited by Andrea Lopez-Villafaña.
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