Politics & Government

City Settles Squabble Over SANDAG Appointments

The city's proposed list of appointments includes Bob Filner, Todd Gloria, Lorie Zapf, Scott Sherman.

A single slate of appointments by the city of San Diego to the San Diego Association of Governments was released Friday, three days after competing lists led to a public squabble between Mayor Bob Filner and City Council President Todd Gloria.   

The new list resolves the major issues raised in the tiff, over the mayor's appointment power and the bipartisan nature of the nominations, which are scheduled for council confirmation at Monday's meeting.   

Under the proposal, both Filner and Gloria would serve on the Board of Directors of the regional planning agency, which is made up of mayors and council members from the various cities in the area, along with representatives from county government and institutions with a large local presence, like the Navy.   

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Filner had bypassed Gloria when he nominated San Diego's representatives on the Board of Directors.   

At Tuesday's meeting, Filner accused the City Council of subverting his appointment-making power and frequently interrupted both Gloria and Assistant City Attorney Mary Jo Lanzafame, of whom he was harshly critical.   

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Filner, who has long been described as passionate by supporters and combative by opponents, later apologized for his behavior.   

According to city documents, the new list of appointments originated from the mayor's office.   

It also includes Councilwoman Lorie Zapf, a Republican, as a representative on SANDAG's Regional Planning Committee—as requested by Gloria. Another GOP member, Scott Sherman, would be given a post on the organization's Energy Working Group.   

A third Republican, Mark Kersey, was selected as an alternate for two SANDAG committees.   

Both Filner and Gloria are Democrats.   

Under the City Charter, the mayor nominates San Diego's representatives to outside agencies, boards and commissions -- subject to City Council approval. Since SANDAG's committees are made up of council members, appointments have in past practice been developed jointly by the mayor and council president.

—City News Service


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