New Mayoral Election Set in San Diego

The San Diego City Council voted 8 to 0 Monday to set a special election for July 26 to find a replacement for Mayor Dick Murphy, who is resigning in the hopes a new mayor can help restore public confidence and lead the city out of the financial and legal problems caused by a spiraling pension-fund deficit.

A runoff, if needed, will be held Sept. 13 or Nov. 8, depending on whether Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger schedules a statewide election for November, which would save the cash-strapped city money.

The council vote came as Deputy Mayor Michael Zucchet and Councilman Ralph Inzunza are scheduled to begin a trial today in federal court on charges of accepting illegal campaign contributions from the owner of a strip club.

Zucchet is set to assume mayoral duties when Murphy’s resignation becomes effective July 15. He has said he would resign as deputy mayor if the trial interferes with his job performance.

“As horrendous as it seems, someday we will laugh about this,” said Zucchet, referring to his legal case and the city’s problems.

At a three-hour hearing, two council members and several activists, including the city’s top labor leader, suggested that the council appoint an interim mayor to avoid the cost and turmoil of a special election.

But council members decided that the public deserves a chance to choose Murphy’s successor as the city faces its biggest financial crisis in recent history.

Facing a shortfall in operating funds, the city’s upcoming budget, proposed by City Manager Lamont Ewell, contains a warning that several hundred employees among the 11,000-member workforce may be laid off.

Jerry Butkiewicz, secretary-treasurer of the San Diego-Imperial Counties Labor Council, said the estimated $3-million cost of a special election should be used to avoid layoffs.

Still, council members said the public is demanding an election.

“To me, it’s well worth it,” said Councilman Anthony Young. “Democracy is expensive, it’s messy ... but it’s a beautiful thing.”

Councilman Scott Peters had suggested the appointment of an interim mayor “to navigate us out of this morass” until the next city election in 2006.

But in the end, Peters and Councilwoman Toni Atkins, who had also suggested an appointment, voted for a special election.

Councilman Brian Maienschein said the public would find unacceptable the idea of council members interviewing candidates to succeed Murphy.

Candidates “need to interview before the people of San Diego” during an election, Maienschein said. “I think it’s important to people that we have someone in there supported by the majority of voters.”

If no candidate gets more than 50% of the votes, the top two will compete in a runoff.

So far, the only announced candidate is Councilwoman Donna Frye, who ran as a write-in candidate last year. She was denied victory when a judge decided that several thousand votes cast for her were not valid. Frye supporters have filed an appeal on the ruling.

Other local officials considering a run for mayor include former Police Chief Jerry Sanders, former state Sen. Dede Alpert, Assemblyman Juan Vargas (D-San Diego), county Supervisor Ron Roberts and banker Peter Q. Davis.

Sanders, one of the most popular police chiefs in city history, attended Monday’s meeting but declined to say whether he would run.

After retiring in 1998, Sanders headed the local United Way and was credited with helping the charity to recover from a controversy that undercut fundraising and public confidence.

He has never run for political office.

A political consulting firm said that Sanders would announce this morning whether he would run.

Murphy, a Republican, announced his resignation amid mounting criticism of his slowness in dealing with the pension deficit and a threatened recall effort.

City Atty. Michael Aguirre had called for Murphy to resign, branding him a hindrance to solving the city’s problems, including investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the U.S. attorney and the district attorney.

Peters said that although he preferred an appointment, he would back an election if that was the will of the council majority.

“If we’re going to have an election,” he said, “let’s have a quality election, not a standard mudslinging one.”