Jones’ Votes on Housing Raise Questions

San Diego Housing Commission officials have asked their attorney to determine if Councilman William Jones has a conflict of interest by voting on commission matters because, as the owner of a four-unit apartment complex, he receives rent subsidies administered by the agency.

Commission officials made the request earlier this week after they learned that the apartments at 3055 L St. were purchased July 31 by Jones--who, as a councilman, has a final say on commission budgets and business.

Three of the four units at Jones’ property are occupied by people whose rents are subsidized by the Section 8 federal program, which is handled by the commission, commission spokesman Ken Guyer said Thursday.

“Once it was brought to our attention that William Jones was in fact the owner of it, as a matter of course, we asked legal counsel to render a decision as to whether there is a conflict with Jones sitting (on the City Council) and also being a rental owner with Section 8 tenants,” Guyer said.

Jack Katz, a chief deputy attorney for the City of San Diego, said city attorneys also will examine whether Jones has a conflict.

Jones said Thursday that he has referred the question to his private attorney.

“The entire transaction and situation, as it exists, will be reviewed by the city attorney’s office and that if, in fact, it appears to us that there is an actual or an arguable violation of the Political Reform Act, we will, in abundance of caution, advise Councilman Jones to not participate in having anything to do in that area with the Housing Commission,” Katz said.

Jones has said that he bought the apartment building for $150,000 as his first investment in income property. He received a 100% loan from Great American First Savings Bank that enabled him to acquire the property with no money down. His loan calls for interest-only payments for five years, at which time the $150,000 is due.

Guyer said that two of the three tenants who receive federal rent subsidies moved into the apartments years before Jones bought the property, and the Housing Commission, which administers the federal program, pays a total of $600 in subsidies on their behalf.

A third tenant moved in Oct. 1--two months after Jones became the owner--but the first month’s rent subsidy of $473 is being withheld by the commission until the apartment receives minor repairs, said Guyer and Cathy Lexin, the commission’s deputy executive director.

The fact that Jones could receive in excess of $1,000 from the housing commission each month may pose a potential conflict for the councilman, who has a final say over commission business, Katz said.

“The (state) Political Reform Act is trying to prevent public officials from engaging in any kind of municipal decision which would benefit them or their immediate family,” Katz said.

Not speaking of Jones specifically, Katz said a councilman in a similar position could use his powers over the Housing Commission to ensure that the federally subsidized rent would be paid at his apartments.

Katz said the councilman could play hardball with the commission until the commission would “cave in” and direct tenants receiving subsidies to the councilman’s apartments.

Jones said Thursday that while he was waiting for the deal to close on the L Street property during the spring, he asked the city attorney’s office if the sale posed a potential conflict for him.

“Their response to me was until you own it, we will not render an opinion on whether you can vote on something or not,” Jones said.

Since then, Jones said, he has told Mayor Maureen O’Connor he would not feel “comfortable” sitting as a director of the Housing Commission when council members take tighter control of the controversy-plagued agency, as they are scheduled to do soon.

Jones also said he has hired a private attorney to examine whether his position as a landlord means he will have to abstain on any votes at the council, even on such items as repaving streets in his neighborhood. The attorney, Roger Krauel, hasn’t made any decisions and “until then, on a case-by-case basis, I will be looking at each situation, and I will be taking a very cautious approach,” Jones said.

“I want William Jones to be within the law, and he’s prepared to do that, and without anyone asking him to, he went out and hired an attorney to advise him on complicated, legal matters so that William Jones knew what to do,” Jones said.

Jones was among the council majority that voted Sept. 23 to take over the Housing Commission by ousting the agency’s directors and replacing them with council members. The plan was advanced by O’Connor to strengthen the credibility of the commission, which has been subject to questions about executive travel and a real estate deal for its Barrio Logan headquarters.

Jones said Thursday that he did not consider his vote to be a conflict of interest.

“When I voted on the mayor’s proposal on the Housing Commission, I did not feel like we were getting involved on any specific proposal, any program involving Section 8,” Jones said. “That vote did not have anything to do with Section 8. It would not provide me with any specific benefit.

“William Jones will not benefit from that vote at all.”

Guyer said that the commission sends rent subsidy checks directly to the owners of the apartment complexes. In Jones’ case, he said, the checks go to a property management company the councilman has hired.

The commission doesn’t refer Section 8 clients to any specific landlord, but a list of apartments willing to accept the tenants is distributed to those eligible for the federal program, Guyer said. He could not say whether the L Street apartments were on the list.

Guyer also said that the Housing Commission conducts yearly inspections of each property that accepts Section 8 tenants.