San Diego : Names Withheld of 7 Who Seek Drug Abuse Job

The San Diego city manager’s office has declined to release the names of the seven candidates who have applied for the position of full-time consultant for a newly created task force on drug abuse, citing confidentiality.

George Penn, the assistant to the city manager who is in charge of evaluating the prospective consultants, said Wednesday that some of the candidates had specifically requested that their names be kept secret. As a result, the city manager’s office decided to keep all the names confidential.

“Basically, we’re treating this as a personnel matter,” Penn said.

A five-member committee headed by Penn has been formed to screen the applicants and provide a recommendation to City Manager John Lockwood, probably within the next week. The decision on whom to hire is Lockwood’s.

The others on the screening committee are Bishop George McKinney, of St. Stephen’s Church of God in Christ, who also is chairman of the 35-member task force; Ernie Anderson, consultant to the City Council Public Services and Safety Committee; David Cleveland, a public representative involved in drug abuse prevention matters, and San Diego Police Lt. David Spisak.

Former San Diego Police Sgt. Manny Lopez--who was the choice of Mayor Maureen O’Connor and Lockwood and had the job description tailor-made for him--dropped out of the running this week.

Lopez said that delays in the selection process, which occurred when Councilman Mike Gotch balked at O’Connor’s request that the city’s normal selection process be bypassed to hire Lopez immediately, caused him to rethink his candidacy for what was to be a $33,900, six-month contract. Under new guidelines, the consultant will now receive $65,000 to cover a 15-month salary, office space and a secretary. The consultant also will be prohibited from earning any outside income without Lockwood’s permission.

Lopez, 39, who organized the city’s first Border Crimes Task Force in 1978, said he now wants to pursue private business opportunities. In the last month, Lopez said, he has received a better offer to continue working as a private investigator for a San Diego law firm and has plans to form a new business called Mexlaw that will provide legal and towing services to American tourists who encounter difficulties in Mexico.