Republicans on Council Gang Up to Grab Aid Funds

An impromptu coalition of San Diego City Council Republicans flexed its political muscle Tuesday, taking away more than $1.7 million in federal aid recommended for Councilman Bob Filner’s 8th Council District and adding funds for programs in four of the five districts they represent.

An incensed Filner claimed that the decision, which came just three weeks after voters approved district elections, was the result of “illegal” meetings held among the five council members in recent days.

“This is what happens when five people get together in advance, illegally, and decide what is going on,” said Filner, his voice shaking with anger after Deputy Mayor Gloria McColl submitted a list of 1989 Community Development Block Grant projects with substantial changes from the recommendations proposed by City Manager John Lockwood for Filner’s district.

McColl Denies Deal

McColl, however, denied that a deal had been struck among the five council members, noting that the council frequently revises Lockwood’s recommendations and has had emotional battles over the funding in the past. This year, the council was forced to divide $12.5 million among agencies and programs that had asked for a total of $50.8 million, she said.

Meanwhile, the power of the same makeshift coalition is being tested in a behind-the-scenes struggle over appointments to council committees, with the same group holding out for selection of Councilman Bruce Henderson to head the Public Facilities and Recreation Committee over Mayor Maureen O’Connor’s choice of Filner, City Hall sources said.

If infrequent allies McColl, Ron Roberts, Ed Struiksma, Bruce Henderson and Judy McCarty continue to support one another, they would have enough votes on the nine-member council to win that battle.

A first test of O’Connor’s plans for the committee chairmen will come today when her proposal to delay the selection for one week is considered by the council’s Rules Committee.

On Friday, O’Connor stunned the council by proposing to abolish the council’s four standing committees, saying that the advent of district-only elections made the work of committees duplicative and divisive for the council.

Delay Was Requested

“Simply put, since the advent of district-only elections, more council members want (chairmanships) than are available,” O’Connor said. “This potentially undermines our teamwork approach.”

She requested a delay in the decision on committee chairmen so that the council could discuss abolishing the committees at a special Dec. 8 meeting.

But McCarty, Roberts and McColl said this week that they are not inclined to vote for the delay, though they said they would consider abolishing committees at a later date. Those three votes would be enough to derail O’Connor’s proposal at the five-member Rules Committee.

City Hall sources said that the major power struggle revolves around the Public Facilities and Recreation Committee, which O’Connor promised to Filner in the belief that Henderson did not want the chairmanship. However, Henderson has since expressed interest in the post, the sources said.

Tentative agreement has been reached to make McCarty this year’s deputy mayor, a largely ceremonial post that rotates among council members depending on seniority. Councilwoman Abbe Wolfsheimer, who joined the council with McCarty four years ago, will be passed over, in part because she broke with the council to support slow-growth Proposition J over the council-sponsored Proposition H in this month’s election.

Filner Plans an Appeal

As mayor, O’Connor heads the council’s powerful Rules Committee, which includes the deputy mayor and the chairmen of the other committees and the Housing Commission.

Tuesday’s vote on the block grants was 5-2, with Pratt and Wolfsheimer opposing the decision. O’Connor was absent and Filner declined to cast a vote, as a protest. Instead, he claimed that the vote was illegal and said he would appeal to the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, which provides the funds.

Although council members have always fought for federal aid for their districts, Councilman Wes Pratt--who, like Filner, said he was surprised by the revised funding list--attributed Tuesday’s decision to the passage of district-only elections Nov. 8.

Under Lockwood’s recommendations, projects in Filner’s district, which has the city’s highest proportion of low-income neighborhoods, would have received $3.07 million. Under the version approved Tuesday, they will receive $1.3 million.

The big loser was a cultural center in San Ysidro, which the council last year promised would be a top priority for block-grant funding. Instead of receiving the $2.5 million recommended by Lockwood, the center received nothing.

McColl and Struiksma were big winners in the decision. McColl’s 3rd District will receive $2.6 million, instead of the $1.7 million recommended by Lockwood. Struiksma will receive $750,000 instead of nothing.

Henderson picked up $134,000 for a Boys’ Club in his district and Roberts added $98,000 for programs in District 2.