Spaulding Asks Reinstatement as Planning Chief

In a strange twist to the San Diego City Hall sex-and-hush-money scandal, former Planning Director Robert Spaulding is seeking reinstatement to his job, which he quit amid controversy over a secret $100,000 payment to a former city planner with whom he had an affair, Spaulding’s attorney said Tuesday.

Charging that Spaulding was “practically hanged when no crime was committed,” San Diego attorney Michael Aguirre notified city attorneys Tuesday that Spaulding wants to return to the $103,000-a-year job he left under pressure when the scandal broke last month.

But shocked City Council members, several of whom referred to Spaulding’s demand as “real chutzpah,” seemed disinclined Tuesday to reconsider their May 13 decision to accept his resignation.

Some council members, in fact, view the reinstatement request as little more than a negotiating gambit by Spaulding aimed at securing a large severance settlement from the city, or a possible preliminary to a lawsuit.

“Not a chance,” Councilman Ron Roberts said. “Bob resigned. We’re all aware of the reasons why he resigned, and I don’t see any chance that the council is going to undo that resignation.”

Meanwhile, Spaulding, in his first detailed public comments since the scandal broke, said in an interview Tuesday that he believes he could still be a credible City Hall department head despite all that has transpired.

“If we didn’t think that could be done, we wouldn’t be seeking reinstatement,” Spaulding said. “I think I can still do the job.”

Spaulding’s wholly unexpected reinstatement request came one day after the council asked local and state authorities to consider disciplining city employees who either helped arrange the $100,000 settlement to former Gaslamp Quarter planner Susan M. Bray or failed to notify the council of the deal.

Though Spaulding has characterized his affair with Bray as consensual, Bray filed a sexual-harassment claim against the city because of it.

As a result, then-City Manager John Lockwood, who has said he feared the city could face a large lawsuit loss if the case ever reached court, made the settlement offer to Bray, in consultation with a handful of other city officials.

He chose to keep the deal secret, Lockwood has said, partly out of a desire to protect Spaulding’s wife and children from public embarrassment.

Despite the council members’ eagerness to put the unpleasant episode behind them, Aguirre said Tuesday that he believes there is “a very reasonable chance” that the council will allow Spaulding to withdraw his resignation.

“No irretrievable steps have been taken--it’s not too late to undo this,” Aguirre said. “No one else has been hired (as planning director). You’ve still got someone whose performance was never questioned and is eager to go back and roll up his shirt sleeves and do a good job for the city so that people remember him for that rather than this one transgression.”

Though he acknowledged that he has “been through the wringer” in recent weeks, Spaulding said he does not believe that seeking reinstatement could mean more emotional distress for himself and his family.

“Do you really think it would be behind us, even if we didn’t do this?” Spaulding said. “It’s hard to see how it could be any worse.”

The basis for Spaulding’s reinstatement request is the contention that he was improperly forced out of the job he held for more than three years, Aguirre said. His affair with Bray itself was “not a fireable offense,” the attorney argued, adding that the city did not follow “proper procedural safeguards” in its handling of the case.

When news of the secret settlement for Bray broke last month, Mayor Maureen O’Connor immediately demanded that Spaulding submit a letter of resignation. In a closed-door meeting attended by Spaulding three days later, the council unanimously accepted the resignation.

O’Connor noted Tuesday that Spaulding repeated his offer to resign in the closed council hearing. Specifically asked whether that offer was being made “freely,” Spaulding replied in the affirmative, adding that he had consulted attorneys on the matter, a City Hall source said.

Moreover, the city planning director is appointed by the mayor and council and serves at their pleasure, giving them wide latitude in hiring and firing. In addition, Spaulding served without a contract during his tenure, city attorneys said.

Although not disputing the council’s “clear discretion over hiring,” Aguirre argued that Spaulding did not receive “due process” in his closed hearing before the council.

City policy forbids sexual harassment, and city personnel officers advise supervisors against affairs with subordinates because of problems that are likely to arise. A relationship between a boss and his or her subordinate, however, is not considered sexual harassment if both parties engage in the affair willingly as consenting adults.

In a related development Tuesday, the council, in closed session, apparently edged closer to an agreement with news organizations that have demanded release of special counsel Josiah Neeper’s report on the Spaulding-Bray case, the city’s settlement agreement with Bray and other documents related to the case.

Acting on instructions from the council about which information it is willing to make public, city attorneys have scheduled a meeting for 10 a.m. today with attorneys representing the Times, the San Diego Union and Tribune and at least one television station to discuss release of the documents.

Council members have repeatedly said they want to make details of the matter public but fear a lawsuit if they breach the confidentiality agreement with Bray.