San Diego County Elections : Henderson Finds No Glory in Close City Attorney Race

For upstart Bruce Henderson, Wednesday should have been a day of celebration. After all, he was only 4,490 votes behind incumbent City Atty. John Witt, with 26,750 absentees and write-ins yet to be counted.

Win or lose, Henderson had come closer than anybody to beating a man who has held the city attorney’s job since 1969, having pointed out all of Witt’s perceived faults every chance he got with relentless fervor.

But, on Wednesday, Henderson said he felt no great accomplishment in coming so close, nor did he believe that such a strong showing vindicates his loss last November to Valerie Stallings in a district election.

“I don’t even think in those terms,” he said. “If I lose, I guess I shouldn’t have run. I’d rather have all the money I loaned myself for the campaign. In politics, if you run second, you shouldn’t have run.”

His opponent, Witt, reacted more predictably.

Yes, he expected to win by a much wider margin but was not shocked that the vote was close. And yes, he said, he could still lose the election when all the votes are finally tabulated, although he says it is unlikely.

The anti-incumbency feeling so prevalent in politics at every level touched him too, he said, and Henderson effectively attacked him on his failure to inform the mayor and City Council of a secret $100,000 settlement for a city planner’s sexual harassment claim.

If he is returned to office, Witt said, he will not change a thing about his operation, despite Henderson’s receiving 49% of the vote so far.

“I think we’ll continue to provide excellent legal services . . .” said Witt, who maintains that the city attorney’s office is free of problems.

Witt’s reluctance to change his methods of running an office of 263 people, 106 of them attorneys, does not surprise Henderson, who said he ran against Witt because the city attorney has become complacent and has made several errors in judgment in recent years.

“Sometimes, just by running, you can make a major difference,” Henderson said. “But, with John’s attitude, it’s just not possible. The only way to change that office is to have someone else in charge.”

In the next year or so, Henderson believes, Witt will face a number of difficult legal challenges. He is being sued by Robert Spaulding, the planning director who was removed from his job after news of the sexual harassment claim against him came to light.

Witt must make good on the public’s vote to transfer land on which the Mt. Soledad cross sits to a private group, despite the contention by some attorneys that doing so is illegal.

And he has to walk a fine line between the council’s desire to evade a costly secondary sewage treatment and the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s order to do so or risk heavy fines. Witt’s legal advice on the issue will be crucial, Henderson said.

“To some extent, you can say the voters are doing me a favor if they don’t elect me city attorney,” Henderson said. “For a number of years, being city attorney was easy, but now it’s not an easy time to be here. He has some severe problems and tests. If he fails, voters will be sad they reelected him.”