Charity Interested in Hiring Ex-Councilwoman

Valerie Stallings, who resigned Monday from the San Diego City Council and pleaded guilty to accepting unreported gifts, could go to work for a program for the homeless run by a Catholic priest who specializes in the redemption of fallen political figures.

Msgr. Joseph Carroll, who runs the nationally acclaimed St. Vincent de Paul Village in downtown San Diego, said he is eager to talk to Stallings about a possible job. Her tasks would include lobbying governmental agencies, Carroll said Tuesday.

“We think she could be a good asset to our program,” he said. “Whoever hires Valerie will be getting a gold mine.”

Stallings left town Monday and plans no job decisions until she returns, according to friends.

Carroll has provided jobs for former Illinois Gov. Dan Walker and Rita Lavelle, a top official with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency during the Reagan administration. Walker was imprisoned for bank fraud and perjury; Lavelle was sent to prison after being convicted of lying to Congress.

Stallings, 61, resigned just hours before pleading guilty to misdemeanor counts of taking unreported gifts from Padres baseball team owner John Moores and then continuing to vote on issues involving a proposed Padres ballpark.