SAN DIEGO —
Critics who say legal advice from San Diego’s city attorney is sometimes tainted by politics are proposing a November 2024 ballot measure that would chop the job into two parts — one person for criminal cases and another for civil matters.
The civil side of the job, which includes handling litigation and advising city officials on legal matters, would no longer be an elected position. Instead, the City Council would hire a lawyer to handle those duties.
The criminal side of the job, which includes prosecuting misdemeanors like drunk driving and domestic violence, would handled by someone who would continue to be elected by city voters every four years.
The person handling the criminal side would continue to be called city attorney. The person handling the civil side would be called municipal counsel.
Opponents of such a change say it’s crucial to have the lawyer handling civil matters be answerable only to the voters, not to the council members who appointed that person and could fire them at any time.
Supporters say elected city attorneys’ political ambitions or ideology can taint the laws they write and the legal advice they give to the mayor and council. They also say the scrutiny elected officials face can affect the advice given.
The proposed change got strong support from the City Council four years ago, but it didn’t make the November 2020 ballot because there wasn’t enough time to complete negotiations with labor unions representing employees who...
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