Questions for the City Attorney Candidates
Monday, March 31, 2008 | The last section, “Scott Peters, a lawyer,” describes the career of one of the candidates to the city of San Diego lawyer. Article What is not experimental, so that the issue is related that the skills and experience that we should seek voters, as we evaluate applicants for the post.
My feeling for the office, and I am currently working as a prosecutor, is that voters are better done by someone with training and experience in the fields of law.
1) Contracts: The city of San Diego occurs in a number of contracts that are signed every year of negotiations, the author or the City Attorney’s Office. The voter may not want to know what kind of training and experience, a candidate has the right transaction. How many multi-million dollar contracts, the candidate has prepared and negotiated in his career? For example, the use of hundreds of millions of dollars, in addition to contracts 1995 1997 1998 between the city and the metropolitan area and chargers and the Padres, what are the problems, candidates can identify with these agreements and why can we, as voters expect that the candidate would be better, as she had during the drafting of John Witt or Casey Gwinn?
2). Torts: millions of dollars worth of claims against the city each year. What experience have each candidate in crimes? If a candidate according to a major event prozessierte tort?
3) Criminal Law: Municipalities of more than 40000 files criminal cases each year. The criminal section of the budget is almost a third of the City Attorney’s total budget. So, given the importance of this activity, that the qualifications and experience of candidates, in the criminal law?
4). CEQA: The California Environmental Quality Act was passed there several decades, the voters of California. Its rules and regulations are returning to the city. When candidates according to prozessierte a CEQA case? If candidates have submitted comments in writing to CEQA topics that can check public opinion?
5). From the Appellate Body to Practice: The city is constantly faced with calls for legal issues. Based on one of the candidates, the Court of Appeal ever written shortly? Given that the letter is presented publicly registration, the candidates for voters to evaluate?
6) Municipal Law: What training do you have candidates in municipal elections law? What is the difference between a city and a charter General Law city in California? When candidates according to prozessierte a case in which the communal law was critical questions? Has it right letter files, which allow you to create public records and would be responsible for the audit.
7) Law Office Management: The City Attorney’s Office is one of the largest law firms in our city. What are the qualifications and experience of candidates are under consideration? Have they already have a managing partner in a law firm - a company with more than two or three lawyers?
8). Continuing Education: California mandates that lawyers for their legal skills up-to-date. Over the past five years, the number of hours of legal training has finished each of the candidates and in what areas of study?
This list does not pretend to be exhaustive attempt. One could add many other important issues such as the American Disabilities Act, the law on balance, etc. To the extent that applicants must have specific training and experience in the fields of law, especially important for the city The candidates should be invited, and to discuss.
A physician may be the best pediatrician in San Diego, but the chances are good that you want to go to some other very different with a physician training and experience, surgery on the brain.
The mission of the City of San Diego is the lawyer has not changed. The training and experience is crucial. Initial information, which for us is the role of the press.