Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

City attorney's office accused of blocking campaign application

Wannabe District 2 candidate Bryan Pease files complaint in federal court

Image from Bryan Pease's Twitter profile
Image from Bryan Pease's Twitter profile

Bryan Pease, an animal-rights activist and attorney best known for his defense of La Jolla seals, is fighting to be included on the list of potential appointees to fill newly elected mayor Kevin Faulconer's council seat.

Getting his name cleared for appointment has not been simple. In a March 18 press release, he says the city attorney's office is blocking him from filing the necessary paperwork for political and personal reasons.

In response, Pease has filed a federal complaint against the city and city clerk Elizabeth Maland; Pease is seeking a restraining order against the city attorney's alleged directive.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The complaint states that city staff denied Pease's application for not meeting the residency requirements established in San Diego's Municipal Code. Pease claims that he has lived within the district for over a year but only recently got around to changing his address on his voter-registration card.

"The Republican-controlled city attorney's office here instructed city staff on March 17 not to process the application of registered Democrat and attorney Bryan Pease to seek appointment to the interim city council seat currently vacant due to the recent mayoral election," reads a statement from Pease.

Pease and city attorney Jan Goldsmith's office have entered into numerous legal disputes over the years, including the well-publicized fight over a rope barrier at La Jolla’s Children's Pool and the case of Ray Lutz, who was arrested for registering voters in the Civic Center Plaza during the San Diego Occupy movement.

"The City Attorney's office has in the past subjected my clients and me personally to criminal prosecution for protected expressive activity, and now they are seeking to prevent me from being a voice for the citizens of San Diego on the City Council," stated Pease.

A deputy city attorney calls the complaint "absurd."

“The lawsuit is an absurd interpretation of the voter registration requirements in the San Diego Municipal Code. The application was rejected because Mr. Pease did not meet legal requirements about voter registration and residency in the Council district. Mr. Pease contends that he lived in the appropriate district from 2004 to 2007 and that dates between those years should count toward the requirement that he be registered to vote there 'for at least 30 calendar days prior to' filing his papers.

"The Registrar of Voters confirmed that Mr. Pease had not been registered in the District for 30 days prior to attempting to file his papers. Under the interpretation in Mr. Pease’s lawsuit, anyone could seek office if they simply lived in a District at any time in their life.

"Mr. Pease’s decisions about where to live and register to vote are his own. The City Clerk had a ministerial duty to accept only those applications that met legal requirements. This is not a partisan issue, but a straightforward application of the law as it has been historically and consistently applied. While the City Attorney’s Office routinely advises the City Clerk, City Attorney Jan Goldsmith was not involved in this decision."

(corrected 3/20, 11:10 a.m.)

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Centennial Salute to San Diego’s Military, East Village Block Party, Birding Basics Class

Events March 29-March 30, 2024
Image from Bryan Pease's Twitter profile
Image from Bryan Pease's Twitter profile

Bryan Pease, an animal-rights activist and attorney best known for his defense of La Jolla seals, is fighting to be included on the list of potential appointees to fill newly elected mayor Kevin Faulconer's council seat.

Getting his name cleared for appointment has not been simple. In a March 18 press release, he says the city attorney's office is blocking him from filing the necessary paperwork for political and personal reasons.

In response, Pease has filed a federal complaint against the city and city clerk Elizabeth Maland; Pease is seeking a restraining order against the city attorney's alleged directive.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The complaint states that city staff denied Pease's application for not meeting the residency requirements established in San Diego's Municipal Code. Pease claims that he has lived within the district for over a year but only recently got around to changing his address on his voter-registration card.

"The Republican-controlled city attorney's office here instructed city staff on March 17 not to process the application of registered Democrat and attorney Bryan Pease to seek appointment to the interim city council seat currently vacant due to the recent mayoral election," reads a statement from Pease.

Pease and city attorney Jan Goldsmith's office have entered into numerous legal disputes over the years, including the well-publicized fight over a rope barrier at La Jolla’s Children's Pool and the case of Ray Lutz, who was arrested for registering voters in the Civic Center Plaza during the San Diego Occupy movement.

"The City Attorney's office has in the past subjected my clients and me personally to criminal prosecution for protected expressive activity, and now they are seeking to prevent me from being a voice for the citizens of San Diego on the City Council," stated Pease.

A deputy city attorney calls the complaint "absurd."

“The lawsuit is an absurd interpretation of the voter registration requirements in the San Diego Municipal Code. The application was rejected because Mr. Pease did not meet legal requirements about voter registration and residency in the Council district. Mr. Pease contends that he lived in the appropriate district from 2004 to 2007 and that dates between those years should count toward the requirement that he be registered to vote there 'for at least 30 calendar days prior to' filing his papers.

"The Registrar of Voters confirmed that Mr. Pease had not been registered in the District for 30 days prior to attempting to file his papers. Under the interpretation in Mr. Pease’s lawsuit, anyone could seek office if they simply lived in a District at any time in their life.

"Mr. Pease’s decisions about where to live and register to vote are his own. The City Clerk had a ministerial duty to accept only those applications that met legal requirements. This is not a partisan issue, but a straightforward application of the law as it has been historically and consistently applied. While the City Attorney’s Office routinely advises the City Clerk, City Attorney Jan Goldsmith was not involved in this decision."

(corrected 3/20, 11:10 a.m.)

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Melissa Etheridge, The Imaginary Amazon

Events April 1-April 3, 2024
Next Article

Making Love to Goats, Rachmaninoff, and Elgar

Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.