City hires outside attorneys to defend Building Industry Association lawsuit over density bonus

San Diego Daily Transcript:

The city of Encinitas has hired outside counsel to defend itself against a suit brought by the Building Industry Association of San Diego challenging the city's amended policies for enforcing the state's density bonus law.

Encinitas has brought Goldfarb and Lipman LLP, which is based in the Bay Area and has a San Diego office, to defend against the suit, according to a substitution of attorney filing earlier this week.

The attorneys listed from Goldfard and Lipman as representing the city were Barbara Kautz and Celia Lee.

Previously, City Attorney Glenn Sabine had represented Encinitas in defending against the complaint filed last fall.

This will be very welcome news for Encinitas residents who viewed the assignment of Glenn Sabine as a sign that the city was not interested in vigorously defending the suit.

Council unanimously believes Vina is doing an "excellent job"

...  as per Mayor Barth at tonight's council meeting.

They're also supporting comedy attorney Glenn Sabine and continuing his contract.

Council accepting public comments on Gus Vina, Glenn Sabine performance

From Deputy Mayor Lisa Shaffer's newsletter:

City Manager/City Attorney Performance Evaluation: The Council adopted the proposed evaluation process that Council member Gaspar and I developed in our subcommittee. This means that next month the Council and senior staff will have the opportunity to complete a detailed evaluation form for the City Manager and the City Attorney to provide their input.Members of the public are welcome to submit their comments as well, though for legal reasons, the City will not formally solicit public input (we are caught between the employees' rights to privacy with respect to personnel records and the Public Records Act which makes any public comments openly available to anyone who asks.)  The Council will review a compilation of all the feedback and share our assessment with the two individuals under our direct responsibility.

As a resource for those who would like to submit comments to the council, here are Glenn Sabine's greatest hits:

1) Wasted thousands of dollars on expensive outside attorneys for Teresa Barth's ridiculous harassment claim.

2) Wasted almost $100,000 in frivolous fight against public access to public records. See also (1) (2) (3)

3) So clueless about the First Amendment that he allowed the council to try to censor political speech.

4) We need secrecy in government so bloggers can't criticize us.

Frankly, Sabine's performance is so appalling that it is an embarrassment that this council didn't fire him as its first action.

Gus Vina has had less time on the job, but arguably has already been more destructive to Encinitas than Sabine. Vina is the one person most responsible for the current climate of divisiveness and distrust between the public and the city council, having led the council into the Prop A fiasco with his hiring of notorious developer attorneys Rutan and Tucker to write a slanted analysis. Vina also has an atrocious record on financial management, and just persuaded the council to hire a $130,000 spin doctor to explain away his failures. And he proposed and got a $20,000 citizen satisfaction survey that was a transparent election year ploy to protect the incumbents (which he also failed at).

Encinitans who would like to submit their comments on Sabine and Vina's performance can contact their council members here:

Teresa Barth, Mayor: tbarth@encinitasca.gov

Lisa Shaffer, Deputy Mayor: lshaffer@encinitasca.gov

Kristin Gaspar: kgaspar@encinitasca.gov

Tony Kranz: tkranz@encinitasca.gov

Mark Muir: mmuir@encinitasca.gov

City ordered to pay $54,862.50 attorney's fees for frivolous fight against Public Records Act

Here's the judge's order:
Attorney's fees order, Cummins vs. Encinitas

That's in addition to the tens of thousands they paid comic attorney Glenn Sabine to repeatedly and consistently lose his frivolous challenges.

Exit trivia question: what council member's campaign web site promised:

I understand that tax revenue is not the government's money or the city's money…it is your money, and , [sic] I pledge to use it wisely. I will not tie your money up with frivolous complaints or attorney's fees.

Answer here.

City lined Glenn Sabine's pockets to the tune of $25,000 in futile attempt to keep road report secret

... and they may have to pay $40,000 for Kevin Cummins' CalAware attorney.

Oh, what a tangled web we weave...

The council will attempt to defend the indefensible to the public at tonight's meeting. Should be very entertaining.

Appeals court to Encinitas city lawyer Glenn Sabine: You have absolutely no case!

It was bad enough when Glenn Sabine used public money to fight public access to public records. He claimed that oversight from public/media/bloggers would make it impossible for staff to conduct city business in secret (which is the entire point of public records acts -- you're not supposed to be doing secret deals and hiding financial problems from the public!!!).

But when a judge told Sabine that yes, the Public Records Act did indeed apply to Encinitas no matter how much they wanted to hide their dirty laundry from public scrutiny, Sabine persuaded the city council to appeal! In a blatant display of reckless disregard for both the spirit of public records acts and limited city financial resources, Maggie Houlihan, Jerome Stocks, Jim Bond, and Kristen Gaspar voted to waste more money filing a meritless appeal trying to keep an old road report secret from the public. What are they so desperate to hide?

Well, on the same day the Virgin of Guadalupe appeared in Cardiff with a message of hope and change for Encinitas voters, the 4th District California Court of Appeal has told Glenn Sabine to pound sand and turn over the public records!

The arrogance and paranoia of this council knows no bounds. They are already threatening to waste more money taking this completely frivolous appeal to the California Supreme Court. All so Encinitas residents can't see some public road report that might be politically embarrassing to the council majority.

City to waste more public money on futile legal appeal that public doesn't have a right to see public documents

Absurd.

First, what could possibly be in an old, draft report on road maintenance that the city is so terrified of the public seeing? Did they find Jimmy Hoffa's body under 101?

Second, did they not read Judge Timothy Casserly's ruling? He shredded their ridiculous argument that city workers should be shielded from public questions about public money. The Public Records Act is there for a reason!

While Glenn Sabine has apparently taken it upon himself to file an appeal, the council is meeting in a closed session tomorrow.

I hope Kristin Gaspar will honor her campaign promises about open government, break ranks with Jerome Stocks who seems to be on some Nixonian paranoid control trip, and put an end to this silliness.

Glenn Sabine: We need secrecy in government so bloggers can't criticize us

Really, that's his excuse.

In KC's public records lawsuit over the roads report:

Sabine also questioned the use of social media that allows preliminary documents to be sent out on blogs and websites though they are not a finished product.

"Let the staff do its job," he said.

Assistant City Attorney Greg Lusitana said releasing draft documents can create problems for staff.

"The city needs to be able to have a decision-making process free from second-guessing by public questioning of funding options," said Lusitana.

It's an arrogant, condescending attitude toward the public reminiscent of Nancy Pelosi. "We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it."