CV Mayor Accuses Union of Quid-Pro-Quo Offer

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1 hour ago
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Chula Vista Mayor John McCann on Tuesday accused a prominent San Diego County labor union of trying to strong arm him into supporting a controversial ballot measure — by promising not to fund his opponent in this year’s mayoral race in exchange for his support.

McCann said a representative of Local 89 of the Laborers International Union of North America made the offer during a recent meeting to discuss a charter reform measure the union has been seeking to place before Chula Vista voters in November.

The measure, which would give city councilmembers a large pay raise and make other significant changes to city government, has faced strong opposition from residents.

“I was informed if I supported placing the ballot measure on the ballot they would not fund my opponent in the election,” McCann said from the dais during debate over the measure at Tuesday’s Chula Vista City Council meeting.

“He was trying to make a deal with me,” McCann said of Kelvin Barrios, LIUNA’s director of government affairs, who met with the mayor last month to discuss the ballot measure.

“I feel it was unethical,” McCann said. “I don’t believe in a quid pro quo.”

Barrios emphatically denied McCann’s accusation and said in fact it was McCann who “wanted assurance we wouldn’t spend money against him in the general election.”

“I said I can’t make those assurances,” Barrios said. “In no way was I trying to tie consideration of [the ballot measure] to political spending… This is the mayor making a false accusation.

After hearing from more than 45 public speakers, almost all of them opposed to the ballot measure, the City Council voted 4-1 to pull the measure from the November ballot and refer it to the city’s Charter Review Commission for further consideration and public input.