Taxpayer Group Sues County Schools Chief
By Eduardo Rueda – Investigative Reporter
The California Taxpayers Action Network (CalTAN) has filed a lawsuit against San Diego County Board of Education Superintendent Randy Ward and Assistant Superintendent Lora Duzyk, alleging the schools chief rigged the process to allow himself to approve his and Duzyk’s salary increases without performance reviews, including a recent raise they took last week on July 1st.
CalTAN filed its lawsuit Thursday, July 7th, and immediately issued a “Request for Preservation of Evidence for Use in Litigation” asking the SDCOE to “
take all steps necessary to preserve any and all information” including “
(Story updated March 8, 2020 @ 5:01 pm)
Super Tuesday brought many national and local races into more clear focus and gave some candidates huge boosts while clearing the field of many others, but two races are still too close to call. As of Friday evening, 250,000, absentee and provisional ballots still remained to be counted, and it may take up to 30 days for final results to be reported
Presidential Race
At the top of the ticket, Democratic candidates for president flipped positions as former Vice-President Joe Biden overtook Vermont US Senator Bernie Sanders as the front runner for the nomination after 18 states have now voted.
Elliott has been criticized for not having reviewed the very lopsided deal that included language on its first page that completely shields the landlord from any liability for any known and unknown defects or problems. That language, which several real estate lawyers claim is not legal under state law, is the reason the City may be on the hook for more than $100 million in repairs needed to bring the building back to be operational, in addition to the $128 million in lease payments required by the agreement.
Attorney Cory Briggs, who is challenging Elliott in the upcoming election, charges that Elliott failed to properly review the agreement or alert the City Council to the potential liabilities before it was signed, and that Elliott did not attempt to address any problems with the deal for three years until this year when the building was unusable and the issues became public.
ENDORSEMENT: Cory Briggs for San Diego City Attorney
Cory Briggs: Taxpayer Advocate Fighting for Us
Challenging an incumbent elected official for public office is usually an uphill battle, but the task is even more difficult when it’s the City’s chief lawyer and also someone with the power to prosecute criminal misdemeanors: in this case, the San Diego City Attorney Mara Elliott.
But someone in the City has the background and the courage to call out Elliott for failing to protect the rights – and dollars – of taxpayers, and has a long history of winning legal challenges that may seem to insiders as frivolous, technical, or even nit-picky but have already saved us nearly one billion dollars.
By Eduardo Rueda, Investigative Reporter
The Sweetwater Union High School District has settled a lawsuit and agreed to turn over documents requested more than 2 years ago.
The lawsuit, filed by Chula Vista taxpayer Kevin O’Neill back in 2013, claimed the District and its lawyers refused to disclose invoices, reports, and other documents related to a company called ESI International. The company, headed by former FBI agent Robert Price, was paid by the District to conduct investigative services, including background checks.
Critics of the District have claimed ESI International had been used to investigate and dig up dirt on anyone that voiced concerns or criticisms of the District or its board. Between 2012 and 2014, the District approved $215,000 in payments to ESI International.