Wednesday, July 20, 2005

On Sunday, San Diego Mayor Dick Murphy resigned. In his five years in office Murphy brought San Diego to the edge of bankruptcy. His reelection last year was decided in the courts when his write in opponent, who appeard to receive more votes, saw her victory invalidated because of inconsistencies in the way some write in ballots were filled out.

On Tuesday, acting mayor, Councilman Michael Zucchet was schedude to preside over the city council. Zucchet missed the meeting having just been convicted of "conspiracy, extortion and fraud charges for accepting campaign contributions and cash from a Las Vegas strip club owner who wanted them to help loosen the city's no-touch laws involving strippers and their customers."

Today, Councilman
Ralph Inzunza, will resign after his conviction on the same charges.

San Diego's political leadership hasn't changed much in the 20 years since Mayor Roger
Hedgecock was convicted for conspiracy and perjury.

As he imposed sentence, Judge William L. Todd Jr. said he had no doubt of Hedgecock’s guilt and that he had “violated the public trust in an onerous, onerous way... Your conduct ... is reprehensible in every sense of the word because you violated the public trust, completely, over and over again.” Facing automatic ouster under state law, Hedgecock had resigned at 3 p.m., December 5, 1985, just minutes before being sentenced.
San Diego will recover. Just as Roger Hedgecock has recoved to become a right wing radio talk show host and even pinch hit for fellow scofflaw, Rush Limbaugh.