SMOLENS Fallout intense over Ash St.

and drew criticism from civil libertarians, privacy advocates and TRUST SD Coalition (Transparent and Responsible Use of Surveillance Technology), in large part because of the lack of guidelines.

The sensors were turned off in June when a contract ran out, but the cameras were still being monitored by the San Diego Police Department. Faulconer’s plan to formally turn over the program to police was to go before the council’s Public Safety & Livable Neighborhoods Committee last week, but he withdrew it in the face of opposition.

Monica Montgomery Steppe, who chairs the committee, said the issue “is not whether surveillance technology can be used as a public safety tool. The issue is transparency within

SDPD.”

Faulconer said the cameras have made a difference. “We’ve seen killers caught, innocent people exonerated, and crimes solved.” he said on Twitter.

The mayor also said he had proposed an oversight policy nine months ago and accused the council of stalling. That proposal was too narrowly focused, responded Geneviéve Joneswright, executive director of Community Advocates for Just and Moral Governance, which is part of TRUST SD.

While the streetlights dispute is cooling down, the fight over who’s to blame for 101 Ash St. is getting hotter.

A snapshot of the tortured history: The city considered buying the 19-story building just north of City Hall outright but didn’t for various reasons. A key one was that the $72.5 million price tag was well over the appraisal of $62 million (which was later bumped up to $67.1 million). Because of that, the city couldn’t borrow money to buy. So, Faulconer went for a lease-to-own agreement that would cost

$128 million over 20 years.

The plan was for some 800 employees to move in after minimal work on the building — basically a $10,000 exterior power washing. But later, it was determined that more people should work there and the mayor and council authorized a $30 million remodel. That work disturbed asbestos, which changed things entirely. The general contractor’s estimate came in at $115 million to deal with the asbestos and work on building systems.

A previous owner of 101 Ash St., Sandy Shapery, has written op-eds for The San Diego Union-tribune and the Voice of San Diego criticizing city decisions and taking aim at the general contracting company, Kitchell, for proposing more work than needed at a cost far too high. Shapery said many older buildings have asbestos and are safe as long as it is enclosed or encased and kept out of interior space. That was the case with much of 101 Ash St., he said.

The fallout over the real estate deal has been widespread

and intense. Reports examining the overall situation said the city didn’t perform due diligence, entered a one-sided contract that favored the landlord/seller and failed to have the building properly inspected. Two officials involved in the transaction no longer work for the city.

Council members have since said they weren’t given all the vital information, particularly about the appraisals. Accusations have flown at the mayor and the City Attorney’s Office for signing off on the deal, and at council members for approving the agreement and the remodeling. Sharp questions of who really knew what and when have been raised.

Then, an explosive report by NBC7 based on a confidential legal memo about 101 Ash St. was retracted because the television station’s copy of the document included a fabricated footnote about the roles of former council member Todd Gloria, now an Assembly member running for mayor, and City Attorney Mara Elliott, who is running for re-election.

Council member Barbara Bry, who is running against Gloria, and attorney Cory Briggs, who is facing Elliott, have made the 101 Ash St. debacle central to their campaigns, with repeated references to the NBC7 report. The television station, which kept the initial story online for a week, stands by its other reporting in the article and published a revised version without information about the footnote.

Meanwhile, four lawyers, including former City Attorney Mike Aguirre, filed a lawsuit seeking to block city payments on the lease (before Faulconer acted). Last week, Aguirre and his law partner, Maria Severson, issued a letter demanding the city withhold the release of documents pertaining to the deal and suggested Elliott was not involved in negotiating the lease, according to the Voice of San Diego.

They said the work on the lease occurred in 2016 when Elliott’s predecessor, Jan Goldsmith, was still in office. They also said he had tasked

another deputy with taking the lead. Goldsmith became city attorney by defeating incumbent Aguirre in 2008.

Elliott was a top Goldsmith lieutenant before winning the city attorney’s race in November 2016. Goldsmith, who was termed out of office, recently told La Prensa he wasn’t involved in the contract negotiations.

As the 101 Ash St. story continues to unfold, the dynamics are largely being driven by quite a cast of characters: the city attorney, a candidate for city attorney, two former city attorneys, two candidates for mayor and a termed-out mayor considering a run for higher office.

Tweet of the Week

Goes to Erica Holloway (@erica_holloway), North County Times alum, now a public relations consultant in Houston.

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving. Albert Einstein”

michael.smolens @sduniontribune.com