Heather Ferbert

Heather Ferbert for San Diego City Attorney

Born

Raised

Married

Children

Party

Education

<h2>Meet Heather:</h2><img src="https://run.imgix.net/977f5bae-273a-45ee-879e-4cef75cd0ad1/57cc4af9-7699-4c76-93b7-2e4f90a3aece/57cc4af9-7699-4c76-93b7-2e4f90a3aece.jpeg?ixlib=js-3.8.0&amp;bri=0&amp;con=0&amp;sat=0&amp;high=0&amp;shad=0&amp;usm=0&amp;rect=741%2C377%2C4590%2C4138&amp;w=1500" alt="" caption="" align="right" alignwidth="40" tiltdirection="left" variant="framed"><h3>Chief Deputy City Attorney Heather Ferbert works every day to uphold the law and deliver for San Diego neighborhoods. As City Attorney, Heather Ferbert will:</h3><ul><li>Launch the Housing Protection Unit to preserve the affordable housing we simply can’t afford to lose.</li><li>Keep San Diego Safe. Enforce the law and give our prosecutors the tools and resources they need to do their jobs.&nbsp;</li><li>Protect taxpayers and working families with a stronger consumer protection unit to go after financial scams, illegal pollution, and fair pay violations.</li><li>Always stand up for women whether that means going after domestic abusers, providing support to survivors, or defending the right to choose.</li><li>Uphold the law equally. Ensure city officials act justly. No political favors.</li></ul><h3>Unmatched Legal Experience</h3>​Qualified. Committed. Ready To Lead. That’s Chief Deputy City Attorney Heather Ferbert.&nbsp;&nbsp;As Chief Deputy City Attorney, Heather has defended women’s rights, opened emergency homeless shelters, protected our parks and waterways, and stopped million-dollar real estate fraud scams. Heather currently leads the City’s legal team that advises the City Council and ensures City officials follow the law.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Previously, Heather was an attorney for the Housing Commission and other public agencies.<h3> The Law, Not Politics</h3>For Heather, it’s always about making a real difference for the people – never politics. As Chief Deputy City Attorney, Heather delivered on some of the toughest challenges facing San Diego.<ul><li>Broke the gridlock to open emergency homeless shelters and new treatment centers</li><li>Stopped multi-million real estate fraud scams and uncovered financial waste and mismanagement</li><li>Stood up for abortion rights by strengthening San Diego’s pro-choice protections after the Supreme Court ruling</li></ul><h3>A Working mom Who Gets it</h3>A mother and attorney for the people, Heather lives by her values of integrity, hard work, and leading by example. And she knows the struggles families and women often face because she’s lived them, working her way up in a male-dominated field while proudly raising her family.Heather is a graduate of the University of San Diego School of Law. She’s active in the Lawyer's Club of San Diego, the women’s bar association, and is an adjunct professor at the San Diego School of Law. Heather trains new lawyers hoping to inspire them to careers in public interest and to be engaged members of the legal community.&nbsp;She lives in the Normal Heights neighborhood with her husband, Andrew, and their daughter.

Put an introductory paragraph to your issues page here. It could be about specific key issues your campaign is focusing on or your campaign’s more general mission and approach.

<h3>Fighting for Our Community</h3>These are some of the top issues our campaign is focused on. Learn more about our issues <a href="/issues" target="" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">here</a>.

Heather's Top Priorities

<ul><li>Commitment to Legal Integrity: Prioritizes the law over politics, ensuring unbiased legal enforcement and decision-making.</li><li>Independent Leadership: Proven ability to navigate through city dysfunction and stand up for what’s right.</li></ul>

Commitment to Legal Integrity: Prioritizes the law over politics, ensuring unbiased legal enforcement and decision-making.Independent Leadership: Proven ability to navigate through city dysfunction and stand up for what’s right.

Write a short blurb about an issue your campaign is highlighting. Try to keep the text a similar size between the various issue blurbs.

Upholding the Law &amp; Moving San Diego Forward

<ul><li>Crackdown on Real Estate and Fraud Scams: Heather successfully stopped multi-million dollar scams defrauding taxpayers.</li><li>Guardian of Public Resources: Vigilant watchdog against waste, fraud, and inside political deals.</li><li>Strengthen the Consumer Protection Unit: Ensure effective use of taxpayer money and don’t accept “business as usual” as an excuse for wasteful practices.</li></ul>

Crackdown on Real Estate and Fraud Scams: Heather successfully stopped multi-million dollar scams defrauding taxpayers.Guardian of Public Resources: Be a watchdog against waste, fraud, and inside political deals.Strengthen the Consumer Protection Unit: Ensure effective use of taxpayer money and don’t accept “business as usual” as an excuse for wasteful practices.

Fighting Fraud and Protecting Taxpayers

As leaders committed to the welfare of San Diego's youth, Heather Ferbert, Chief Deputy City Attorney, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IJosQxNzsN-KTLCAWSzE7fZG-_6HKD-e/view">proposes a bold initiative to safeguard our children</a> with the support of Shana Hazan, San Diego Unified School Board President. Recognizing the increasing threats to child safety, this plan is designed to address critical issues impactin

Child Safety Plan

<ul><li>Strengthening Red Flag Laws: Expand San Diego's Red Flag Gun Law to more effectively remove illegal guns from the streets.</li><li>Targeting Illegal Firearms: Focus on confiscating ghost guns and firearms from people who shouldn’t have them.</li></ul>

Strengthening Red Flag Laws: Expand San Diego's Red Flag Gun Law to more effectively remove illegal guns from the streets.Targeting Illegal Firearms: Focus on confiscating ghost guns and firearms from people who shouldn’t have them.

Stopping Gun Violence

<ul><li>Increase Affordable Housing: Provide airtight legal advice to the city to stop frivolous lawsuits and project-killing delays.</li><li>Protect Existing Housing Supply: Crack down on illegal conversions and enforce the city’s short-term rental law.</li></ul>

Increase Affordable Housing: Provide airtight legal advice to the city to stop frivolous lawsuits and project-killing delays.Protect Existing Housing Supply: Crack down on illegal conversions and enforce the city’s short-term rental law.

Housing Protection Unit

<ul><li>Homeless Encampment Clean-Up Laws: Wrote the law to clean up homeless encampments and added family shelters.</li><li>Comprehensive Homeless Strategies: Enforce the law and offer shelter to every homeless person in need.&nbsp;</li><li>Mental Health Treatment: Work with law enforcement and behavioral health clinicians to fully implement CARE Court.</li></ul>

Homeless Encampment Clean-Up Laws: Wrote the law to clean up homeless encampments and added family shelters.Comprehensive Homeless Strategies: Enforce the law and offer shelter to every homeless person in need.&nbsp;Mental Health Treatment: Work with law enforcement and behavioral health clinicians to fully implement CARE Court.

Addressing Homelessness and Public Health

<ul><li>Safeguarding Children and Seniors: Protect children and seniors from domestic abuse and expand San Diego’s Family Justice Center</li><li>Supporting Women’s Rights: Defended San Diego women’s abortion rights, particularly following the reversal of Roe v. Wade.</li><li>Defending Constitutional Freedoms: Fight discrimination against racial minority groups, the LGBTQ community, and people with disabilities.</li></ul>

Safeguarding Children and Seniors: Protect children and seniors from domestic abuse and expand San Diego’s Family Justice CenterSupporting Women’s Rights: Defended San Diego women’s abortion rights, particularly following the reversal of Roe v. Wade.Defending Constitutional Freedoms: Fight discrimination against racial minority groups, the LGBTQ community, and people with disabilities.

Protecting Vulnerable Populations

<ul><li>Equip Prosecutors for Success: Strengthen our justice system by ensuring prosecutors have the necessary tools and resources to effectively handle cases, prioritizing public safety and justice.</li><li>Stop Fentanyl: Aggressively go after the opioid black market that’s poisoning our kids and cut off the supply of drugs into our community.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li><li>Improve Re-entry Programs: Enhance reintegration of formerly incarcerated individuals into society, reducing recidivism and promoting restorative justice for non-violent offenders.</li></ul>

Equip Prosecutors for Success: Strengthen our justice system by ensuring prosecutors have the necessary tools and resources to effectively handle cases, prioritizing public safety and justice.Stop Fentanyl: Aggressively go after illegal fentanyl dealers that are poisoning our kids and cut off the supply of drugs into our community.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Keeping San Diego Safe

<ul><li>Go After Corporate Polluters: Aggressively pursue legal action against corporations responsible for pollution, ensuring they are held accountable for their impact on the environment and public health.</li><li>Promote Sustainable Practices: Advocate for and enforce environmental laws that encourage sustainable development and protect our public lands for future generations to enjoy.</li></ul>

Go After Corporate Polluters: Aggressively pursue legal action against corporations responsible for pollution, ensuring they are held accountable for their impact on the environment and public health.Promote Sustainable Practices: Advocate for and enforce environmental laws that encourage sustainable development and protect our public lands for future generations to enjoy.

Protecting the Environment

<h3>Contribute now to support our campaign!</h3>

Dozens of local organizations and leaders are standing together!

Your Name for Political Office

Kent Lee, San Diego Councilmember

Dr. Jen Campbell, San Diego Councilmember

Mara Elliott, San Diego City Attorney

Monica Montgomery-Steppe, County Supervisor

Johanna Schiavoni, Past President, San Diego County Bar Association

Heather Rosing, Past President, San Diego County Bar Association&nbsp;

Deborah Dixon, Past President, San Diego County Bar Foundation

Marcus Bush, Councilember, National City

Priya Bhat-Patel, Carlsbad City Councilmember

Alysson Snow, Lemon Grove City Councilmember

Jennifer Mendoza, Lemon Grove City Councilmember

Terry Gaasterland, Del Mar City Councilmember

Michael Zucchet, Port of San Diego Commissioner

Shana Hazan, San Diego Unified School Board

Richard Barrera, San Diego Unified School Board Trustee

Dr. Sharon Whitehurt-Payne, San Diego Unified School Board Trustee

Libby Schaaf, former Oakland Mayor

Aaron Dumas, Earl B. Gilliam Bar Foundation, Past President

Marquetta Brown, CA Democratic Party Executive Board Member

Brianna Coston, La Mesa Spring Valley School District Trustee

Mitz Lee, San Diego Unified School Board Trustee (ret.)

Amy Herman, San Dieguito Union High School District Trustee (ret.)

Andrea Beth Damsky, Helix Water Board Director

Jenn French, Trial Attorney &amp; 2023 Woman of the District for the 39th Senate District

Alreen Haeggquist, Bestselling Author and Attorney

Phillip E. Stephan, Attorney

Marissa Roy, Civil Rights Attorney

Mehry Mohseni, Certified Family Law Specialist and Run Women Run Board Member

Diana Aguirre, CA Democratic Party Executive Board Member

Nikki Faddick, Gun Violence Prevention Advocate

Individuals

San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board

San Diego Municipal Employees Association

Deputy City Attorneys Association of San Diego

Safer California - Gun Violence Saves Lives PAC

San Diegans for Gun Violence Prevention (Gun Sense Candidate)

Moms Demand Action (gun sense candidate)

Climate Defenders Action Fund

National Asian and Pacific Islander Prosecutors Association

La Raza Lawyers Association

Earl B. Gilliam Bar Association of San Diego

Pan-Asian Lawyers of San Diego

Filipino American Lawyers of San Diego

Korean American Bar Association of San Diego

Asian Business Association of San Diego

Run Women Run

California Women's List

Elect Good People

Democratic Women's Club of San Diego

YIMBY Democrats of San Diego County

Pacific Beach Democratic Club

La Jolla Democratic Club

Downtown Democratic Club

UCSD Democratic Club (rated qualified)

Organizations

Get your volunteers excited with a little intro to the events section!

Campaign Events

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.

Lightning Brewery Fundraiser

Meet and Greet @ Buchalter Law Firm

Featuring Special Guest: Libby Schaff!

LA Fundraiser for Heather Ferbert

Featuring Special Guest, Libby Schaaf!

Fundraiser at Ponce's Restaurant

Fundraiser hosted by Hon. Richard Barrera, Hon. Shana Hazan, and Mikey Knab, with Members of the San Diego Progressive Democratic Club

Join members of the AAPI Community and special guest, Councilmember Kent Lee!

Fundraiser hosted by AAPI Community

Featuring Special Guest, City Councilmember Kent Lee!

Afternoon Reception with Heather Ferbert

Join the Pacific Beach Democratic Club and the La Jolla Democratic Club for an afternoon reception.

Meet and Greet at Law Office of David Shapiro

Adams Avenue Street Fair (Day 1)

Fundraiser at Buchalter

Fundraiser at Uptown Tavern

Host Committee: Benny Cartwright, Edwin Lohr&nbsp;

Last Fundraiser of the Campaign!

Host Committee: Laurie Black, Janessa Goldbeck

Adams Ave Street Fair (Day 2)

Intro to the testimonials can be written here.

Testimonials Here

Outgoing City Attorney Mara eLLIOTT

We’re grateful for your donations!

The next City Attorney should be an attorney. Sign up to get involved with Heather's campaign and help ensure San Diego has a qualified, experienced attorney who's ready to fight for us.

firstName

lastName

email

phoneNumber

zipOrPostalCode

Get Involved

AMERICAN DIABETES

1199 SEIU

NURSES 2

raised

married

Children

party

education

Heather Ferbert for City Attorney

Deputy City Attorneys Association

City Attorney Mara Elliott

San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board

“San Diego deserves a qualified City Attorney who puts the law ahead of politics. I’m a Chief Deputy City Attorney. I’ve stopped fraud and opened emergency homeless shelters. I’ll take on domestic violence and illegal guns. I’ll protect taxpayers always.&nbsp;San Diego’s legal community supports me, but the most important endorsement is yours. I’d be honored to be your City Attorney.”

So much is happening right now. Write a couple lines to get your readers excited for it.

Latest Campaign Developments

Ferbert beat Maienschein in the March primary by more than 6 percentage points, or more than 14,000 votes out of more than 130,000 votes cast in the race.

Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has b

Politics Report: Ferbert-mentum

Ferbert has been with the City Attorney’s Office since 2014 and cites oversight of costly real estate deals in defense of taxpayers and writing laws governing clean up of homeless encampments in the city among her accomplishments.

Chief Deputy Ahead of Termed-Out Legislator in Race for City Attorney

In deciding who to endorse to succeed San Diego City Attorney Mara Elliott — Chief Deputy City Attorney Heather Ferbert or Assemblymember Brian Maienschein — a key consideration is one’s view of the incumbent as she wraps up her eighth and final year on the job. Though Elliott was <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="link" href="https://www.sandiego.gov/cityattorney/melliott">honored</a> in her first term as California’s Public Lawyer of the Year, the Gloria administration and some City Council members have signaled concerns about her legal work.It’s fair to look at the complaints and wonder if other elected leaders’ gripes are largely driven by Elliott not being pliantly cooperative with<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="link" href="https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/politics/story/2023-10-04/san-diego-city-attorney-proposal-controversy-elo-rivera-elliott"> their agendas</a> and attempting to keep the blame for the city’s Ash Street fiasco squarely on the council and former Mayor Kevin Faulconer. Her independence served San Diegans well in 2020 when she<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="link" href="https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/opinion/editorials/story/2020-05-22/city-council-sdsu-west-deal-faulconer-gomez-elliott-chargers-stadium"> refused to rush</a> through negotiations with San Diego State University over SDSU West despite pressure from Faulconer and then-Council President Georgette Gómez to rubber-stamp SDSU’s planned development of the former Qualcomm Stadium site. Given how often City Hall has botched major decisions, the impatience with her methodical review was baffling.Elliott has strongly endorsed Ferbert and has been among the many who wonder about Maienschein’s suitability as city attorney, given the fact he has not been a practicing attorney for many years.Maienschein says that’s a non-issue. He cites his ability to get bills passed in Sacramento and his eight years as a City Council member. But in an interview Tuesday with editorial board members, he especially emphasized the depth of his support from the San Diego establishment, which he contends broadly gives low marks to Elliott — and by extension, Ferbert.Yet after nearly three decades of embarrassing city screw-ups, should voters even see the support of the San Diego establishment as a positive factor? How many members of that establishment have an accomplishment even remotely as impressive as Elliott’s pioneering use of gun violence restraining orders (GVROs)? Ferbert has worked well with Elliott on this and other issues and vows to maintain the City Attorney Office’s “independent, arm’s-length relationship” with other parts of City Hall. In contrast, Maienschein can sound like he sees the job as being akin to the 10th seat on the City Council.We have concerns about one case of Ferbert’s work. She is proud of having done the legal analysis for the city’s Unsafe Camping Ordinance, which currently exists in a legal gray area pending the Supreme Court’s consideration of the legality of clearing homeless encampments. This legal question has resulted in lukewarm enforcement of the camping ban, which is not ideal and has led some to question the intent of the law. But the mayor and a council majority wanting the measure left her to execute their vision.In an interview Monday, she came across as confident, informed and determined to leave her own mark as city attorney, not be the equivalent of a third Elliott term. She wants to launch a “housing protection unit” to preserve existing affordable housing — a worthy cause in a city that’s been too blithe about such events as the 2017 demolition of a <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="link" href="https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/new-development-rancho-penasquitos-affordable-housing/19297/">332-unit </a>apartment complex in Rancho Peñasquitos and has done little to adequately protect about <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="link" href="https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/politics/story/2022-03-09/san-diego-making-little-progress-on-action-plan-to-preserve-affordable-housing-with-money-new-law">70,000 </a>affordable apartments that may be imperiled by developers looking to build more lucrative homes. She also plans to strengthen consumer protections against financial scams and to target companies not following fair pay laws. And she vows to continue the incumbent’s aggressive use of GVROs to keep the public safe, noting the tactic’s value in averting a <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="link" href="https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/public-safety/story/2024-01-21/san-diego-city-attorneys-office-gun-violence-restraining-orders-2023">potential tragedy </a>in Rancho Bernardo last month.The editorial board endorses Heather Ferbert for city attorney. She is much better-qualified and more likely to be an independent voice in a city government in perpetual need of such voices.

The editorial board endorses Heather Ferbert for city attorney. She is much better-qualified and more likely to be an independent voice in a city government in perpetual need of such voices.

Endorsement:&nbsp;Heather Ferbert for San Diego city attorney

SAN DIEGO&nbsp;—&nbsp;The battle for endorsements continued Wednesday in the race for San Diego’s next city attorney, with termed-out City Attorney Mara Elliott endorsing one of her deputies to succeed her next year.It’s the second major endorsement for Chief Deputy City Attorney Heather Ferbert, who was endorsed in July by the city’s largest labor union, the 5,000-member Municipal Employees Association.But Ferbert’s opponent, Assemblymember Brian Maienschein, a fellow Democrat, still has a much longer list of key supporters.ADVERTISINGMaienschein has been endorsed by the county Democratic Party, Mayor Todd Gloria, most of the City Council, the city’s police labor union and several other labor organizations.Elliott said Wednesday that she was endorsing Ferbert to succeed her because of her experience and the issues Ferbert would prioritize.“Heather Ferbert has the unmatched legal experience the city attorney needs and an unwavering focus on the law, not politics,” Elliott said in a news release. “I trust Heather Ferbert to put her extraordinary legal qualifications to work protecting the taxpayers, getting illegal guns off the street and ensuring the independence of the City Attorney’s Office.”Ferbert has also been endorsed by three local legal organizations and by some local Democratic clubs, including the Pacific Beach Democratic Club.Maienschein has the support of both Democrats on the county Board of Supervisors, three local members of Congress and several state officials, including Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Attorney General Rob Bonta.In campaign donations, the latest disclosures submitted in July showed Maienschein with a large fundraising lead over Ferbert, $116,000 to $47,000.The city attorney plays a key role in advising the mayor and council on land-use decisions, lawsuits and the legality of proposed city policies. The job also includes overseeing misdemeanor prosecutions.But city leaders have discussed this year a possible November 2024 ballot measure that would <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="link" href="https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/watchdog/story/2023-09-03/city-attorney-ballot-measure-criticism-ferbert-maienschein-elliott">divide the job between two people</a>, an elected city attorney to handle prosecutions and an appointed municipal counsel to handle litigation and legal advice.While Maienschein and Ferbert will face off in the March primary, the race won’t be decided until November. San Diego election rules mandate runoffs between the top two finishers, even if one gets more than 50 percent of the vote in the primary.

Elliott said Wednesday that she was endorsing Ferbert to succeed her because of her experience and the issues Ferbert would prioritize.

In San Diego city attorney candidates’ fight for key support, Mara Elliott endorses her chief deputy

Less democracy and more lawyers aren’t going to fix the problems at City Hall.San Diego’s independent, elected city attorney has worked to protect the city’s finances and the public interest for nearly a century. Yet now, some city councilmembers want to strip voters of their power to elect San Diego’s chief legal advisor and eliminate the independence essential to the office’s mission of protecting taxpayers and putting residents first.It’s a harmful proposal that shouldn’t be allowed to succeed. Here’s why:It’s anti-democratic. Instead of 800,000 San Diegans choosing the city’s attorney in an election, just nine councilmembers would get permanent political appointment power over the office.Taking away the public’s right to vote is bad enough since no election means no accountability, no term limits, no salary restrictions, no requirement that San Diego’s city attorney even be a resident of San Diego. But no election also means no independence for an office created to be just that – independent from the other elected city officials – and that’s what’s most troubling.One of the most crucial parts of the city attorney’s job is preventing abuses of power at City Hall. Indeed, a previous city attorney helped remove from office a lawless mayor who was sexually abusing women. Where would we be now if that city attorney was unelected by the voters and could have been fired by the mayor or council for any reason, or no reason at all?But under this proposal, the city’s attorney would actually be forced to ask permission from the City Council to take action when the public’s trust is betrayed. How many politicians would ever vote to investigate themselves? It’s a recipe for legal disaster.Even for the office’s routine work providing sound legal advice to the city, this proposal is alarming. An elected city attorney isn’t afraid to tell city officials that a proposal is unconstitutional or harms residents in unexpected ways. An appointed city attorney, who can be hired and fired at will, would put their job at risk every time they insist the city follow the law.This isn’t theoretical. Look at the Trump organization trial. Donald Trump’s attorneys were fined for making frivolous arguments already rejected by the court. These lawyers, under immense pressure from the powerful person paying them, made reckless claims and ignored the law to suit their own interests. We can’t let this happen to the residents and taxpayers of San Diego.The implications for the city’s 170 deputy city attorneys’ ability to impartially scrutinize decisions are significant too. As a chief deputy city attorney, my ability to protect the taxpayers and raise legal red flags depends on being free from political interference. The same is true for all the hardworking public servants in this office.What’s more, our ability to retain talented lawyers to advocate for San Diego is hurt if the office is split in half and forced to serve solely at the City Council’s pleasure. There would be fewer opportunities for advancement in a smaller office and an ever-present concern that legal guidance could anger the city officials who have the power to stop you from being promoted.Those who support this proposal claim voters don’t understand how to hire the city’s attorney, while elected officials do. That’s nonsense. I’ve been running for city attorney for nearly a year, and I can tell you San Diego voters are smart and take their jobs seriously.Voters know the value of an independent city attorney, whether it’s protecting taxpayers, rooting out corruption, preventing gun violence or going after domestic abuse. And they certainly value their right to vote.Less democracy and more lawyers aren’t going to fix the problems at City Hall. San Diego should continue to elect a city attorney that’s independent and accountable to the people.Heather Ferbert is a chief deputy city attorney for the city of San Diego and candidate for San Diego City Attorney.

San Diego’s independent, elected city attorney has worked to protect the city’s finances and the public interest for nearly a century. Yet now, some city councilmembers want to strip voters of their power to elect San Diego’s chief legal advisor and eliminate the independence essential to the office’s mission of protecting taxpayers and putting residents first.

Why We Need an Elected, Independent City Attorney

SAN DIEGO&nbsp;—&nbsp; Assemblymember Brian Maienschein, the presumed favorite in the race to succeed San Diego City Attorney Mara Elliott, could face legal challenges contending he hasn’t practiced law enough years to be eligible to run.Maienschein has been a licensed attorney for 28 years — much longer than the 10 years required by the city — but his license has been active for fewer than seven of those. He hasn’t practiced law for most of the 28 years since he became licensed because he’s been in politics — the state Assembly, and the San Diego City Council before that.This story is for subscribersWe offer subscribers exclusive access to our best journalism. Thank you for your support.Campaign officials for Maienschein, who has been endorsed for city attorney by Mayor Todd Gloria and several other prominent local politicians, said last week that he is eligible to run.But one of the state’s leading election lawyers says Maienschein’s eligibility is ripe for a legal challenge, because the clear goal of the city’s 10-year requirement was to disqualify career politicians by limiting the candidate field to experienced, practicing lawyers.The 10-year requirement dates back to 2016, when City Council members decided to enhance the qualifications for city attorney. They previously hadn’t even required candidates to be a lawyer.“Clearly, the City Council wanted to make sure the person was a practicing attorney for 10 years,” said San Francisco lawyer Jim Sutton, who previously challenged the qualifications of candidates for Los Angeles city attorney and state attorney general. “Maienschein is a nice guy and a good politician, but I think he’s the poster child for who’s not qualified to run for city attorney.”Sutton’s stance was backed up last week by former City Councilmember Mark Kersey, who participated in 2016 public hearings that culminated with the council placing the enhanced qualifications for city attorney on the ballot as Measure E.“The council was clear that the city attorney needed to actually have a minimum of 10 years as a practicing lawyer because the thousands of lawsuits, ordinances and prosecutions the city handles every year are too important to be left to someone without that experience,” Kersey said.Testimony from council members during those hearings also made their intention clear.But the language that actually made the ballot and became law appears to require only that candidates have been licensed to practice law for 10 years — not that they have actually practiced law for 10 years.The ballot measure voters approved says: “The City Attorney must be licensed to practice law in the State of California and must have been so licensed for at least ten years at the time he or she submits nominating petitions.”No one disputes that Maienschein has been licensed by the state bar since 1994. But Sutton says just having a license doesn’t meet the city’s requirements, because it matters how attorneys use their licenses.While Sutton acknowledges that the city’s requirement doesn’t explicitly require candidates have 10 years’ experience practicing law, he contends the city’s requirement implies that the attorney’s license must be active, not inactive.“You can’t practice law with an inactive license,” said Sutton. He said it wouldn’t have made any sense for council members to require candidates to have a state bar license for a certain period of time but also allow it to be inactive.When a statute or requirement is unclear, courts typically examine the process that led to the approval of the requirements so that the intent of the legislators can be determined, Sutton said.The staff report for the 2016 public hearing when the Council’s Rules Committee gave its final approval to Measure E said it would “require the qualification for the City Attorney to be a member of the California State Bar in good standing with a minimum of 10 years of experience practicing law in California.”During that hearing, Kersey, then-Councilmember Sherri Lightner and then-Councilmember Marti Emerald all discussed experience as a practicing lawyer as their top priority — not that a candidate be licensed.“We should memorialize within our charter that the city attorney should actually be an attorney in good standing with a minimum of experience anyway — and 10 years goes by pretty quickly in the law business,” Emerald said back then.Candidates must have a “minimum 10 years of experience — of 10 years practicing law in California,” Lightner said.According to the California state bar’s website, Maienschein was admitted in December 1994. His license was active for nearly six years, until he was first elected to City Council in November 2000.He never practiced law after that. He re-activated his license for two attempts to run for city attorney — once for seven months during an unsuccessful run in 2008, and again two months ago.Assuming Maienschein stays licensed until nomination papers are due this December for the 2024 city attorney’s race, he will have had an active law license in California for a total of seven years and four months — far less than 10 years.San Diego’s interim city clerk, Diana Fuentes, said last week that she won’t determine whether Maienschein is eligible until the nomination period begins near the end of this year.Fuentes said if Maienschein follows through with acquiring nomination papers at that time, she would seek legal guidance from City Attorney Mara Elliott or an outside attorney hired by the city for that purpose.The likelihood of the matter being decided by an outside attorney may be higher than normal because one of Maienschein’s opponents in the race for city attorney is current Deputy City Attorney Heather Ferbert — which could create a perceived conflict of interest for Elliott’s staff.“The Office of the City Clerk seeks legal guidance as needed to properly apply eligibility requirements and proper process for all races,” Fuentes said by email last week.A spokesperson for Elliott said the city clerk is the city’s chief elections officer and that the city charter vests the clerk with “full authority for making this determination.”Ferbert’s campaign consultant, Dan Rottenstreich, said Maienschein is clearly ineligible to run.“The City Council and the voters insisted on deep legal experience for this position because there’s so much on the line — 20,000 criminal prosecutors and 200 civil lawsuits a year, plus hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars at stake in every decision,” he said. “The last time Maienschein practiced law it was literally the last century.”When asked whether Maienschein meets the city’s 10-year eligibility requirement, Maienschein’s campaign said by email that he does but declined to elaborate.“Our statement to your question is, ‘Yes. Brian Maienschein meets the qualifications for city attorney,’” the campaign said.Rottenstreich said Ferbert probably won’t take any legal action until the clerk determines Maienschein’s eligibility.Sutton said legal action could and should be taken now so the courts won’t have to rush their decision before ballots get printed for the March 2024 primary.“Because he’s announced his candidacy and he’s raising money, you would have standing to ask for declaratory relief,” Sutton said.Sutton last year unsuccessfully argued that Maria Torres didn’t have enough experience as a lawyer to run for Los Angeles city attorney. Torres failed to make a November 2022 runoff for the job.In 2018, Sutton unsuccessfully tried to get Attorney General Xavier Becerra removed from office, contending he didn’t have an active state bar license for five years preceding his getting elected.

“The City Council and the voters insisted on deep legal experience for this position because there’s so much on the line — 20,000 criminal prosecutors and 200 civil lawsuits a year, plus hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars at stake in every decision,” he said. “The last time Maienschein practiced law it was literally the last century.”

What does it take to run for city attorney? Maienschein could face legal challenge.

Heather Ferbert’s profile has a track record.The chief deputy city attorney launched her campaign to replace her boss, City Attorney Mara Elliott, when she’s termed out in 2024. Back in 2016, Elliott showed that “Democratic chief deputy city attorney without a history in local politics” can be a strong resume.It’s early. Maybe former Mayor Kevin Faulconer will try to get his old job back. But as we wait on that, this city attorney’s race could be the only competitive city race on the 2024 ballot. Assemblyman Brian Maienschein, the former San Diego councilman who became a Democrat in 2019, is expected to run for city attorney as well, but incumbents are up for re-election in every other city race on the ballot.Ferbert currently works in the advisory division, the one that acts as general counsel for city officials to help guide their decision making. The office also prosecutes misdemeanors, and both represents the city in civil litigation.As accomplishments in office, Ferbert touts two pandemic era policies: writing the temporary eviction moratorium enacted when Covid-19 hit, and working on the shelter-to-home program at the Convention Center that the city snapped into at the time.She’s now running for an office that in recent years has drawn questions about whether it should be elected at all. Former Councilman Mark Kersey in 2020 proposed making the advisory and civil litigation parts of the office appointed, and only electing someone to prosecute misdemeanors.Ferbert said working in the office has convinced her that a city the size of San Diego should have an elected city attorney.For one, she said, having all three divisions is good for office morale: lawyers are often hired into the criminal division, and can move up and into the civil or advisory divisions.But she said San Diego’s form of government also means it is different than the county government, where the board of supervisors appoint both a chief executive and legal counsel, and then both of those positions report to the same board that appointed them.“A strong mayor, strong council government like we have, there can be situations where the two elected bodies you advise and report to don’t agree,” Ferbert said. “An appointed city attorney could run into a lot of challenges that are hard to navigate, where you’re taking direction from elected officials that are saying different things. If there’s a divide, who are you following, if your client is the municipal corporation, and the entire point is to look out for the public?”The next city attorney, Ferbert said, will have to start changing the trend of “the city getting steamrolled by developers.”“The city is about to embark on the Sports Arena and Civic Center revitalizations, two land transactions where the city attorney will have to protect the city,” she said.

As accomplishments in office, Ferbert touts two pandemic era policies: writing the temporary eviction moratorium enacted when Covid-19 hit, and working on the shelter-to-home program at the Convention Center that the city snapped into at the time.

The Chief Deputy City Attorney Looking for a Promotion

An insightful image

Editorial Board

San Diego Union-Tribune

San Diego City Attorney

Mara Elliott

Safer California

Gun Sense Candidate

San Diegans for Gun Violence Prevention

Header

Donate

Headshots

Logos

Issues

News

Twitter

Short Form

Page Intro

Landing Popup

Home

Text

About

Events

Testimonials

Lists

Endorsements

Long Form

Volunteer

Landing popup form

Events RSVP form

Volunteer page form

Home header form

Home bottom form