Political Foes Join Forces to Retire Each Other’s Debts

Republicans and Democrats rubbed elbows at Mayor Maureen O’Connor’s Point Loma home Thursday night at a fund-raiser held to retire the debts of two election opponents--O’Connor and Councilman Bill Cleator.

The politicians, who earlier this summer faced off in the mayoral election, joined forces in an effort to help pay off debts they had incurred during the race.

In an event that area politicians and fund-raisers believe to be unique, the pair asked their supporters to write checks to the candidate they had opposed during the election.

O’Connor supporters gave money to diminish Cleator’s debt of nearly $60,000, and Cleator supporters helped eliminate O’Connor’s $15,000 deficit.

About 300 guests contributed nearly $50,000, designated roughly evenly for the two campaigns, according to Norma Assam, an O’Connor fund-raiser. Any surplus remaining after debts are paid could go in a fund for the candidate’s next campaign.

Many of those invited had “maxed out” on contributions to Cleator or O’Connor, having donated the maximum $250 per person to the candidate of their choice in the general election.

O’Connor and Cleator said the event is a sign of unity, but the joint fund-raising venture also allowed the pair in effect to garner more money from their “maxed out” supporters, apparently without violating campaign contribution limitations.

Mel Katz, a Cleator fund-raiser, said, “When people check in at a pay table at the door, a person from each campaign will check out who is maxed out to whom.” The guests would then be encouraged to “max out” to the other candidate, Katz said.

Larry Cushman, who worked as a volunteer on Cleator’s finance committee, said, “I would say most people who came had contributed to one or another campaign, and most have maxed. Myself and my wife have given to Bill and now will give to Maureen.”

David Baine, treasurer for the O’Connor campaign, said, “Prior to doing it we checked with the city attorney’s office, and they said there would be no violation of the law because the funds were going directly to the respective campaigns. The event is completely within the laws of the campaign ordinance. . . . I am sorry if anyone could construe this attempt at unity as a way to circumvent campaign laws. I am burned by the question. Of anything I have ever been involved with, it’s got to have the most honorable intentions in the world.”

O’Connor’s office said the mayor would hold to the rule she set during her campaign, and she would not accept money from developers. An O’Connor fund-raiser said developers who had given the maximum to Cleator were admitted to the party on a complimentary basis.

The mayor, however, asked developers who had wanted to give money to her to help out by giving money to Cleator at the Thursday night fund-raiser, Assam said.

About 3,000 invitations for the 6 to 8 p.m. event were sent to campaign contributors who had donated $100 or more to either campaign during the race, Assam said. The invitations said, “We pledge to pay the whole debt and nothing but the debt, so help us please.”

Some guests did not contribute the maximum $250, Assam said. She estimated 10 people wrote checks for lesser amounts, and she did not know how many developers were admitted free.

Cleator said the idea for the event arose when the mayor and the councilman struck up a conversation in a City Hall elevator. “She had read the same newspaper and had noticed my deficit. I said, ‘I notice you have one, too.’ She said she would be more than happy to help me cure mine, and we sat down and talked about it,” Cleator said.

O’Connor suggested a joint cocktail party, Cleator said, and the mayor’s house was chosen, as opposed to his, for its larger size.

The press was turned away from the event, Assam said, because O’Connor’s husband did not want reporters in their home.

The invitation list included some of the most active and influential Republicans and Democrats in San Diego.

“Everyone is taken aback a little when they first hear about it. A few months ago we were adversaries and now we are trying to help each other,” Baine said.

O’Connor declined to talk about the event Thursday, but her spokesman, Paul Downey, said, “It’s not that they are going to agree on issues, but it helps move the city forward and smooth over any rough edges between them and their supporters.”

Cleator said, “There is a sense that we have had enough controversy and enough arguments. We are of the opinion that we should be cooperating with each other rather than trying to hog the limelight or show the other one up. That is not my style, so I am comfortable with that.”

Don Harrison, a Cleator campaign consultant who had given the maximum contribution to Cleator, said he thought the event was a good way to effect a reconciliation between supporters. “I think you have to take off your hat to Maureen for suggesting it.”

He was pondering whether he would make a contribution to O’Connor. “I have an open mind about Maureen, but I haven’t been converted to an outright supporter yet.”

Dan Larsen, Cleator’s campaign chairman, said he “was surprised like everybody else” when he heard of the idea for the event.

Larsen and his wife, Yvonne Larsen, had given the maximum contribution to Cleator. He said their check for $500 to O’Connor “pained in the pocketbook a little bit.”

Dorothy Migdal, a vice president at the San Diego Chamber of Commerce, said the event demonstrates the difference between San Diego and other cities.

“They just aren’t as cutthroat here; they are still friendly outside their business. There is a sensitivity to the community. People don’t slash each other up as much as other big cities,” Migdal said.