Editorial:
A couple of years ago a petition was put forth that the City Attorney in Chula Vista should be an elected position. Previously the City Council interviewed prospective candidates and selected the City Attorney. The thinking then was that the City Attorney was beholden to the City Council serving the council members interest, when the City Attorney should instead be serving the interest of the citizens.
The citizens of Chula Vista agreed with this concept and voted for the change. This year is the first year that the City Attorney will be an elected representative. While the concept was sound, the actual process has proven to be less than ideal.
The first problem with the process is that there are only two candidates running for office, Robert Faigin and Glenn Googins, and there are issues with both candidates.
The issue with Faigin is that he does not live in Chula Vista or even the South Bay. The ballot initiative to elect the next City Attorney does not require that this person live in Chula Vista. The problem with this is as voters we have little or no interaction with Faigin at any level. Campaign materials and stump speeches are often misleading and give little insight into the person. Insight often comes from seeing this person in action, at work, and at play. With Faigin we do not have this background.
Glenn Googins on the other hand does live in Chula Vista and does work in the city. At one point Googins worked in the City Attorney’s office. And in his case we know quite a bit about him and some of it is a little bit disturbing beginning with the fact that he was paid a $175,000 dollar severance package by the City. Googins says he was asked to leave as Assistant City Attorney over disagreements with the administration of the office.
Googins has close ties with the political establishment and the power structure within the city which brings into question his independence and the ability to serve the best interest of the citizens or will he be serving the best interest of the power structure?
Both Faigin and Googins are capable lawyers and administrators so it comes down to the question of an independent City Attorney’s office and in our opinion Faigin represents the best opportunity for an independent City Attorney.
We support the Election of Robert Faigin as the first elected City Attorney for Chula Vista.