Chula Vista Councilman John McCann was in the hot seat at the May 25 council meeting after an article published by La Prensa San Diego May 20 suggested McCann misused legal defense funds in a way that violated state and local laws.
The article, written by Alberto Garcia, states that McCann used the funds to recoup legal fees he owed from a 2014 defamation lawsuit he had filed.
McCann ran for election in 2014 against former Chula Vista mayor—and current councilman—Steve Padilla, winning by only two votes in the November 2014 General Election.
The article states that weeks before the election, McCann filed a lawsuit against a San Diego labor union claiming that one of its campaign mailers was defamatory. As a plaintiff, he named the union, its leader, and its campaign committee as defendants. The defendants filed a special motion to dismiss, claiming the campaign literature was protected speech.
Garcia reported that nearly two months after the judge ruled against him, McCann opened the “McCann Legal Defense Fund” committee.
After the judge ruled against McCann, the two sides executed a confidential settlement, but then McCann began to solicit and accept donations and received 21 contributions between May 2016 until March of this year ranging from $1,000 to $12,000, according to the La Prensa story.
During public comment of Tuesday’s council meeting several people spoke out in response to the story.
San Diego County Building and Construction Trades Council, AFL-CIO business manager Tom Lemmon said that when he read the article it “struck him to the core” because he knew exactly what it was talking about since he was the defendant in that case.
“What it looks like, funds were illegally raised and collected by developers and folks from the community to take care of a settlement,” said Lemmon. “All that being said, I got a respectful call from Deputy Mayor McCann who said, ‘There is more to the story.’ I appreciated that he told me that the timeliness, the paperwork, that’s all it is. I asked him to show it to me. I didn’t see it. Instead, I got an article about something else unrelated. So, I am still confused by this moment. But I can tell you that John McCann has lost the respect of the community, if indeed he collected money illegally and then paid it out illegally. I really hope that the city council takes a serious look at that. Officer McCann, U.S. Navy, I have a lot of respect for your service, you have a judiciary responsibility to do the right thing. I believe in this case, if indeed, have not followed the rules prescribed by the state of California, you need to resign. I am here to look you in the eye and tell you to do that.”
Chula Vista Elementary School District Board member Kate Bishop said she agreed with Lemmon.
“I just wanted to register my position that the allegations in the news, as shocking as they are appalling,” said Bishop. “I would hope that anybody that is a public servant, as I am as well an elected official. I know how difficult it is to manage some of the reporting things, but the things that were alleged are beyond the pale. I was incredibly disappointed to find out that was a possibility. I think that you should step down sir. If the allegations are true, I think you should step down and at the very least, at this point, I think you should remove him from the deputy mayor position.”
Resident Beatrice Fernandez said when she read the article, she could not believe that it said McCann raised $90,000 and that it appears to violate state and local laws. She said that elected officials, when they take the oath of office, they swear to uphold the rules of the city, state, and federal government.
“If these allegations are true, then you have broken the trust that we have in you as a representative,” she said. “We are in a time right now where there is a lot of mistrust in elected officials. We don’t trust you. We think you make too much money. You sit around and do very little. In fact, one of the most horrible apps we have right now is Next Door. Everyone on there, thinks that this whole council does nothing. If these allegations are true you are adding to that whole myth that elected officials cannot be trusted.”
Fernandez said there is a point to the $350 cap donations, as a mechanism in place to eliminate the “real or perceived view of pay to play.”
“When you look at that list of all the people that you called up, I am assuming, and more than likely pressured for money, because having been working on campaigns since 1970 I know this is what politicians do, they press people with deep pockets for money. When you look at that list, you look at a lot of people or companies that have had business with city council. How can we trust now that the best decisions are made, when these people have paid money to you?”
Fernandez said this hurts the reputation of the city that has fought so hard to change its reputation.
“We have gotten so many awards, it is a great place to live, very little violence… The question that I have as a member of the city is, what were you thinking?” she said. “When we think of John McCann, I think of a man that loves this city so much because that is the kind of image that you portray. Whether I agree with your political party, your decisions, that is who you are. I hope that you will step down if the allegations are found to be valid.”
In e-comments, John Teevan asked council to resolve this matter that has the potential to seriously erode the public’s confidence.
“There can be no public confidence in the land use and development process until the questions raise by the article are investigated and resolved,” Teevan wrote.
Gretel Rodriquez wrote that she was asking for McCann’s resignation, requesting that the mayor and council remove his title of deputy mayor and request that council call for an Ethics Commission investigation into the matter.
“Due to John McCann’s unethical actions of taking funds under false pretenses, we demand for him to step down of his duties and if not, the mayor remove him immediately,” wrote James Moffat.
Ian Burgar wrote that the article called into question the fairness of the land development in District 1. “To further ensure the security of the public’s trust I am requesting that all development deals in District 1 are suspended until this matter is appropriately concluded. I fear failure to ensure fairness and due process to all involved significantly impact the goodwill our government established throughout the pandemic,” wrote Burgar.
In response to a request for interview with The Star-News, McCann emailed: “In 2014, I won the election to City Council,” stated McCann in an email. “Lawyer John Moot failed in suing me to overturn the legal election and Moot lost again with a unanimous decision in appeals court. I was personally targeted by special interests with lies to attack and defame my character, as they are doing again. I and the opposing party both signed a confidentiality clause that prohibits either party from discussing the case. Legal expenses for these lawsuits were recovered properly in accordance with California state laws.”
