Mike Aguirre

MIKE AGUIRRE FILES CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT AGAINST CITY ON BEHALF OF FLOOD VICTIMS

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Flooding in Encanto, via mayoral candidate Genevieve Jones-Wright

February 22, 2024 (San Diego) – Former City Attorney Mike Aguirre and civil rights leader Shane Harris with People’s Association of Justice Advocates (PAJA) held a press conference Feb. 12 to announce a lawsuit against the city of San Diego on behalf of homeowners who suffered “preventable” damages from the January 22 flooding.

Harris cited a 2018 audit of the city’s storm water system as well as an unsuccessful 2022 effort to pass a ballot measure to fund infrastructure as evidence that city officials knew of flood risks from its storm drains, but failed to resolve them. The report specifically mentioned Chollas Creek  issues that caused flooding across southeastern San Diego. 

“This was an act of man, not an act of God,” Harris said, adding that city officials could have prevented January’s flood damages had it prioritized needed upgrades after the audit more than four years earlier.

Over 1,000 residents in Southeast San Diego have been displaced and hundreds of homes damaged or destroyed, according to PAJA, including Southcrest, Mountain View, Shelltown and Encanto neighborhoods.


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BILL TO REFORM CALIF. PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION PASSES COMMITTEE BY 12-1 VOTE

 

By Miriam Raftery

April 24, 2016 (Sacramento) -- Assemblyman Mike Gatto’s  proposed constitutional amendment, ACA 11, to restructure California's regulatory agencies has passed the Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee by a 12 to 1 vote.  

The strong bipartisan support comes in the wake of a series of scandals involving the CPUC, including allegations of backroom dealings to protect PG&E after the deadly San Bruno pipeline explosion and controversies over charging ratepayers for utility mistakes that led to closure of the San Onofre Nuclear Generation Stations.

Mike Aguirre, former attorney for the City of San Diego, appeared as a witness in favor of reforming the Commission, asking that an updated copy of the Aguirre & Severson Report on Malfeasance and Institutional Corruption at the California Public Utilities Commission be officially entered into the record, as well as other smoking gun documents that implicate top officials at the CPUC.  That report raises concerns over issues ranging from wildfires caused by SDG&E lines to the burial of nuclear wastes at San Onofre. It also chronicles allegations of corruption and cover-ups involving top CPUC officials.


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CALLING ON THE CPUC TO INVESTIGATE SONGS SETTLEMENT

 

Originally Published on the ECOreport

By Roy L Hales

March 23, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) - The lives of more than 8 million Californians may have been put at risk, when the steam generators at San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) malfunctioned. The subsequent California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) investigation failed to probe into the extent to which Southern California Edison (SCE) was responsible for the facilities “design errors.”  Now  the California Assembly Committee on Utilities and Commerce is calling on the CPUC to investigate the SONGS settlement.


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THREE MAYORAL CANDIDATES CLASH IN KNSJ DEBATE

 

Faulconer, Alvarez surprisingly similar on issues; Aguirre drops bombs

By Mark Gabrish Conlan • for East County Magazine, www.eastcountymagazine.org

 

November 13, 2013 (San Diego)--Three of the four so-called “major” candidates for mayor of San Diego in the November 19 special election — Republican Kevin Faulconer and Democrats David Alvarez and Mike Aguirre — debated November 11 at California Western School of Law in an event co-sponsored by the school and KNSJ 89.1 FM Descanso, San Diego County’s new community radio station. The fourth “major” candidate, Republican-turned-independent-turned-Democrat Nathan Fletcher, did not appear.

Surprisingly, given how most of the local media outlets have scripted their coverage of the race — Faulconer the center-Right Republican, Alvarez the progressive Democrat and Fletcher the man in the middle — Faulconer and Alvarez, colleagues on the current San Diego City Council, agreed on as many issues as they disagreed. It was Aguirre, running a distant fourth in most polls, who challenged the other two candidates and confronted many issues that both Faulconer and Alvarez did their best to duck.


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ECM’S NONPARTISAN GUIDE TO SAN DIEGO MAYORAL CANDIDATES

 

 

By Nadin Abbott

October 31, 2013 (San Diego) With the mayoral race moving to high gear and early voting starting, ECM has compiled information on the leading candidates in the special election San Diego Mayor, filling the vacancy left by Bob Filner’s resignation. We include highlights of their announced agendas and endorsements.


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LORI SALDAÑA DROPS MAYORAL BID, ENDORSES COUNCILMAN ALVAREZ: FIRST MAYORAL DEBATE SET FOR FRIDAY

By Miriam Raftery

September 19, 2013 (San Diego) – After filing papers to run for Mayor,  former Democratic Assemblywoman Lori Saldaña yesterday announced she will not run and instead has endorsed Councilman David Alvarez. 

“David has a strong record of supporting neighborhoods and protecting the environment,” said Saldaña, who believes he is the best choice because of his “commitment to standing up for our communities.” Alvarez represents South San Diego and the Barrio Logan area.  Alvarez has also been endorsed by the Sa n Diego-Imperial Counties Labor Council. 

Today, former Councilmember Donna Frye also endorsed Alvarez, stating, "David understands that people deserve to be treated with courtesy and respect and be provided an opportunity to have their issues heard in public, before (not after) decisions are made."

The first mayoral debate among prominent candidates is set for 3:15 Friday at the Westin Gaslamp Quarter Hotel, sponsored by the Asian Business Association.  Democrat Nathan Fletcher, a former Republican, declined to participate. However Democrats Alvarez and Mike Aguirre, the former city attorney, will participate along with Republican Councilman Kevin Faulconer.


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MIKE AGUIRRE LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN FOR SAN DIEGO MAYOR

 

By Nadin Abbott

Photos by Nadin and Tom Abbott

September 17, 2013 (San Diego)—Mike Aguirre, former City Attorney, launched his formal campaign for San Diego Mayor on Friday at the FDR Grove. He seeks to replace Bob Filner, who was forced out of office amid a scandal that rocked the city.

“The events of the last few months, provide San Diego with a historic opportunity to a better way to conduct the people’s business. Let us propose a new politics for San Diego, one that is not based on endorsements or special interest contributions, private agendas or the self-interested few.”

Aguirre promised that his administration “will restore integrity to the Mayor’s office and support policies that prove beneficial to the greatest number of San Diegans. That is what local government should be about.”


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THE RACE FOR SAN DIEGO MAYOR HEATS UP

 

 

 

By Nadin Abbott

September 5, 2013 (San Diego)—The special election set for November 19 to replace Bob Filner, who resigned August 30, is starting to shape up.  To date, 21 people have thrown their hat in the ring. But thus far, only three candidates  have strong name recognition.

The first, and no surprise to any observer of San Diego politics, is former Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher who previously ran for Mayor against Filner. The second is Second District Councilmember Kevin Faulconer. The third is former City Attorney Mike Aguirre, recently recently has represented consumer groups fighting utility companies and big businesses.


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SUIT FILED TO STOP CLOSED-DOOR PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING WITH ENERGY COMPANIES IN SAN DIEGO

 

By Miriam Raftery

March 13, 2013 (San Diego)—The law firm of former City Attorney Mike Aguirre has filed a lawsuit on behalf of Masada Disenhouse seeking an injunction to halt the California Public Utilities Commission from holding a closed-door , invitation-only meeting with energy industry stakeholders at the Scripps Seaside Forum in San Diego on March 20. Disenhouse asked to attend, but her name was removed from the list. 

“California Government Code section 11123 requires that all meetings of a state body shall be open and public, and  all persons shall be permitted to attend any meeting of a state body,” the lawsuit states.  The suit further notes that Government Code section 11120  requires that “proceedings of public agencies be conducted openly so that the people may be informed.”


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CPUC ACCUSED OF VIOLATING BROWN ACT AND DUE PROCESS: FAILED TO NOTIFY PARTIES OF NEW PROPOSAL FOR MEETING TOMRROW ON SDG&E PLAN TO CHARGE RATEPAYERS FOR WILDFIRE COSTS

By Miriam Raftery

December 19, 2012 (San Diego) – Why did the California Public Utilities Commission fail to notify parties that it plans to hear a drastically revised alternate decision at tomorrow’s meeting on SDG&E’s proposed Wildfire Expense Balancing Account (WEBA)? 

The new version, written by Commissioner Timothy Simon,  would allow SDG&E to charge ratepayers not only for certain uninsured costs of future wildfires caused by its lines, but also appears to now include the 2007 wildfires as well—a shift that has outraged fire survivors. (See pages 23 and 28 at link above.) The draft contains numerous other changes from an earlier alternate decision penned by Simon, as well as a separate alternate decision penned previously by Commissioner Maribeth Bushey, as ECM reported earlier.    

Former City Attorney Mike Aguirre, representing fire victim Ruth Henricks,  sent an e-mail tonight to the CPUC objecting to any discussion or consideration of the new alternative decision on grounds that it violates the Brown Act due to failure to give proper notice, as well as collective concurrence outside a properly noticed meeting.  He also alleges violation of due process.


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AGUIRRE: SDG&E PLAN TO CHARGE RATEPAYERS FOR WILDFIRE COSTS IS "DONE DEAL"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Outraged? Scroll down to learn how to take action.

By Miriam Raftery

April 8, 2012 (San Diego) Updated April 10, 2012-- At the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) public meeting this week in San Diego, Administrative Law Judge Maribeth Bushey and CPUC Comissioner Timothy Simon heard from hundreds of area residents, including tearful testimony by numerous victims of the 2007 firestorms.  Some held twisted burned remnants of their lost homes. Others recalled friends who perished in the flames. 

But the most explosive testimony came from former City Attorney Mike Aguirre, who declared, “This decision is already made.”  He then leveled accusations that the two CPUC represenstatives present, Commissioner Timothy Simon and Administrative Law Judge Maribeth Bushey, are beholden to SDG&E and subverted the legal interests of fire victims and ratepayers.  


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LEGAL EXPERTS BLAST SAN DIEGO FOR ARREST OF RAY LUTZ, FORMER CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE, OVER VOTER REGISTRATIONS AT CIVIC CENTER PLAZA


“This is what they do in banana republics and undemocratic societies.”—former San Diego City Attorney Mike Aguirre, calling arrest a violation of the Civil Rights Act and the First Amendment


By Miriam Raftery and Ron Logan


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FORMER EAST COUNTY EDITOR AND CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATES FILE LAWSUIT TO FORCE RETURN OF TAXPAYERS’ BAIL-OUT FUNDS PAID TO BIG FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS



“$40 billion has been stolen. Let’s get it back.” – Mike Aguirre

 

Plaintiffs ask public to urge Senators to press Dept. of Justice to join suit; say federal government should recover bailout funds to reduce deficit instead of slashing Medicare and Social Security

Story and photos by Miriam Raftery



July 7, 2011 (San Diego) – Derek Casady, former editor of the Daily Californian newspaper in East County and his wife, Nancy, have filed a lawsuit against several of the world’s biggest financial institutions alleging that AIG and others engaged in fraudulent practices and misled the federal government to get bail-outs. The suit documents fraudulent practices alleged in detail. It also seeks return of bailout monies paid for with taxpayers’ money—plus triple damages and a jury trial.


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