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August 28, 2007

San Diego Official's Awarding of Grants Questioned

A San Diego County supervisor who is embarking on her 2008 re-election campaign has come under fire after accepting donations from officials of nonprofit groups to which she has awarded grants, the Voice of San Diego reports.

In 2002, supervisors gave out three county grants to local arts groups: $100,000 to the San Diego Opera, $150,000 to the California Center for the Arts, in Escondido, Calif., and $53,000 to the San Diego Dance Theatre.

Pam Slater-Price, a San Diego supervisor, earmarked the grants, and the opera’s general director wrote a $500 check to Ms. Slater-Price’s re-election campaign the day after the grants were approved.

Shortly thereafter, five more employees and volunteers from the nonprofit groups donated to Ms. Slater-Price’s campaign. She netted $1,850 and eventually won 99.3 percent of the vote in her district.

The close relationship between Ms. Slater-Price and nonprofit groups has continued and she is expected to rely on charity officials to help her in the 2008 campaign, the newspaper said.

A spokesman for Ms. Slater-Price said her actions did not violate legal or ethical standards.

“There is absolutely no nexus between the grants awarded by the county and the donations that the supervisor has received,” wrote John Weil, Ms. Slater-Price’s spokesman, in an e-mail message to the newspaper. “Constituents support the supervisor because they feel very strongly that she is doing a good job.”

Tuesday August 28, 2007 | Permalink

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