Last week, District 5 San Diego City Councilmember Brian Maienschein announced his bid for city attorney – and if he weren’t stone serious, we’d be in hysterics.

The Rancho Bernardo Republican will go toe-to-toe with Superior Court Judge Jan Goldsmith, lawyers Dan Coffey and Lee Burdick, and City Attorney Michael Aguirre in the city attorney’s race.

The Republican Party of San Diego, which endorsed Jan Goldsmith last month, isn’t thrilled with Maienschein, who is popular in his North County district. Republicans’ biggest fear: Maienschein will cloud the race, split the Republican vote, and Aguirre will triumph.

Though Maienschein is well-regarded along the I-15 corridor, he’s out of his league on a roster with Aguirre and Goldsmith.

According to a report by CityBeat, from September 2006 through June 1, 2007, Maienschein missed significant portions of at least eight council meetings and missed roll call for parts of 12 others – more than any other councilmember. (To be fair, two absences were listed as illnesses and a third for a family medical emergency.)

Dubbed the “missing councilman,” Maienschein didn’t effect positive change for our community when he did show.

Councilmember Maienschein supported the Boy Scouts’ discriminatory practice. In 2003, he voted against a medical marijuana proposal. In 2006, he cast the lone “no” vote for needle exchange. In 2007, he voted against signing the amicus curiae, a friend-of-the-court brief to support same-sex marriage. In terms of policy, Maienschein hasn’t been a friend to the GLBT community, and he’s worked to re-position himself on the far right.

Oh, and, there’s another teeny-tiny, very minor, completely insignificant detail: Maienschein served on the council that underfunded the pension system and led the city into financial ruins. Whoops!

In a letter to The San Diego Union-Tribune, Maienschein maintained he had no knowledge illegal activity occurred on his watch.

“The report quite clearly showed that the council was intentionally kept in the dark on a number of issues. … To hold me, and other council members, somehow morally responsible for the acts of others, is absurd. … On a larger level, to consistently attack the very people who make personal and professional sacrifices in order to serve their city on the City Council only does a disservice to our city by keeping honest, community oriented people out of politics. To say that I ‘was fully aware that illegal activity was occurring’ is not only false, but it is an insult to the job I have done for the past six years to represent the city with honesty and integrity.”

Maienschein must be a comedian if he’s trying to sell that funny bit.

Why would voters elect a CEO of ENRON by the sea (as The New York Times so lovingly referred to San Diego)? Maienschein, along with others, displayed gross negligence at the city’s helm – and now he’s going to challenge Mike Aguirre for a seat that would require him to hold the city and the mayor accountable for its behavior?

That’s hysterical!

Love him or hate him, Aguirre is a friend to our community, and he has been for more than 30 years. He’s a firecracker, a lightning rod, a slightly off-kilter city attorney who holds elected officials’ feet to the fire and requires action and change.

If Maienschein is a spoiler for the Republican party and aids Aguirre’s re-election, by all means, we welcome him to the race.

If, however, he operates under the illusion that he’s a viable candidate for City Attorney, or any office that allows access to control taxpayer dollars, then Brian Maienschein is funnier than we thought.