Three Democrats and one Republican each agree that a change is needed in the city attorney’s office, though they will all tell you that they are the one best suited to make that change by replacing outgoing city attorney Casey Gwinn. In the race for a post that has been ruled by conservative leadership for more than 30 years, winning the support of a unified GLBT vote in the 2004 election could mean the difference between victory and defeat — not only for the candidates, but also for the GLBT community as a whole.

The city attorney is charged with advising the mayor and city council on legal issues surrounding the policies they set, such as whether or not they are violating the intent of this city’s Human Dignity Ordinance by leasing land to the local chapter of the Boy Scouts of America (in light of the organization’s policy that discriminates against gay members and leaders). The city attorney is also responsible for prosecuting misdemeanor crimes, including park sex cases considered “lewd conduct,” which were vigorously prosecuted by current City Attorney Casey Gwinn until the GLBT community stepped in to note that discriminatory and unfair tactics were being used to arrest and prosecute same-sex offenders. While many don’t recognize the importance of this citywide elected position, it is one that has had a tremendous impact on the GLBT community over the years.

Gwinn will be stepping down this year, leaving the race open for a newcomer to take his spot. The candidates so far include Deborah Berger and Leslie Devaney, who currently work in the city attorney’s office, Howard Wayne, who abandoned his bid for state Senate to throw his hat in the race, and Michael Aguirre, who ran against Bonnie Dumanis for district attorney last year.

Debbie Berger was the first candidate to hold a fundraiser specifically targeted towards the GLBT community, which took place June 11 at the home of Kevin Tilden and Phil Diamond.

“I’m not here just to get the LGBT community’s support and then disappear,” Berger said. “I am a person who believes in outreaching to all parts of the community, and that’s something I think the city attorney’s office could do a much better job at.”

While this race is not considered to be a partisan race, Berger made it clear that she is a liberal Democrat, stating that, to her, the party represents “open-mindedness.”

“When my legal opinions from my office are issued, I want you to not know what party I am,” said Berger. “I want it to be on the law and I want it to be on input from everybody.”

Two years ago, Gwinn advised the mayor and city council that signing a lease with the Boy Scouts of America would not violate the city’s Human Dignity Ordinance. Many people feel that Gwinn’s conservative views played a part in his advice to the city council.

Addressing criticism and questions raised about Gwinn’s religious and political views, Berger said she is, “180 degrees in the other direction. I’ve been very, very troubled in the office with what’s going on. There is an enormous amount of politics that go into the decisions, whether it’s Boy Scouts, the cross [on Mount Soledad].… I stand behind the scenes. That is probably the number one reason why I want this job, because I don’t want politics.”

Berger has been with the city attorney’s office for 17 years and has worked with outside counsel. She said she feels she has the experience to jump in and get started.

Also currently working on the inside of the city attorney’s office is Leslie Devaney, Gwinn’s second in command. Other candidates say she’s not likely to bring about a dramatic change to the office, noting that she hasn’t had much influence on Gwinn to date. Berger also pointed out that Devaney attends church with Gwinn.

“Casey said he hired me because I was different than him and I do believe we are very different,” Devaney insisted.

She said she agrees that there is a need for a change, but said that criticism of Gwinn may be unfair.

“The other people who are running for office have the ability to [criticize him] right now because of the city attorney advising the mayor and council in closed session — and not bringing enough things out in public,” Devaney told the Times. “The other candidates have the benefit of criticizing the decisions made by the mayor and council and attributing those to the advice of the city attorney.”

Devaney is building her platform on the issue of bringing the city attorney’s advising out of closed-door sessions and into an open forum so that the public can see that the city attorney is indeed presenting all of the legal issues and ramifications to the mayor and city council in a fair and balanced manner.

“I think it’s becoming obvious now there is a basic distrust of city government and elected officials,” Devaney said. “People believe that too many things are happening behind closed doors, in secret, without a process, and without knowing the city attorney’s general opinions as to the parameters of the law, within which the policy makers need to make the decisions.

“There is a lot more that could be said in open session that is not being said,” Devaney explained. “It’s incumbent upon the city attorney, when in open session and even in public meetings, to talk more about the parameters of the law that is being decided upon, whether it is the ball park or whether it is something that is a big issue with the gay and lesbian community, like the Boy Scout case.”

Devaney also thinks that the current leadership in the city attorney’s office has not done enough to interact with the public and gain a better understand of the ramifications of their decisions and policies on all segments of the community.

“You’ve got to listen to the community, and we’re not out in the community,” Devaney said. “We’ve listened in a few situations, like the sex in the bathroom cases [where] it was pointed out the city attorney was doing unfair prosecution between same-sex, as well dual-sex, sex acts [but] we should have had a relationship before that bubbled over.… I want to have that existing relationship.”

While both of the insiders from the city attorney’s office feel that there is a need to get out in the community and listen to people’s concerns, those outside the office feel they have the greatest chance of creating change in the office.

“The city attorney is really the central player in keeping the city and the system honest,” candidate Michael Aguirre told the Gay and Lesbian Times. “You’ve got to reconcile who’s running against what the challenges are, and I think that as you access what everyone’s strengths and weaknesses are, I think the question’s going to be who can best make the case that they are an outsider and have the skill set to really make a difference.”

For a number of years Aguirre has been a staunch critic of the city attorney’s office, pointing out concerns over the downtown ballpark and the Chargers ticket guarantee. As far back as 1997, Aguirre said that he was opposed to the ticket guarantee and the shopping clause with the Chargers because, “it was going to cost millions of dollars and would allow the Chargers to leave town.

“The one thing that I might have as an advantage is that I have staked out positions on these issues before it was the popular thing to do, based on my expertise,” said Aguirre.

In addition to keeping an eye on the city’s dealings and associated legal ramifications, Aguirre has also managed to build a very successful private practice.

Knowing that he has to use his status as an outsider with a good reputation to his advantage, Aguirre said, “My goal and my challenge is going to be to keep the voters focused on the fact that we really need an attorney that has been tested by the private market and has performed at the top of that world — and at the same time keeping a very strong public commitment, not people that have really become experts at how to raise money in political campaigns.”

This is not the first time Aguirre has aligned himself with the GLBT community. He said that he is in support of civil unions, which is just one way he feels that the GLBT community needs to be better represented in government.

“I believe deeply that it’s one of the foremost civil rights issues we have,” Aguirre said. “[Gays and Lesbians are] one of the few groups in the country that have no real protection. It’s okay to discriminate under that law against someone based on their sexual orientation. People are denied jobs and accommodations in the way that they were during the ’60s and they are denied the most fundamental rights of association because they are not permitted to have a civil union.”

Aguirre also brings to the table his experience as a U.S. Attorney. Even though he has very progressive views in regards to the gay community, he has a long history of working with more conservative clients, giving him a broad base of support.

“I built a career as a reformer,” Aguirre said. “I am a private attorney who mostly represents Republicans who have lost money in investments. I have people who are very strong Republicans supporting me and I have Donna Frye supporting me. They know that I will follow the law and I will follow the fundamental principles of the law.”

The other outsider in the race is Howard Wayne, who dropped out of the 39th District state Senate race to run for city attorney. Wayne is no stranger to politics or the legal field. He served three terms in the state assembly, representing the 78th district.

“In the legislature I had a strong voting record on issues affecting the [GLBT] community,” Wayne told the Times. “I received an award from the [primarily GLBT] San Diego Democratic Club as well as from the HIV Task Force. I’ve been there on tough issues, on non-discrimination issues, when we have won and when we have lost.”

While Wayne’s track record is excellent, some members of the GLBT community have expressed concern over a statement he made earlier this year to the Union Tribune when the San Diego Democratic Club chose to endorse Chris Kehoe over him. In the interview, he said that the Democratic Club’s chief purpose was “to get lesbians elected.”

When asked about how he felt seeking the club’s endorsement in this new campaign, Wayne said, “Well, maybe they can prove me wrong.… This came up in the battle over a Senate endorsement with Chris and Chris is supporting me in this race, so I think if we can get along together it shouldn’t be a problem for the Democratic club to support me.”

Wayne served for 23 years as a deputy attorney general, enforcing and prosecuting cases in the state courts involving consumer protection and child support laws. Since leaving the state assembly he has returned to the consumer protection unit in the attorney general’s office and he believes that as the city attorney he can draw on that experience to turn it into a proactive public law agency.

“Let’s get down to the bottom line,” Wayne said. “This seat has been controlled by conservative people for well over 30 years and, if I’m not elected, it’s going to continue to be that way. We have a chance to make a significant change in the way the city attorney’s office operates, but I’m the only chance to make that happen.”

On Thursday, June 26, the three Democrats in the race, Aguirre, Berger and Wayne will appear at the San Diego Democratic Club meeting seeking their endorsement. The meeting will take place at the Joyce Beers Community Center in the Uptown District Shopping Center, starting at 6:30 p.m.