We’re endorsing Chula Vista Mayor Steve Padilla in the upcoming general election this November against Republican challenger Cheryl Cox, but we don’t have to like it. Sure, Padilla is an openly gay Democrat, but his first term in office was riddled with questionable dealings that, quite frankly, make us uncomfortable.

The big scandal, of course, was his decision to accept a car allowance for four months, even though the city had provided a new SUV for his former bodyguard to chauffer him to official events. Padilla reimbursed the city $3,500 and, only after the San Diego Union-Tribune reported on it, expressed regret for the obvious lapse in judgment, telling the Gay & Lesbian Times earlier this summer: “Looking back on that incident, there are definitely some things I should have done differently. But I own up to it, and I think that’s the responsibility of any leader.”

He was also criticized for hiring a $10,000-a-month bodyguard – yep, same one that was driving him around in the brand new SUV. In Padilla’s defense, there were reported threats to the mayor’s office following his decision to come out in 2005 at the Stonewall Rally during Pride weekend, but critics say the bodyguard’s sticker price was simply way too high.

His opponent has expressed concerns that go beyond Padilla’s double-dipping and hiring of a high-priced bodyguard. As reported in this week’s news story, “Padilla to face school board trustee in Chula Vista mayoral race” on page 14, Cox criticizes Padilla’s use of a legal though rarely used Chula Vista law that allowed him to take advances on his salary. “That’s an interest-free loan that in essence the taxpayers are shouldering,” Cox said.

Padilla said he requested the 10 advances – count ’em 10 – to pay back a loan from his father.

Each incident by itself could be deemed an honest mistake, but we’re beginning to see a pattern here. If Padilla is taking advantage of his position as the mayor of Chula Vista, what does that say about him as a leader?

Well, we have our doubts about that too. In a recent interview with the Gay & Lesbian Times, Padilla declined to state his support for either same-sex marriage or civil unions, responding: “I think that the religious and moral significance of marriage and how we define it is something that has to be defined in our homes and in our churches and synagogues. I believe that the government needs to treat all its people equally.”

Sounds like a well-crafted, politically-safe response to us.

He also took no position on the issue of medicinal marijuana, saying it is “up to the medical experts to make a decision on, not me.”

Padilla does support clean-needle exchange and the removal of the Boy Scouts from Balboa Park under its current lease terms, which rounds out his profile on important GLBT issues.

But if Padilla stinks, then why aren’t we endorsing his opponent? Well, for one, she is a “card-carrying Republican” even though she considers herself to be socially moderate. Cox does not support same-sex marriage, saying, “We can’t do same-sex marriage in our city.” But she does believe domestic partner benefits are fair.

In contrast to Padilla, she supports the Boys Scouts’ use of public facilities in Balboa Park, and says she remains at odds with both the medicinal marijuana and clean-needle exchange issues.

In addition to these “socially moderate” leanings, we’re not quite comfortable with the obvious conflict of interest if Cox were to be elected. Her marriage to District 1 County Supervisor Greg Cox makes the expression “being in bed with a politician” quite literal, and gives the city of Chula Vista an unfair advantage – or disadvantage; heaven forbid Greg forgets to take out the trash.

To say we’re endorsing the lesser of two evils may be going a bit far. Padilla has made mistakes during his first term but he’s a far cry from maleficent. Since coming out in 2005, Padilla’s become increasingly active in the GLBT community and, for the most part, has done good work for the residents of Chula Vista, most notably his work on the bay front project.

Given the malfeasance just due north, we’ll have to keep a close watch on Padilla and wait to see if San Diego’s culture of corruption is spreading south.